10 months ago
When we first introduced you to Carrie Zaenglein she had just begun to pick up the pieces after a fire destroyed her home in depew. Rather than rebuilding with traditional materials though Carrie decided to go green... Very green! Carrie Zaenglein/Homeowner So green in fact that the utility company will likely end up paying Carrie to live in her house! You see Carrie's house will produce most of its own energy and retain it much more efficiently than a conventionally built home. The sun is going to play a big role in this energy budget. Numerous south facing windows will allow for passive heating to enter the home and warm the rooms while solar heating tubes will produce hot water for the faucet and in the floors as radiant heat. David Lanfear/Bale on Bale Construction "This unit here brings hot water from the tubes on the front roof and transfers it to the storage tank." The sun will also provide her electricity. Solar panels installed on her garage will basically allow her to plug into the sun! Nathan Rizzo/Solar Liberty "Solar panels produce DC power. We need to convert it into AC for use in the home. We're installing solar panels on the roof and they will provide more than 100 percent of Carrie's power" Essentially the panels will turn Carrie's home into a mini power plant for the neighborhood. Nathan Rizzo/Solar Liberty "If Carrie produces excess energy power will flow back out to the grid supplying power to her neighbors and her meter will spin backwards. This is called net-metering and at times when Carrie is at work during the day she'll be sending her energy to the grid producing a credit, a one to one credit. Whatever she's paying for electricity she will receive back from her system including taxes, delivery and retail rate of electricity." Then there are all those straw bales. With an R value triple that of conventional insulation this straw bale construction will help the home retain nearly all the heat she produces. Once completed this will be one of the greenest homes in WNY affording Carrie years of energy independence and a sense of accomplishment knowing that she built green from the ground up. In Depew Meteorologist Andy Parker Channel 2 News For more information on solar power and green building check out the links below: Solar Liberty - Solar Panel Information Bale on Bale - Straw Bale Construction
"I never thought I would do this, and now that I have the opportunity. I mean this is just a dream come true."
