Energy Independence at Home Now Possible at Reasonable Cost

  What’s the “right” cost for home-based energy independence?

  I don’t think anyone has a “number” that’s more than an educated guess, based on myriad assumptions. Mine are that a new home can be built energy-independent for an additional $40,000. An existing home can be retrofitted independent for $50-60,000. These estimates are based on quoted design packages and LEED U.S.government estimates.

  As Solar prices continue to decline and technology improves, prices will decline further.

  The new Fusion power technology already developed, but currently cost prohibitive for residential use, promised a “self-contained, discrete unit-based” tech that uses a wide variety of fuels for extended use and would allow a package installation just about anywhere for $25-30,000, able to oversupply household peak needs under the worst weather and usage conditions, at kWh costs competitive with grid-supplied power.

 

  Commercial independence or green retrofits using solar will be expensive but decline in cost of operation over time; same with, and a better advantage for, the Fusion-based cells. $20-25.00 per sq foot would cover the cost of most commercial “green” energy independence. Independence refitter’s will also develop Independence leases that will provide the security of long-term maintenance and management Agreements to provide homeowners and commercial interests with “partner security” so that they feel comfortable with the investment, knowing there is reliable service when needed.

 

  Somewhere along the line, people will have to evaluate the “tiering” of power costs, meaning paying more for highest peak-time value uses, like computing or air-conditioning, through peak-usage metering. This will actually happen for Internet usage in the near future, and for power over a generation.

  Many, many vested interests have financial reasons for a Luddite  and NIMBY mentality to resist change.

  I might also use this opportunity to point out the need for starting to consider “end-to-end” recycling from ALL intake of goods and service to ALL output of goods, and water, and waste discharges.

  Only when business and government are held to “zero-based” standards (everything you take in-air,water, resources- is used in your processes, and whatever is discharged is treated to Zero pollution contribution to the environment) can we claim to be responsible stewards of our environment.

  No license should allow anything but zero-based operation in relation to pollution and contamination. There is no license that gives business, government, or institutions the right to negatively impact the environment. To do so is just a hidden tax on us, our children and grandchildren for generations.

  Energy grid independence will happen gradually over time, starting mostly with new home builds in the $300,000 and up category, and retrofits of older more expensive, ecology-minded homes and owners.

  Whether leased or included in the build price, alternative energy systems promise to achieve price competitiveness with grid-produced energy in the near future. Builder partnerships with local power grids that allow for recapturing energy values into the grid from independent owners, primarily through government-sponsored tax incentives, will help to create a momentum for this approach.

  If the end goal is to reduce dependence on foreign sources of energy and develop U.S. based energy independence, even starting at the individual home level, alternative energy packages promise at least one way to “get off the grid.”

via gomestic.com

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