More Numbers

It's been a sunny week here in Maine, and so the Barn has been creating lots of electricity. I decided to check all the numbers again, and compare them to those at the last post, on April 20.

Today at noon the Barn's total production since go-live was 2745 kilowatt-hours. That means that in the past 9 days the PV panels have pumped out 224 kwh, or an average of almost 25 kwh each day. Usage has been modest, now that the cold weather is gone, with air handling, lights, and computers accounting for most of the load - and with the longer days, light usage is going down noticeably. Total usage to date has been 970 kwh, compared with 953 kwh ten days ago, or only 1.9 kwh of electricity used per day.

This means that the current difference between electricity generated and electricity used in the Barn stands at 1775 kwh surplus, meaning that we have put a net of 1775 kwh out on the grid over the past 6 months. The past 9 days alone have accounted for 207 kwh surplus, or about 23 kwh per day on average.

This contribution to the grid helps pay off our carbon debt incurred in the making of the Barn, at the rate of one to two pounds of carbon per kilowatt-hour, depending on the major source of the electricity on the grid. So we appear to have knocked approximately one metric ton of carbon off our debt, even through the depths a cold Maine winter.

And since our main house is just "upstream" of the Barn, we get the benefit of most of that surplus electricity, which is lowering our electrical bill substantially. Last month, our bill from Central Maine Power was only $11.00.

Here's hoping for a sunny Spring!

Performance So Far

Spring is, well, springing up here in Maine. At 9:00 this morning it's bright and sunny, and the outside temperature is 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Almost all of the snow has melted, except for one  small mound perhaps 6 feet long and 2 feet wide that lies in the perpetual shadow of the north side of the main house. 

In the Barn it is a cozy 68 degrees, with no heating except the sunshine pouring in the south-facing windows.

It is almost 6 months since the Barn systems were turned on last October, and it seems time to assess performance so far.

Most important to me, the Barn has been a pleasure to live and work in. It has been comfortably warm all winter, even during record-setting cold spells. The systems have worked flawlessly, with no breakdowns or failures. The structure has held up to extreme weather, including impressive snowfalls of up to 2 feet per storm, and several feet cumulatively.

As of this morning at 9:00 AM, the solar electric panels have produced 2521 kilowatt-hours of electricity since being "switched on" last October. The barn itself has consumed 953 kwh during that time, for a net surplus of 1568 kilowatt-hours. I find this remarkable, given how cold this winter was.

Those surplus 1568 kwh translate into nearly 3000 pounds (more than a metric ton) of carbon that will not be needed from a coal-fired electric generating plant.

More directly, the Barn's energy surplus is reducing our use of grid power at the main house -my electric bill this past month was $11.00, compared to nearly $130 this same time last year.

Soon we plan to have the Barn's energy performance tracked continuously on our website, so anyone can monitor our results.

So stay tuned - there's much more to come.

More Hugs from Treehugger - BBB is Best of 2008

Treehugger, one of the leading green lifestyle blogs, has just awarded BrightBuilt Barn its annual "Best of Green" designation in the Architecture and Design category.

Here's the link:

http://www.treehugger.com/galleries/2009/04/best-of-green-design-and-architecture.php?page=11

Documentary

An independent production company has been working with our team recently to put together a documentary about the first BrightBuilt Barn.  The documentary will focus as much on origins of the project and the process of bringing it to fruition as it will on the final product.  Many of us who were involved in the project will be screening a rough cut later this week to give feedback.   We look forward to debuting the final version.

BrightBuilt Barn is Awarded LEED Platinum

BrightBuilt Barn has recently received official notification that it has been awarded LEED Platinum status, the highest level of sustainability certification by the US Green Building Council. BBB thus becomes only the 7th home in all of New England to attain this highest level of certification, which is awarded to fewer than 10% of all projects that apply.

BrightBuilt Barn Goes International

On Wednesday, April 1, BrightBuilt Barn was featured on a segment of "This Week in the Americas", a weekly newscast of France24, who describe themselves as the CNN of France.

Check out the link below - the clip on BBB is toward the end of the show:

http://www.france24.com/en/20090402-week-americas-obama-car-industry-mexico-washington-against-drug-trafficking-el-salvador-oscar-romero

Own Your Own BrightBuilt Barn

We're almost there!

Now that the first barn is up, interest is increasing and we are working actively with Bensonwood to pull together a package outlining the process of producing subsequent BrightBuilt Barns.  They will be for sale through Bensonwood.  Thanks to the hard work by our friends there, we are pleased to announce that the range of prices for the BBB will be from roughly $165,000 - $230,000. The lowest price represents a base model which allows the owner to finish out some of the non essential aspects of the building. The higher price(s) reflect the addition of available upgrades such as appliances, fixtures, kitchen build out, exterior decks, etc. We are really happy with these prices for such an innovative and beautiful product, especially given that purchasers can add renewables to their barn which will ensure they will have virtually no utility costs down the road.  Stay tuned for more details, and be sure to send us an e-mail if you would like more information about purchase options.