Using What God Gave Us
tThis is an article I wrote for the Great Falls Tribune (www.greatfallstribune.com) a couple of weeks ago on a wonderful couple north of Great Falls. It's probably the most innoventive house I've ever seen, and was greatly inspired by their careful research, and subsequently, successful results.
Imagine the delight of watching your electric meter turn backwards. This is exactly what Monte and Jeanna Giese of Carter enjoy in their progressive home that draws its power from the sun, wind and earth.
Unlike some alternative energy systems that are “stand-alone,” and rely on a generator during periods where power usage is greater than can be created, the Giese’s are on a grid-tie stand alone arrangement. This means when they produce more energy than they need, they send it back to the grid. Conversely, electricity is readily available if their own system isn’t producing adequate amounts.
Energy without Effort
But the beauty of their home isn’t only in the cutting edge technology. “The first thing is the house is passive solar,” said Monte. “That was an important part of the orientation of the house.”
Built in 2007, the home is situated within sight of the Teton River
Large windows face south to gather optimum heat during the winter. Monte said it’s important to have the right percentage of windows, plus a certain type of window that allows in the sunshine without excessive heat.
Monte said, “What happens in the summer is no sunlight gets in because of the properly positioned windows coordinated with the angle of the sun, plus there’s the overhang to prevent” the hot sun from overheating the room. . “Staring the first part of June, the sun doesn’t hit the solar slab at all.”
The key to this passive solar system is this “solar slab” underneath the house, which is a poured concrete slab situated on top of a series of channels in between cinder blocks that acts as the temperature regulator for the home.
“In theory, this solar slab is supposed to maintain the cool from the night, and release it slowly during the day,” said Monte
In the winter, when the sun is lower in the horizon, it pours through the windows bathing the enormous room in warmth; subsequently heating the solar slab, as well as the large stone fireplace reaching to the second floor ceiling. There is a thermal effect from the warming slab creating natural air circulation.
Blinds are used to retain heat during the winter, as well as to block the sun during certain times of the year. “The worst month is probably October,” said Jeanna, “because the sun is lower. It heated up in here” without the blinds.
Active Power
Besides the passive solar features, the Gieses utilize two very abundant resources in central Montana
“I get up every morning, and the first thing I do is look out the kitchen window to see if the wind turbine is turning,” said Monte.
With 3KW of energy production, there is often more electricity than they can use. “The problem when you get that much juice,” said Monte, is unless you’re on a grid tie-in system, as they are, the energy is wasted. But during a sunny or windy day when they produce more than the need, it’s sent back to the grid.
“We do have the batteries,” said Jeanna. A dozen batteries situated in the operations room hold a backup charge when the conditions aren’t right for producing power.
“It’s only about a day’s worth of juice,” said Monte.
And if they need additional power, it’s available through the traditional means, although Monte said, he hopes to be as close as possible to being neutral in the overall energy consumption, and therefore requiring very little from outside their own sources.
Tapping into the Earth
The Gieses are adding one more piece to their alternative energy system. “We’re in the process of installing a ground source heat pump,” said Monte. “It’ll do all the heating to zero-degrees, and all of the cooling. We’ll have the furnace only for supplemental.”
A ground source heat pump utilizes the constant temperature of the earth to heat or cool the home. For their closed loop system, Monte said they will dig a six-foot deep trench between 100-200 feet long, and install pipes with “a gel in them.” The earth’s temperature, below frost level, holds between 54-56 degrees, and will heat or cool the fluid within the pipes. During the winter, the fluid collects heat from the earth; in the summer, the process is reversed.
“It’s a great deal,” he said. “You get your heating and cooling from the ground.”
“It’s really common in a lot of places (of the country),” said Monte, and local operations are quickly learning the technology.
The Economics of Alternative Energy
A common perception is alternative energy sources are out of financial reach for most people. “The solar and the wind power are still a little pricey,” he said. The complete 3KW outfit for their house cost over forty-thousand dollars, including the battery system, although they did receive money back from Northwestern Energy and tax credits from the state.
“Wind is better than solar in terms of economics,” said Montana
“But there are little things a lot of people can do,” he said. For example, “from an economic standpoint - that ground source heat pump, you can build into a mortgage, and it will pay for itself.”
He also said the passive solar design is feasible for many “just by situating the house a certain way. People are becoming more aware of that.” In reality, even with conventional heating systems, by using the sun to the best advantage will reduce overall consumption, and subsequently the monthly bills.
“The technologies are here,” said Monte. “The technologies are beginning to evolve.”
“It can begin to make economic sense, and it does right now.”
But besides dollars and cents, there is a greater value to implementing conservation measures. “I tend to believe if it’s something you can do, it’s something you should do,” said Monte. “It’s the right thing to do.”
