We are excited and honored to inform you that on Saturday, October 2nd, our home was awarded Best EarthCraft House and Best Green Home at the 33rd Annual OBIE Awards, sponsored by the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association.
We built "Ventanas al Cielo" ("windows to heaven" in Spanish) with the objective of building the most energy-efficient home possible without sacrificing aesthetic or comfort. Currently, we're enjoying our home and this honor, and would like to share a little about our uniquely sustainable lake home with you.
To date, monthly energy production from ur 8.56 kW photovoltaic array ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photovoltaic_system ) has equaled:
May
1,103 kWh; Total Carbon Offset 1,680 lbs; The equivalent of 19 tree; 2013/12 Cooling
Degree Days 221/355
June
921 kWh; Total Carbon Offset 1,403 lbs; The equivalent of 16 trees; 2013/12 Cooling
Degree Days 485/446
July 825
kWh; Total Carbon Offset 1,256 lbs; The equivalent of 15 trees; 2013/12 Cooling
Degree Days 509/629
August
796 kWh; Total Carbon Offset 2,212 lbs; The equivalent of 14 trees; 2013/12 Cooling
Degree Days 486/494
September
815 kWh; Total Carbon Offset 1,241 lbs; The equivalent of 14 trees; 2013/12 Cooling
Degree Days 364/356
October
780 kWh; Total Carbon Offset 1,188 lbs; The equivalent of 14 trees; 2013/12 Cooling
Degree Days 151/90
Year to date energy produced 5.24 MWh – at $0.11 per kWh the cost savings for the first six months was $576.
A cooling degree day is a unit used to relate the day's
temperature to the energy demands of air conditioning. Cooling degree days are
calculated by subtracting 68 from a day's average temperature. For example,
if the day's high is 90°F and the day's low is 70°F, the day's average
is 80°F. Eighty minus 68 is 12 cooling degree days. Cooling degree days
can be used to compare the current summer to past summers. It can also be used
to compare the heat in one part of the country with another.
To calculate the heating degree days for a particular
day, find the day's average temperature by adding the day's high and low temperatures
and dividing by two. If the number is above 68, there are no heating degree
days that day. If the number is less than 68, subtract it from 68 to find the
number of heating degree days.
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/weather/resources/askjack/waskdays.htm
In addition to this, we produce 100% of our hot water by using a Solar Domestic Hot Water (SDHW) System ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_water_heating ) with 80 gallons of storage. Hot water costs can range from 10% to as high as 20% of a home’s total utility costs.