Does anyone have a solar /wind / altenative energy house in North America? How much will it cost to build one?
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Answer:
There is an entire subdivision of solar homes that were just built in Sacramento CA. The builder said that the solar panels added $18,000 to the price of the homes which are selling right around $500,000. There are a lot of places in North America that are wonderful for both solar and wind, Palm Springs, CA, Chicago IL, anywhere in the sun belt for solar and in wind tunnel alley across the midsection of the US. There are also homes that are completely green that will be built in the next year for victims of the Katrina Hurricane in New Orleans. Brad Pitt just announced the winning architects last week. They use a combination of techniques including the re-use of rain water, ground heat, and solar. Check the Today show website for details on the project.
no
uh, North America is a pretty big area. There are a lot of places, but sometimes one homesite is suitable, and the one 1/2 mile away is not.
Call Bill Gates. For a mansion that size it is extremely efficient.
Sure you have to occasionally power down the house... SORRY but will billions at your disposal you can build above the 'norm'.
WHERE in North America? Solar could be very effective in some locations but relatively useless at others. Wind can be attractive AGAIN in certain areas(if you're not a bird).
Generally speaking BUILDING into the ground(or building up ground around house) provides a very effective 'alternative'
energy friendly house(use with solar or wind). As the ground
is there continuously... it is an excellent passive use.
Also some very nice second hand missile silos were for sale...
People's every day habits ARE the best areas for improvement.
TAKE unnecessary weight OUT of your car. Make a trip for MORE than one thing. Insulate the home(that's where burying the house is so effective).
Research the area to find relevant weather etc AND realize that building for energy efficiency COSTS more money. Currently the prime motivator for building is the minimum cost for the MAXimum profit.
Kind of like DC. Or the corporations. No thought to the future or building a better WAY or spending on NOT tomorrows returns BUT the next generations.
Good luck and if you do not go broke building you will certainly minimize future hassles by building better today.
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