Alternative Energy & Your Home

I had the privilege last week of attending an alternative energy expo in Warrenton.  I'm very much hoping it becomes an annual event!  I thought it was wildly successful and juding by the comments I heard from other attendees, they thought so too.  There were people here from as far away as Baltimore!

There were so many wonderful ideas on alternative energy.  Not all of them were specifically related to your home.  But those are the ones I'll focus on here.

They had everything from energy efficient appliances for the home, all the way to how to design a home that's entirely energy self-sufficient.  One of the items we're considering for our own home is the tankless water heater.  Rather than having a big reservoir of constantly heated water sitting in your home, the water is heated only when needed.  Since in my mind one of the biggest downsides of water heaters is their tendency to spew all that water onto the floor when they bite the dust, I think this is a splendid idea!

Appleton Campbell is a local plumbing company that carries this water heater.  If you're interested in more information you can call them at 540-347-1004.

There was a display by a company called TerraBuilt where you use subsoil or a combination of subsoil and cement to make bricks.  It produces them at a rate of 4-5/minute!  This material is both energy efficient and cost effective! If you'd like more information check out their web site at http://www.terrabuilt.com

There were also companies that acted as consultants to help you to either build a new home that's energy efficient, or advise you in how to retrofit your current home to take advantage of newer technologies. If you're starting from scratch I'd recommend talking to Oesch Environmental Designs.  You can see who they are and what they do at http://www.fredoesch.com

Or, for consulting on how to make your current home more energy efficient contact Commonwealth Sustainability Works at http://www.commonwealthsustainability.com

There were tons of other ideas there and if you have a specific need in this area don't hesitate to contact me and I'll do my best to point you in the right direction.  I'll be adding some additional information to my web site soon on this topic so stay tuned!