The Solar Patriot
(Page 3 of 4)
August/September 2003
By Amanda Griscom
"We can raise our flags and put our hands over our hearts," says Carol, "but the best way we Americans can fight terrorism and the Middle Eastern leaders supporting terrorism is to eliminate our need for their major export [oil]."
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ENERGY AWARENESS
The Hathaways' economic savings translates into environmental savings, too: Factoring in both their clean-energy system and hybrid gas-electric car, the family has reduced their average annual carbon dioxide emissions by 40 percent. And, best of all, they say, the savings come without concessions in performance and without sacrificing their standard of living.
Alden describes his family's lifestyle as "about as normal as they come," but admits his home is something of a live-in laboratory. He and son Tripp have been monitoring and experimenting with the family's electricity use for years.
When he was in sixth grade, Tripp calculated the energy use of every appliance in the house, from the water boiler to his clock radio. "I'd get a base line on how much energy we used on an average day," says Tripp. "Then if Mom was getting ready to cook grilled cheese sandwiches, I'd check the meter voltage to see how much juice the stove used."
Alden and the children also spent several summers in Africa installing solar systems on homes, schools and community centers through the nonprofit Solar Light for Africa program they helped to develop through several churches.
Though the family's keen energy awareness isn't exactly typical, their shift toward energy independence does reflect a nationwide trend. The demand for solar panels across the country has been increasing at more than 20 percent per year for the past four years. according to the DOE. During that period, the cost of solar technology has plunged nearly 50 percent, thanks to manufacturing innovations that make more mainstream applications possible.
Take The Home Depot, for instance. That company s test-marketing of AstroPower solar products in three California stores was so .successful that it has expanded the products' distribution to 61 stores in California, Delaware, New and New Jersey — a move that a company spokesman called "a — hopping expansion, even for us."
Shea Homes, one of the country's largest home construction companies, has introduced a solar home that is now on back-order in California. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers has made solar installation and maintenance training available to all 780,000 members.
ENERGY INDEPENDENCE
According to David Garman assistant secretary of the DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 18 million new houses will be built in this country between now and 2010. The DOE is researching ways to reduce energy use in those new homes by up to 50 percent; it plans to encourage consumers by establishing special incentives for new energy-efficient homes and appliances, as well as photovoltaic systems and solar water heaters. Garman says data taken from the Hathaways zero net-energy house is helping to make this goal possible.
