Whether installing solar panels or constructing a home completely off the grid, those who consider greener, more energy-efficient building practices when constructing their homes report big returns on their investments.
Labelling a home or building project "green" leaves room for interpretation, said Jim Strickland of Gloversville. For some, it means purchasing energy-efficient appliances or weatherizing an existing structure.
For Strickland, it meant building a home over several years and carefully planning its creation to be completely off the grid.
Strickland's home on McGregor Road, where he lives with partner Laurie Freeman, has been a work in progress for many years, he said. It is powered almost entirely by passive and active solar energy and is not connected to any municipal services.
Four wells on the property provide the couple and their two dogs with water. Two large solar panels provide electricity and heat water, except in the coldest months, when a wood-burning stove does the job. The entire front of the house faces south and is one big window, allowing the home to catch copious heat from the sun. A greenhouse-type room at the front of the house gathers the hot air, which is then released into the home through windows and doors.
"We're just taking advantage of the energy the sun gives off," Strickland said.
The home itself is made of clay and straw and is built partially into the side of a hill. With earth surrounding a good part of the home and the rest insulated with thick walls of clay, energy from the sun is enough to keep it comfortably warm, even in the coldest and most unpleasant winter months.
When the sun steals behind some clouds for more than a few days, Strickland said, the couple relies on several batteries that store the heat energy absorbed on sunny days. At any given time, they have about two weeks' worth of energy stored, he said.
Construction of the house began in 1997, Strickland said. The couple used wood they harvested on the property to create the structure and used clay from the property of a local friend.
"It's been about $20,000 for material," he said. "It's completely pay-as-you-go."
The couple moved into the unfinished home, which is about 1,200 square feet, in 2003. Strickland, who works part-time, said his main job is working on the home and ensuring it runs properly. Freeman is a science professor at Fulton-Montgomery Community College.
In addition to living in a home that's off the grid, the couple has a root cellar that allows them to store the food they grow on their own land. About two-thirds of the couple's food is produce they grow themselves, he said.
The benefits of living in such a home are substantial, Strickland said, evidenced by the lack of bills the couple receives. Strickland said it cost the couple about $8,000 to equip the house with the necessary materials to be off the grid.
"Every time the cost of heating goes up, we get a return on our investment," he said. "It's all about investing."
Ray and Joan Laubenstein agree. They built a home on Bunker Hill Road in Mayfield in 1986. It's heated by passive solar energy as well. Both say the convenience and comfort of their home, not to mention the financial and environmental benefits of depending on solar energy, made the initial investment of approximately $70,000 to build the structure worthwhile.
"I didn't believe it could work," Ray Laubenstein said. "It was just so simple."
The living space is insulated with four inches of foam that seals the home in an envelope. Underneath the bottom floor is a mass made of concrete that is crisscrossed with ducts and piping. When the sunlight enters through the couple's southern-facing windows, it heats the air, which is then moved with fans toward the top of the house. There, it filters down through a column and into the heating mass underneath the home. The heating mass retains some of the heat, then sends the air back into the house in a convection loop that happens three times an hour.
The house is comfortable, and the temperature only varies by a few degrees throughout the day, the Laubensteins said. It also enables the couple to turn the key and leave whenever they want for as long as they want without having to worry about heat or freezing temperatures.
"You don't have to worry about frozen pipes in the winter," Joan Laubenstein said. "We did leave over the winter and didn't have to do a thing."
The couple burns about two cords of firewood over a year to supplement the system. They said most people can't believe their house is heated with an unconventional system, because it does not look "oddball," Ray Laubenstein said.
Bruce Brownell, the owner of Adirondack Alternate Energy in Edinburg and the builder who designed the Laubensteins' home, said that's one of the reasons it's hard to spread the word about passive solar - the houses that use it look like any other modern home on the block.
Brownell has been designing and building passive solar homes for nearly 30 years, he said. Recently, there has been increased interest in them, but it can be difficult breaking people's preconceived notions about solar energy, he said.
"People come to me with this knowledge that is just wrong," he said. "They don't realize the best investment you can make is a south-facing window."
Brownell said the system's simplicity often throws off potential customers because they doubt such a system can actually work. Brownell uses the more than 300 homes he's built with passive solar systems as proof of their effectiveness.
"We have filled America with millions and millions of junk houses," he said. "[People with passive solar homes] don't spend as much money because the sun doesn't send them a bill."
In addition to the savings, those with passive solar homes also contribute less pollution to the environment. A passive solar house produces 11 fewer tons of carbon dioxide in one year than a conventional home, Brownell said.
Strickland, the Laubensteins and Brownell all participated in the Northeastern Sustainable Energy Association's annual home visit tour Saturday.
Pam Lester, who organizes the 10-state tour for the NESEA, said the tours give people first-hand knowledge about alternative energy use in their own homes.
"People that participate want to help others learn what they can do," she said. "Our mission is to educate people about sustainable energy."
Local contractor Stan Kucel of Gloversville said that education has caused some significant changes in his customer base. Recently, Kucel said, more and more people are asking about how they can make homes that are more efficient and environmentally friendly.
"People are interested in green windows, washers, driers, heating systems," he said. "They want to know how much time it takes to recoup their money by spending some extra on a green project."
Kucel said he recommends various projects and alternatives when a customer asks for such information, including particular types of insulation, weatherization and other possibilities.
"It's a changing culture. Our culture is changing toward greener building practices," he said. "People are thinking outside the box."
For more information on the NESEA, visit www.nesea.org.
Kayleigh Karutis can be reached by e-mail at gloversville@leaderherald.com.
