Zero-Energy Solar Home
In just over a year, we transformed our 1960s tract house in southern California into a solar-powered, energy-efficient home. While the initial investment was substantial, we funded it through an affordable home-equity loan. The makeover will pay for itself in seven years, after which the energy for our home (and our electric car) will be entirely free. And with these changes, we annually offset at least 21,000 pounds of carbon dioxide—a key pollutant in global warming—that our pre-upgrade home and car would otherwise have added to the atmosphere. In this feature, let us show you in detail how we went about our zero-energy retrofit, which saves money, energy, and the global climate.—Norma and Alan Williamson