Haslett’s Scott Eisensmith and his wife made an economic decision four years ago to combat their increasing home utility bills. They invested $7,000 in solar panels, geothermal heating, and numerous smaller systems.
Now, having gotten a $3,500 tax credit, they are building equity and increasing the resale value of their house, Eisensmith says.
“We have replaced about 80 percent of our water heating and 30 percent of our space heating costs with free, non-polluting, renewable sunshine. Our system pays us in savings each and every day. Our savings grow as the utility company raises rates,” Eisensmith says.
They also supplement power with a 40-foot wind turbine above their house, and have added less well known measures to manage utilities, such as a solar-powered attic gable vent fan, a solar-powered living room ceiling fan, ceramic wall paint developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and even a solar-powered house number sign.
Eisensmiths will be on hand Oct. 10 to explain the many measures they’ve taken as part of the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association’s (GLREA) free, self-guided Sustainable Homes and Businesses Tour. The tour is part of a national solar tour.
It is hard to find a showroom with sustainable materials and people to explain how to use those materials, Scott Eisensmith says. But he and the six other home and business owners on the tour will gladly tell how what they’ve found works and how the measures they’ve taken have lowered their utility bills.
“We’ve found over the years that people are 30 percent more likely to install solar or geothermal systems once they’ve been on the tour,” says Samantha Keeney, of GLREA.
Source: Scott Eisensmith, Sustainable Homes and Businesses Tour
Gretchen Cochran, Innovation & Jobs editor, may be reached here.
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