Mike's eco-home...Ya gotta be rich to do it? Eco-homes have to be somewhere in the woods? It's too hard?No, Mike says. He bought a two-story bunaglow built in 1915 close to the Takoma Park metro in MD. With an home-equity loan of $7,500, he was able to convert his home within six months to a nearly 100% energy free home. Sometimes, his home produces more electricity than he needs, and he sells the surplus to Pepco's distribution system!
"WHAT I BOUGHT
- 1.5 kilowatt photovoltaic system (partially installed by author): $3396
-CO2-neutral corn-burning stove: $2400
-Solar hot-water system (used): $1,000
-High-efficiency refrigerator: $750
-20 compact fluorescent light bulbs: $140
TOTAL: $7686
HOW I PAID FOR IT
-$7500 ten-year home equity loan at 7% interest rate. Monthly payment: $87.
-Monthly energy savings: $57.
-Final cost of converting our house almost entirely to renewable energy: $1 per day (until loan is paid off.)"
For Mike's story on how he converted his home to an eco-home: http://chesapeakeclimate.org/pages/page.cfm?page_id=47
Washington Post article on Mike and his place:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/05/AR2007030501493.html
The idea of converting a home is intriguing. Frankly, I am surprised it only cost 7,500 greenbacks. Nonetheless, I noted that labor was not included. Did he build it himself? If so, what does it mean in terms of dollar amount for the rest of us who are incompetent in even going on the roof using a ladder?
ReplyDeleteDina
Dina, do check out mike's story in the first link above on how he converted his home to a green one - he provides so much details in his story - including how he got good deals on this and that, labor, etc. it's a very, very, enjoyable read - Mike's a good writer. And I wouldn't be surprised- if you have specific questions for him, that he'd be more than happy to answer :)
ReplyDeletegreeningly,
raychelle