GE's NET ZERO HOMES

Story from the Commercial Record

If massive Norwalk conglomerate GE gets its way, by 2015 all homes will generate as much power as they consume, thanks to residential wind power, next generation solar technology and smart power management, among other technologies.

GE said by 2015 it intends to develop a turn-key product portfolio that will empower both new homebuilders and existing homeowners to build or modify so-called "zero net energy homes."

The GE net zero energy home offerings will be comprised of three major groups within the company's product portfolio: energy efficient products, energy management products and energy generation/storage products.

Energy efficient products include GE Energy Star-qualified appliances and lighting products.

Energy management products will enable consumers to manage their costs and energy consumption while helping reduce utility demand peaks, thereby reducing the need for more power generation. In a statement, GE said it plans to be the first manufacturer to offer a full suite of demand response appliances that will work with utility smart meters to help shed load from the grid, while helping consumers save money during peak demand usage and pricing times.

Lastly, the company's GE Energy unit plans to incorporate products like solar PV, advanced energy storage, next generation thin film solar and small wind generators to help homes generate their own power independent of the grid.

"We have a long, trusted relationship with consumers, strong presence with homebuilders, demand response appliance technology and the extremely critical smart grid technology leadership of GE Energy that makes the GE net zero energy home an exciting prospect for our future growth," said GE Consumer & Industrial President and CEO James Campbell.

"Secret Benefits" from Energy Conservation

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I often use the analogy of the car buying process to help explain how I believe one should look at the greener home buying process. Like a car, a home has an effect on the air we breath. Like a car, a home has energy-consumption and maintenance costs that continue through the life of your ownership. These costs should be factored in a buying decision.

However, reducing energy-use cost in a home is much easier these days than in a car. Most of us don’t have the knowledge and resources to redesign our existing cars engine to have greater fuel efficiency. We also find it difficult to reduce our consumption of auto fuel after we work to eliminate unnecessary trips and plan our errands more efficiently.

The easy, low cost changes we can make in our homes can reduce our monthly bottom line and help our planet in numerous ways. I recently read a white paper entitled The "Secret Benefits" From Energy Conservation and it added another dimension to my car/home analogy.

The authors state that "It is logical that a car driven 25% less each year will last longer. The same is true for most energy-consuming equipment, such as lights, motors and even digital equipment......It doesn't matter how energy-efficient an organization is, there are savings from turning equipment "off" when it is not needed." Like a car, "It's not the age....it's the mileage"

Once can reduce their utility budgets by conserving energy. By reducing equipment operation, the need for replacement is reduced. When equipment runs fewer hours, maintenance costs are reduced. By reducing energy-consumption one is also buffering themselves from sudden fuel cost spikes and suprise increase in utility bills.

The secret it out!

Click the link below to read the white paper referenced above.
http://www.instituteofgreenprofessionals.org/associations/9228/files/SecretBenefitsfromEnergyConservation-2008.pdf