Simplest Solar System Ever?

As you may know, I was originally trained as a Solar Engineer (solar water and air heating).  In the early 80's, we learned a lot of things on our own because:

1.  Manufacturers supplied only components, not complete systems.

2.  Because every house is different, every installation is unique, causing mistakes and "issues".

In my opinion, the solar water heating industry has still not  matured.  Because systems currently cost too much, they aren't being installed as often as they should (which is on every house in the Denver area).  For high volume uptake to occur, NREL says the installed price needs to be between $1,000 and $3,000, not the $6,000-$11,000 that you typically find.

Recently, I've been back to learning things on my own, and collaborating with folks like genius Steve Baer.
Some of us have been working on solar system simplification.  One simple domestic hot water system that  has tested successfully is depicted in the video on YouTube below.   If your house has the right configuration, I can install this system for $1850-$2600 with a 5 year warranty.  It may be simple, but it requires some high tech to succeed.  The collector we must use has the lowest heat loss coefficient of any mass marketed panel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5rKLsJl3cY

CFLs Suck Update

There is quite a bit of anecdotal evidence that CFLs can cause seizures, rashes and cancer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorescent_lamps_and_health

I know some people who "hate the light" from CFLs.   Since the color problems have been mostly solved, I think the subliminal flickering is what they object to.

Unfortunately, these problems are also shared with high performance T5 & T8 fluorescent tubes, which are very efficient and economical.  Affordable and long lasting LED tube replacement bulbs are coming eventually, so I'd still recommend tube fixtures where appropriate.

Single Family REITs

If you have been following this blog, you know that I'm advocating the rebuilding of "inner ring suburbs" vs. new subdivision development.

A new report from Morgan-Stanley picks up on a trend I've noticed in the past few years in Southwest Denver:
That rents are now much higher than ownership costs.

Right now is a rare time in history that institutional investors can make an exceptional return by investing in single family homes.

When it's time for the REITs to sell their assets, the idled large homebuilders are the logical buyers.

The Folly of Suburban Greenfield Development

Green building in Denver isn't just about the home itself.  The location of the house can be four times more important for the carbon footprint, making it the single most important topic for this blog and for cities in general.  We're not alone in this opinion.  The TED prize has announced next year's winner, The City 2.0.

So what to do with all the land that the big builders have reserved for exurban single family homes?  Apparently the farmers are buying it back at a steep discount for farming

If this topic gets you agitated, then read this article from Atlantic Cities.   It's loaded with links to important studies that support a greener homebuilding paradigm*:

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/housing/2011/12/missing-link-climate-change-single-family-suburban-homes/650/

* the greener paradigm doesn't involve electric cars and photovoltaics in the exurbs.  My favorite study is the one that shows people are happier if they can walk, not drive, for daily life.

Lighting Efficiency Summary, 2011

This list is taken directly from a Martin Holladay article at GBA:

Here are some relative lamp efficiencies:

• "Indancescent bulbs produce about 14 to 17 lumens per watt.
• Low-cost LEDs produce about 15 to 25 lumens per watt.
• High-quality LEDs produce about 40 to 70 lumens per watt.
• CFLs produce about 48 to 60 lumens per watt.
• T-5 and T-8 linear fluorescent tubes produce about 98 to 105 lumens per watt."

And I just found this increased efficiency LED bulb that kicks out 94.4 lumens/watt:

  

http://www.amazon.com/Incandescent-Replacement-Illumination-G7-Power/dp/B005FU5406/ref=pd_cp_hi_3

Even though in the article Martin states:

• "For now, screw-based CFLs are the best bulb choice for residential lighting.", I think LEDs have just reached the tipping point. 

How Does the Demise of Big Builder Magazine Relate to Southwest Denver?

As I've been saying for a while, destroying greenfields in exurbs is a business model that is slowing down and may end for a long time.

A symptom of this is the announcement of the end of Big Builder Magazine.

If there are any Big Builder types thinking of what next to do with their lives, here's an idea:

Start a land bank in SW Denver, where there are hundreds of homes available for $50k to $100k.  These prices don't seem to be going up any time very soon, but they are very competitive with the cost of greenfield lots.  Throw in the fact that they are eight times closer to the jobs and entertainment of Denver's city center, and you start to think they may eventually be worth a lot more than those far-flung lots.

Now add in some recent pro-density changes in Denver's zoning code, and you have a pretty compelling business model.

2011 LED Lighting Update

At $10, LED light bulbs finally make sense for your most-used fixtures.

For green home designers, it means you should stick with medium base fixtures everywhere.  The LEDs also operate plenty cool enough for those small closets with shelves.  I'm not sure how you will convince the building inspectors, but when incandescent bulbs are illegal, that should solve the problem.

Some folks aren't fully convinced:  http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-communities/let-there-be-light-gu24-base-cfls-and-leds#post_comments

But these holdouts won't be promoting CFLs much longer.   Economics and common sense will bring them around.

And remember, CFLs still suck