Going green

Doug Kalmer dreamed of building an energy-efficient house.- With the use of renewable resources, he decided to follow an ancient house-building technique that goes back to Roman times.

Kalmer's home, in Lutts, Tenn., is referred to as a direct gain passive solar home. It is nestled into a southern-facing hillside in order to catch the winter sun when it is lower on the horizon and avoid the intensity of the summer sun.

The front of the house includes nine large windows that transfer natural light and heat from the sun.

"I came from a colder climate and wanted to escape the burden of heating bills and mortgage and the monthly payment," Kalmer said. "I wanted to build something that was energy efficient for the economics of it as well as environmental benefits."

Renewable resources, such as solar and wind power, are becoming popular methods used more frequently by people looking to save nonreplaceable fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and gas.

Kalmer's home is shaded by greenery and, with the solar energy feeding into the home, the rooms often remain at a pleasant temperature, Kalmer said. The stone walls inside the home, along with a stone fireplace and dark brown concrete floors, also-help by controlling solar energy during

the day and radiating it back at night, when the warmth is needed.

"The biggest economic benefit is that I don't have any heating bill whatsoever," Kalmer said.

Kalmer said there are simple energy-saving techniques and products available to help save on the electric bill, including use of solar panels, light-colored roofing, well-installed insulation and compact fluorescent light bulbs.

Kalmer also has solar hot water access in his home by way of a roof-top panel he installed almost 15 years ago and said he has been pleased with its performance.

"Conservation pays you back the fastest, so the first thing to do is to conserve," Kalmer said. "It's a dirty word to some people, but it just means smarter use of energy."

Nancy Muse, vice president of the Shoals Environmental Alliance, said she believes energy usage to be a bigger issue than people perceive it to be.

"I just think that energy is the root of many issues facing us today, and our local governments and utilities aren't doing enough to teach people about energy conservation," Muse said. "We just have this attitude that 'we're Americans so we can waste energy if we want and what we don't see can't hurt us.' "

She said she believes solar technology is the way of the future.

"Investing in renewable energy for our country on the federal and state levels translates into an investment in our national security," Muse said. "The more independence we have with energy, the stronger we will be as a country, when we don't have to try to fight battles for oil and don't have to be dependent on people in the Middle East for our energy needs."

People are discovering more choices in the realm of renewable energy. During the past few years, the Tennessee Valley Authority has offered something called the Green Power Switch.

Gil Francis, a TVA spokesman in Knoxville, Tenn., said the switch gives people the opportunity to make positive environmental impacts by supporting renewable solar, wind and methane gas energy resources.

"It's been a very popular program," Francis said. "There's continuing research going on to improve technology in the green power-area, to make things more efficient."

Francis said customers may sign up for the Green Power Switch through local power distributors.

In northwest Alabama, Sheffield Utilities, Tuscumbia Electric Department, Florence Utilities, Joe Wheeler Electric Membership Corporation and Muscle Shoals Electric Board are a few of the local distributors that are offering the Green Power Switch option.

TVA has 18 wind turbines, 16 solar sites and one methane gas site. The Florence Water Treatment Facility has had a solar power system that began producing electricity for Green Power Switch in 2002. The solar power is generated at the site, goes into the electric system of the Florence Utilities and then on to the TVA power grid, which is then distributed to customers.

TVA reported that as of December 2006, the number of residential customers participating in the Green Power Switch was 9,695 and 507 for business customers.

As of December 2006, the number of Green Power Switch blocks residential customers had purchased was 18,586 and 15,901 for businesses.

As far as the price of the technology to use these renewable energy resources, providers have come a long way and are continuing to decrease in price, said Valerie True, spokeswoman for Southern Alliance for Clean Energy in Asheville, N.C.

"TVA has a certified program and the money a customer pays in to the Green Power Switch program directly goes into investments in green power technology programs," True said.

The price to purchase one 150-kilowatt-hour block of Green Power Switch is $4, which is added onto the customer's monthly bill.

"Green power is expensive, but it is coming down in price a lot and is rivaling the cost of other technologies, and when you add in efficiency it becomes a more useful source of energy," True said. "Wider use will help it go down. All around the world, solar and wind are the fastest growing energy resources."

She said the program that TVA offers is a great option and promotes renewable resources in place of environmentally unfriendly fossil fuels, but people should also keep energy saving tips in mind to operate their homes.

"Efficiency is the one thing people should do to reduce their impact," True said. "The least expensive thing people can do is making their home more efficient, and it really does make the biggest impact."

Kenda Williams can be reached at 740-5720 or kenda.williams@timesdaily.com.