Today we take a look at what a typical home design could look like in our near future. The shell or structure of our new home will be made of dense Styrofoam which are 12-inch thick blocks that interlock like a puzzle, giving the house strength and stability. Covered with special sheets from the space age, our home will be well protected because; the special lining warms up in the winter and cools down in the summer heat.
Our contractors are busy installing our alternative energy systems; Starting with the plumbing system, our water comes from a deep well in the ground that will bring us fresh spring water. Our well pump will be powered by one of our many solar systems that charge battery banks to store our electricity in case of dark days and nights. Along with the water, we have installed a solar hot water harvesting system that will use a special insulated hot water tank to store water that has been heated for free by the sun.
We check in with our electrician who is busy installing our solar photovoltaic panels which, when completed, will face south capturing the sun’s energy, producing our electricity to charge many storage batteries. By installing energy-saving light bulbs, we can light our house in a normal way. We use infrared technology with sensors installed in each room so that when someone enters the room at night or in low light conditions, the lights turn on and when that person leaves the room after a predetermined time, our lights turn off.
We have also decided to install a wind turbine to help keep our electrical system fully charged even during nighttime or dark periods with no sun. Our electrician is installing electronic monitoring to make our system run maintenance-free. Considering that we have eliminated our electricity bill completely, the only cost we have is the initial cost of the solar and wind system. Considering that the average American home in 2008 used 920 kilowatt-hours per month, at an average of 12 cents per kilowatt, that would be $110 per month for electricity alone. Let’s say we live in our new house for 30 years which is $39,600 just for electricity! And now we pay zero!
You’re probably thinking, well, I need my computer and my cable TV, but that’s the best of technology, you install a satellite dish that combines your television and high-speed Internet, and you still have the wonderful conveniences of the modern lifestyle.
Last, but still very important, is our new waste system. We have installed a fully self-sufficient green energy automatic composting and sewage system that takes human waste and recycles it into useful compost. The compost is saved for use in your organic garden.
We are so grateful to our energy friendly folks who helped us build our home totally off the grid.
This may sound like science fiction, but all of these concepts are available today, not in the future. You will surely pay more today than when people realize that green energy is the future. The old adage is about supply and demand, as more and more homes are built with alternative energy, the prices of solar, wind and other sources will start to drop so we can all afford to live off the grid.