How to Incorporate Renewable Energy Sources into Home Building

Energy efficiency remains one of the most desired components among new and prospective home buyers. 2020年，NAHB 调查了3000多名购房者, 最近和未来, on the types of features they prefer to have in their homes, 包括环保组件和设计, 这句话今天仍然是正确的. Some of the most requested features buyers want to see in home plans are ENERGY STAR-rated windows and appliances, efficient lighting that uses less energy than traditional bulbs, 整个房子都获得了“能源之星”评级.

Benefits of Integrating Renewable Energy in Homes

Integrating renewable energy in homes can have both financial and environmental benefits. Not only do energy-efficient systems decrease the home’s carbon footprint, but materials such as solar panels pay for themselves after about six to 10 years. So even though they cost more up-front, they are more cost-effective in the long term.

Steps to Implement Renewable Energy in Home Construction

Any new home construction or home remodel requires a 全屋系统方法, which considers the house as an energy system with interdependent parts, each of which affects the performance of the entire system.

在计划改造时, first conduct an energy audit to find how the home uses energy in its current state and determine how to cut energy use and cost.

Common strategies to incorporate renewable energy in home building projects include:

• Sizing the electrical panels to accommodate an EV charger,
• 在家里提供一个充电插座，
• 建造一个全电动的家
• Designing homes to eventually only use electricity.

Another important step to implementing renewable energy in home construction is green building certifications. 证明项目符合上述准则, 自愿用水效率评级制度, 例如, provides independent confirmation of the water-saving practices that have been installed and validates that the home was built to a higher standard than what code requires.

NAHB even has its own certification call the National Green Building Standard (NGBS). 它是ansi认可的, 第三方认证, residential building standard that demonstrates high-performance building in six areas: Lot Design and Development, 资源效率, 水效率, 能源效率, 室内环境质量, 及楼宇营运 & 维护. Building projects can earn one of four levels – Bronze, 银, Gold and Emerald – after going though the process overseen by a verifier.

太阳能:安装和成本考虑

Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems use panels to convert sunlight to a home’s electrical load. These roof panels are made of individual solar cells to turn sunlight into electricity for the home.

The cost of a PV system depends primarily on square footage, weight, and number and type of panels. Monocrystalline panels are made of silicon wafers from a single crystal and are generally capable of higher efficiencies, while polycrystalline panels comprise cells that are melted together from silicone fragments and often offer a lower price point than the former.

A single-family home requires between 15 and 34 solar panels for full power. The amount of sunlight exposure on the roof can impact the number of panels required. 面板的价格在2美元之间.40美元和3美元.60 /瓦(包括安装), so the more energy the PV system needs to produce, 成本就越高. On average, a 6-kilowatt PV system for a single-family home can 房主的成本约为12,700美元.

希瑟Laminack, 奥斯汀的一家定制房屋建筑商和改造商, says clients usually opt for solar panels once the heat intensifies.

“现在, 在盛夏时节, it’s the peak time — people are seeing those electricity bills, and it really is a huge factor of the total cost of homeownership,拉米纳克说. “A lot of times we think of homeownership cost as the cost for the home and the insurance and maybe the taxes, 但还有水电费.”

光伏系统可以, 当然, 成为一项重要的财务投资, but as the green home building industry has expanded, 融资选择的清单也是如此. 业主可以:

• 申请2021十大正规彩票平台，
• 租用系统，
• 通过信用卡付款 购电协议(PPA), or
• 注册一个 物业评估清洁能源(PACE) 程序.

Utilizing Water-Conserving Technology for Residential Power

A water-driven design approach can help enable continued community development and home building throughout the country. Total hydrology planning is a methodology to identify and utilize all water resources on a project site. It uses strategies best suited to the relationship between the climate and site-specific conditions of a project to achieve a balance between a site’s water supply and demand. Such projects are better positioned to be more resilient to drought and storm events and prevent costly destruction.

节水型设备 such as toilets, showerheads and faucets are among the top green features. Incorporating these and other water-focused strategies such as ENERGY STAR appliances and structural plumbing can help save time and money on materials and labor and can help home owners save on their utility bills.

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