Green Energy Working In Northwest Ohio, why not our neighborhood?

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Green Energy Working In Northwest Ohio, why not our neighborhood?



A Northwest Ohio Green First - Decker Homes
In Wood County, on the NW Ohio 2008 Solar Tour, just over 30 people learned a lot at seven stops which focused on wind, geothermal and conservation. Tour goers saw four residential turbines and visited Ohio's first utility scale wind farm. Three tour stops were at homes with geothermal heating and cooling. Two of the homes had 5-star plus Energy Star ratings. The importance of conservation was the leading topic at the Bowling Green State University ice arena stop and a prominent topic when visitors stopped by Green by Design, a NW Ohio provider of green (energy) products.
Throughout the tour, site owners talked about investment, return on investment and how we invest in ourselves with conservation and renewable energy. Part of that discussion is about taking care of the planet. For example, one home had a yard of native flowers, rain gardens and swales. The other part is return on investment, which is not only about payback on appliances and wind turbines, but on the time-sensitive value of photovoltaics, the productivity of the Bowling Green wind farm and the terms of payment for which farmers are contracting as commercial wind develops around the state.
Don Scherer
Green Energy Ohio (GEO) member Decker Homes recently completed a high-performance, low energy home designed to reduce electric consumption, heating, cooling and hot water cost by 65% percent.
The 2100 sq. ft., three-bedroom ranch style home incorporates both photovoltaic (PV) and geothermal renewable energy systems. The home achieved a 35 HERS rating, making it one of the most energy efficient homes built in Northwest Ohio. The home's estimated annual energy cost is expected to be less than $700 dollars and will demonstrate the viability and cost effective benefits of owning an energy efficient home with modern renewable energy systems.
A 2 kW solar electric system, installed by Green Energy Ohio member company, Dovetail Solar and Wind, converts sunlight into electricity, producing about 30% of the power the house consumes, while the geothermal heating/cooling system transfers heat from the ground in the winter and removes heat from the house in the summer, reducing heating and cooling costs by approximately 30%. No traditional combustion furnace or air conditioning system is necessary.
Additional energy-saving Green features include LED recessed lighting, high efficient Energy Star certified appliances, a tight building envelope and a fully insulated basement.
Decker Homes has entered the home in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Building America Program. After the home has been occupied for one year, a case study about the home's performance will be sent to the DOE. The study will be made available to the public, and posted on the Decker Homes Web site.
The home is located in Decker Homes Deer Valley development near Maumee, Ohio. It is the fourth home in the Energy Star development built with a solar electric system, but the first to be built combining both solar electric and geothermal technologies.
Bill Decker, Sr.
On October 4, 2008, Madonna Homes was proud to be part of the 2008 Ohio Solar Tour and one of the few large solar hot water sites. The Catholic Diocese of Toledo has recently finished a major renovation of Madonna Homes, a 171 unit, low income housing complex for the elderly and disabled. As part of its long term commitment to stewardship of the Earth, the Diocese committed to a 48 collector hot water solar system to supplement the domestic hot water system in the building. The system will cost approximately $200,000 (with a $62,000 rebate from the State of Ohio) and is expected to supply approximately 50% of the hot water for the building with a savings of about $500,000 over the life of the system.
Some 30 to 40 people toured the renovated building, the resident garden, community room (with a very popular Wii system) and, of course, the large, black four foot by ten foot Heliodyne collectors lined up in six rows of eight on the roof. The major downtown office buildings look down on the Madonna roof, so these collectors have high visibility in Toledo and will hopefully inspire others to "think solar."
Dick Hogan from Dovetail Solar, the system installer, shared details of the collector loop, the heat exchanger and the 2,000 gallon storage tank. University of Toledo students are designing and building a computer monitoring system which will display real time system performance on a large TV screen in the lobby to allow residents and visitors to get a feel for the system's operation.
One of the benefits of the system is the pride that the Madonna Homes residents are taking in their solar system. I'm often asked "When do I get my collector outside my window?" and I've overheard comments to visitors explaining that "our hot water comes from the sun!" The benefits of the system reach far beyond the natural gas saved and the carbon dioxide not added to the atmosphere. The Madonna system has been so popular and generated so much interest that residents of other Diocesan projects are beginning to ask "When do we get our solar system?" This may lead to a photovoltaic system on the roof of Michaelmas Manor in Toledo, a 94 unit complex for the elderly and severely, physically disabled.
John Kiely


Is it because we will be last again to join the rest of the state in Green Energy?  Is it because we continue to believe in Coal Power values from Charlie Wilson?

Dennis Spisak
Mahoning Valley Greens
Ohio Green Party

www.ohiogreens.org
www.votespisak./thinkgreen/