Green in Medusa

New Solar Energy Technology in Upstate New York

Thanks to one of our favorite blogs Catskill House Blog we found Prism Solar Technologies. They manufacture a new type of photovoltaic module that uses transparent holographic optical elements in its design. This new holographic technology, collects and spectrally selects useful wavelengths from the sun and focuses them onto the cell to create electricity. At least that's what they wrote on their site. This is super exciting for us, they not only look cool but they are local (within 60 miles). We are hoping that they are going to be available to us when the time comes to purchase them. Not only do they look spectacular but they use fewer PV cells per watt of power which at some point means hopefully they'll be cheaper. At the very least they'll use less resources. A roof full of these panels would look stunning! While you're peeping make sure to check out Catskill House Blog they're great! Paul is not only in the know but he also has a unique point of view and the hands on experience as an engineer to speak with some authority. He has just started up Sun Volt a solar equipment seller and installer in the Hudson Valley area. So look him up if you're in the area.

Net Zero Energy House

Among many of the lofty goals we have set for ourselves is for our house to be Net Zero or at least Near Net Zero. We would like to produce as much energy as we use . We may not achieve this on a daily basis but through out the course of a year instead. At the moment we have received bids that range between $30,000 and $50,000 for a 3-5 KW system. This is before rebates and tax incentives from the state which could pay for up to 50% of the cost. In order to take advantage of those incentives we need to tie into the grid. This would also help us achieve our net zero goal as we will be able to buy electricity when needed an sell it when we have excess. Our goal is to achieve a balanced system that is Solar Photo Voltaic powered and Wind powered. We have looked at a few systems for wind and have some issues with local ordinances as far as structures over 35' are concerned. Most wind turbines have to be on towers that are at least 35'. Add to that the fact that we would need a special variance to set one up. Matthew at LGA forwarded me a couple of interesting house mounted vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) one by Wind Terra and the other by Pac Wind. In theory we would not need a variance for this type of wind turbine as it would be well under the 35' restriction and is virtually silent.

Our Mercedes 300TD - Bio Diesel Conversion - Future Project

photo: Kevin Thomasson

Traveling upstate every weekend is about a 300 mile round trip. That's a lot of CO2 we're putting out. Not very green. That is one of the reasons we bought our car, its a 1985 Mercedes 300TD Turbo Diesel wagon. We bought it on Ebay about 6 months ago. Its a lovely Midnight Blue color and so we nicknamed the car ( we nickname everything ) Inky. Our idea is to convert the car to bio-diesel and make our own fuel from recycled vegetable oil. Our friend Darryl converted his to run off of Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO), hopefully we can convince him to write a few posts in the future about his experiences. We want to do this not as a cost savings measure, because like all renewable energy  sources the up front costs for doing them can be expensive but instead to reduce our CO2 footprint. Bio-diesel releases many less pollutants into the air and the ones they do release are easier for the environment to cope with. While we wait to convert the car we decided to try and offset the CO2 we are releasing through buying a TerraPass , they sponsor many renewable projects that offset all of the CO2 emissions from driving, flying, homes and business. TerraPass is doing some good too, they sponsor diverse projects that include biomass energy production and wind power energy. They just started a partnership with Enterprise Car Rental to offer the TerraPass product to customers. We can't say we're really "Green" but we are trying to make better choices.

Heating and Cooling - Geothermal

We are not talking about that kind geothermal, the image is a bit deceiving. Residential geothermal is a highly efficient and renewable way to both heat and cool your home.Basically you run a set of pipes in what is called a loop, underground  where the temperature is a constant 55 degrees. In the winter the water and environmentally safe antifreeze solution is run through pipes and into a heat pump that extracts the heat and transfers it to a blower or radiant source to heat your home. In the summer the process is reversed and the house is cooled. It can also be hooked up to a hot water tank so that on warm days the heat can be extracted and used to warm household water. It explained really well at The Geothermal Heat Pump Consortium.

Home Power - Wind

photo:Baldomero Fernandez 

Wind power is an option we are exploring at the moment to supplement the PV component of our Renewable Energy system. This hybrid system would work great to create electricity for the house as they are complimentary. On sunny days when the wind is not as strong there will be ample supply and on cloudy days its usually windy thereby creating the difference in electricity production. Several things for us to consider in choosing a wind power system are production capabilities, price, aesthetics, noise and local height ordinances for structures. At this point we are not even entirely sure they are allowed.

Home Power - Solar

We are currently bidding out the project for construction. Among the things for us to consider in the final cost of the house is how we are going to power it. We think a combination of solar power and wind power is probably best. We have wonderful unobstructed south views which when sunny will provide great sun for Photovoltaics and a solar thermal collector. Upstate NY winters can be grey so there is some concern, however the wind speeds are stroger and much more consistant in the winter so the possiblility for a hybrid system seems viable. We have gotten estimates from several dealers for a 3 to 4.5 Kilowatt system that range anywhere from $30,000 to $40,000 up front money.