Awesome. Via Gizmodo.
Hybrid Home Completely Off the Grid:
Hybrid Technologies is almost finished building what it calls the Hybrid Living Home, a concept house that shows off hundreds of energy-saving and smart-home features. Using wind turbines, solar energy, earth tubes and high-tech electrical storage, the house is designed to be completely self-sufficient, achieving that holy grail that’s commonly called being “off the grid.” Hybrid Technologies is a company that develops a lithium battery-powered vehicle, and this house is designed to be compatible with that, too. Would it be nice to give the finger to the electric company, and all those other utilities. But what about Internet access?
Hybrid Living Home Almost Complete [treehugger]
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Jim wrote:
Most of the time internet access comes in via the phone lines or tv cable lines (dial up, dsl, and cable). There is a more expensive option called “satelite” which doesn’t use any of those others and uses a dish to get internet access. But so far that option costs around 75/month.
The rest of this idea is great. Now only can they do it so the average man or woman can afford it? Right now this sorta thing looks like it might only benefit those wealthier people for whom utility payments are simply a drop in the bucket.
And then additionally could it be implemented in a city environment? or would it require several acres of land and a rural setting?
Seeing how this type of innovative solution progresses will be quite interesting. If only some of these new green technologies make it into production-scale environs, I think we will all benefit.
These ideas will make it into production when fuel is expensive enough. It would be a challenge to do some of these in a condo environment. Then, of course, it would help if you were an engineer, so you could take care of all this stuff.
And of course there is the initial cost. Realtors and bankers will love it, since they get a %.
The main place I’ve only ever seen these types of houses are in the southwest (mainly on HGTV type shows), and they’re really nice! (Almost makes the desert seem like a nice place to live) but again they aren’t cheap.
As for implementing some of these in condo’s. I think with a little creative thinking (and CCR’s) it could be done. The photovoltaics could be designed into the rooftops.. but would require a buy back partnership with the local electric company the way some communities across the U.S. have done. The savings and/or profit would have to be channeled back into some sorta general fund used to lower everyone’s “maintenance fee.” And I only suggest maintenance fee as opposed to electric bill because it seemed the easiest way to implement it considering that rooftops are sometimes community property but perhaps a uniform electric bill credit per unit could be an option.
The Grey-water system might be implemented as a part of a well thought out design.. for use on the landscaping (timed sprinkler systems..etc).
However the Geothermal wouldn’t work at all in a condo situation, due to type of system.
I have said several times that as the real estate market shifts to more of a long-term mentality (beyond 2 years, as it has been for the past 5) that technologies such as these will find their way into more homes. These technologies do cost more initially but they will pay for themselves over time – something that many if not most have not been willing to consider for the recent past. The times they are a changin’.
Jim –
This comment has NOTHING to do with the hybrid home (though I’m stealing the post for my blog…)
I just wanted to say that I *really* like your blog! I stumbled across it (couldn’t even tell you how) and throughly enjoyed it.
I’m going to add you to my blogroll if you don’t mind. If you want to add an Arizona Real Estate blog to yours, you know where to find one…
The really weird thing is I was born in Charlottesville. Moved away when I was six months old. Drove through one other time about 30 years ago. Is Martha Jefferson Hospital still in existence? That would be where I came into the world.
Keep up the great work!
JT
Even better than giving them the finger (or maybe you could say it’s giving them two fingers 😉 is selling electricity back to the electric company!
I read a good article with some tips on how to turn an existing house into a self-sufficient one for energy purposes: Hacking Your Way Off The Utility Grid.
I love the electric car tie-in though – genius!