Green Homes Get Electric Company To Pay You

Lisa Hough is more than a Realtor. She’s a certified eco-broker, a Realtor who’s knowledgeable about environmentally friendly homes like some going up in Philadelphia. Slate on the first floor catches the heat from the sun. The floor in the master bedroom is bamboo, a material that can be harvested without killing the plant. The kitchen appliances are all energy efficient. “We’re talking 1,700 square feet. With a finished basement, we’re talking 2,200, comparable to a row home,” Hough said. “You’re looking at 20 to 30 percent better than non-energy star.”

But the real energy saving is not what’s in the kitchen, but on the roof and in the basement. The unit will be heated with fuel oil. Some of the fuel oil will be made with soybeans. Builder Don Bradley, this year’s winner of the Philadelphia Sustainability Award, said the two top panels on the roof will provide solar-heated hot water. “They generate domestic hot water for domestic use like clothes washing, dishwashing, your bathing.” Bradley said. The panels in the lower part of the roof are solar photovoltaic. The sun creates a current that is converted from dc to ac power in the basement. Electric companies will be paying the people who own these homes. “We have produced more power than these houses use and have sold back more energy than purchased,” Bradley said. There are four units for sale right now with 30 more on the drawing board. Neighbors, like Mary Stoltz, are impressed. Just about any Realtor will tell you the housing market is cold, but going green is hot. Don Bradley is betting people who are looking for homes will look at his that are aimed at saving money and helping the environment. Link: Philly Solar Homes