World's First LEED Home: Solar Panels - buildaroo.com

Paul, the owner of this home, shows us the Solar Thermal Panels that heat the water in the home, and the Photovoltaic (PV) Panels that power the home. When it comes to the use of Solar Thermal panels , the US is significantly behind other countries. As Paul says, when you go to other countries such as Turkey, Israel and Japan, you see panoramas of homes with Solar Thermal panels. Yet here in the US we still burn Natural Gas 80% Efficient Water Heaters that have emission levels equal to that of a '55 Chevy.

The Solar Thermal panels on this home were installed on the main home's roof and provide enough hot water for all domestic needs. The Solar PV Panels were installed on a separate studio located on the property, and they face a little bit west of due South. The system is composed of 24 PV panels, and adds up to 4.4 kW of power. This PV system along with the home's Solar Thermal system zero out the home's electric bill!

Background: We took a trip to Sebastopol, California to tour the first LEED home in the world!  The home was built from the ground up by Paul Rosen, Founder of North Bay Energy as well as a builder and sustainability consultant.  Amazingly, the house is so energy efficient that the total annual utility cost is less that $10! Skeptical?  Well we were too, so Paul invited us to tour the home while he explained all the different design features.


This video is the fifth part of a series on this home. Look for previous parts of this series, and check back over the next few days for part 6.

[panhead]

I love those old Chevys. I own a 1960.

[shartne]

I like your water heater panels but natural gas burns clean we have plenty of it too. I dont believe life giving carbon is a pollutant. My father had the solar hot water heater on his roof and he was very disappointed because every time it had a little lighting storm it blew the controls out and cost him plenty to get fixed over and over he isnt to fond of them.