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SALT LAKE CITY — Don Powers had done it so many times for others, but never for himself.
The East Coast architect spent his career helping design “net zero” homes — or houses that create as much energy as they use with almost no carbon footprint. Now, he wanted one.
“I think you kind of have to be asleep at the switch not to be interested in it," he said. "With global warming and climate change, it’s such an issue that I think to be an architect and not have energy efficiency as one of your goals is almost malpractice."
So Powers, his interior-designer wife and their family starred on the 40th season of “This Old House” — a staple show on PBS that’s entertained families for decades with old home renovations. In the process, they turned a 1920s shingled cottage in Jamestown, Rhode Island, into a net zero home.
But to get the home to net zero, Powers needed to install a few “green” products. So Vivint Solar and Orbit, two Utah-based companies, joined the fray.
To help Powers’ house generate the energy it would need to run, Vivint installed a custom solar energy system.
The process was a little trickier than normal, though, said Mark Trout, Vivint Solar’s chief technology and information officer. Normally, when Vivint installs solar onto a home, there’s already someone living there, and the company can determine how much solar needs to be installed based on how much energy the residents of the home are already using.
But Powers was renovating a home he hadn’t been living in, and he was installing a new HVAC system, multiple layers of insulation, energy efficient lighting and more, so the question of how much solar to install really became more of a math equation, Trout said.
“The solar array that we put together (for Powers’ home) is going to provide about an 86 percent offset — which is a term to basically say how much of your (energy) consumption we think we can produce,” Trout said. “(But) because he wasn’t living in the home, we won’t know for sure if it’s 100 percent.”
But the installation was about more than just getting the house to net zero, said Vivint Solar's CEO David Bywater. Vivint wanted to make sure they were doing it “smart” and taking advantage of the incentive programs and rebate programs to help Powers optimize his cost savings so, in the end, it wouldn’t end up costing the homeowner anything.
I’ve been working to get (my home) to net zero. … It’s been a fun process for me,” Bywater said. “It was putting solar on our roof, it was going in and moving to LED lights, it was going to make sure I have light switches that turn on with movement so my kids don’t leave them on in their rooms. … It’s very doable.”
Brad Wardle, director of the smart sprinkler line at the Bountiful-based irrigation company Orbit, agrees.
To help Powers reduce his energy and water usage, Orbit installed a smart sprinkler system, as well as some other cost-efficient products like a customized irrigation and drip system.
Instead of turning the water on at a set time every day, Orbit’s sprinkler system can detect the current and future weather and set the sprinklers accordingly. If it’s just rained or about to rain, the sprinklers won’t douse your lawn just as the sky does. On the rainy East Coast, this can be especially useful.
“If people are just watering with a traditional timer, they’re putting water on top of water, which creates really soggy landscapes more prone to growing fungus,” Wardle said. “They’ll go out to mow, and their lawns are too soggy. So if you compound (a smart sprinkler) with irrigation, you’re creating a landscape you can actually go out and enjoy.”
The Orbit sprinkler system can also reduce water consumption by almost 50 percent, Wardle said. That’s especially helpful for Powers, because most of his water actually comes from a well, which doesn’t produce a lot of flow, Wardle said.
And Powers has been quite happy with the end result after he and his family moved into the house seven weeks ago. In fact, he highly recommends the idea, not just for those who want to “go green,” but for those who want to save money as well.
For those wondering how to start without building a home from the ground up, a smart thermostat is a great beginning, Wardle said. The thermostat will turn the heat or air conditioning on and off according to the occupancy of the house, and can be easily set through a mobile app.
Besides installing solar and smart sprinkler systems, another good step would be switching to LED sensor lights or a new water system that minimizes waste.
“If you look at it closely, it’s hard to come up with a reason not to do it,” Powers said.
The 40th season of “This Old House” premiered Oct. 4. The episode starring Powers, Vivint and Orbit will air in January. To find out more about how to create a “net zero” home, Utahns can watch the series on their local PBS channel or online at thisoldhouse.com/watch.
