Zero-net homes: make more energy than you take!

Innovative new houses are being built across the Hudson Valley in New York, U.S.A.  that generate more energy than they consume. Dubbed “zero-net homes,” these dwellings come equipped with solar panels, geothermal heating and cooling systems, and thick insulated walls. Quite a change from the energy guzzling city.

Gil Lobell, a resident new to the zero-net development that’s nestled 70-miles north of New York City, loves the prospect of cutting ties with his public utility company. “I don’t have to worry about $6,000 worth of utilities to run a house,” he says. “I can use that money for other things, so we go on vacations because I’m not spending money on utilities. I don’t worry about oil bills. I don’t worry about electric bills. I don’t worry about gas bills.”

HIs most recent electric bill read: “Electricity Used (kWh) = 0.” Basic service charges and taxes for two months came out to $49.51. Lobell even gives electricity back to the grid when it’s sunny out, earning credit towards what he consumes later. He figures he saves about $5,500 a year compared to his previous house.

Sounds like a dream come true, doesn’t it?

Exterior walls of Lobell’s house consist of a 6-inch layer of reinforced concrete sandwiched in between 2½ inches of polystyrene. Combined with heavily insulated rafters above, an insulated concrete slab below, and triple-paned windows, the entire house is practically airtight!

Three-bedroom units in this development start at around $399,000. Each house features a $29,000 solar panel system and a $39,000 geothermal system.

“Any homeowner that goes out and spends $100,000 less than my zero-energy homes is going to be spending more at the end of the year,” claims Anthony Aebi, president of Greenhill Contracting Inc., the company behind the Hudson Valley development. 

Unfortunately, not everyone can afford a mortgage on a $400,000 house. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a zero-net home!

With something like the SH-Box – a carbon-free, poly-crystalline generator developed by NRGLab - you too could be creating more electricity than you consume! All it takes is a little upfront investment and you could see huge savings.

Check out NRGLab’s slate of alternative energy projects at nrglab.asia.

Truly yours,

Ana Shell

[ Hudson Valley, Gil Lobell, Anthony Aebi, Greenhill Contracting Inc., sh-box, nrglab, nrglab Singapore, nrglab Сингапур, Ana Shell, Ana Shell nrglab ]