When he was building his house two years ago, Mr. Heath had high energy efficiency in mind.  Indeed, the house is outfitted with three solar collectors on its roof, basement storage, and a piping system to heat water with the energy collected.  The air to air exchanger does exactly what it sounds like-dispels polluted air from the house in exchange for clean air.  A small control panel on his bathroom wall, where one of the vents is located, allows him to manipulate just how often this air exchange takes place on a daily basis. 

The key to maintaining his high-efficiency home, however, comes from more low-tech means.  The design of Mr. Heath's home is an example of “passive solar energy design.”  The design is “passive” in that it utilizes the natural energy of the sun without the assistance of technology per se.  Typically, the windows of a house with passive solar energy design face south to maximize the duration and impact of natural heat and light coming in.  Consequently, 70 to 80 percent of all light admitted into the house enters from the south side. 

The passive design also relies heavily on the thickness of the walls.  10 inch-thick walls filled with dense-pack cellulose ensures more effective insulation.  As Mr. Heath explained it to me, most new homes are constructed with this cellulose; the difference between his home and most others is that the high-density cellulose in his home is blown in at a higher pressure.  The cellulose is therefore less prone to settle over time as it does in most homes, ensuring that the entire wall, not just its bottom two thirds, will remain insulated and resistant to infiltration. 

At present, Mr. Heath's solar collectors are only responsible for heating his water.  No small task, certainly, but his home is hardly a solar-powered affair.  The fact of that matter is solar heating is an expensive venture.  A three-paneled solar heating installation like the one in Mr. Heath's home would typically cost around $7,500 through a commercial vendor.  A state rebate of $1,200 and a federal rebate of $2,000 would bring the cost down to $4,300, and in the long run money saved due to increased energy efficiency would surely see that money come back to the investor.  Nonetheless, the decision to integrate solar energy into a comfortable lifestyle is no small one.  Mr. Heath ultimately wants to heat space and not just water with solar energy, but he would have to install more collectors and a distribution system. 

Still, implementing energy efficient changes to home living isn't as daunting as it seems.  When people think of solar heating they often picture a gruesome array of black panels slathered all over some architectural enormity hidden in a valley in California.  By all accounts, Mr. Heath's house is as unassuming as any other.  If anything, the environmental and economic changes he has made to his lifestyle seem to have increased rather than obscure his comfort.  The quality of the air and light in his house is noticeably clean and crips and will remain so throughout the stuffy winter months ahead.  And while the changes to his home enable him to customize its ventilation with considerable liberty, Mr. Heath will have the added comfort of maximizing his efficiency in an environmentally responsible way. 

For those curious about Mr. Heath's experience, he is hosting an open house on Saturday, October 6 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. as part of a National Solar Tour promoted by the NESEA and others.  Homes all over the state equipped with solar energy technology will be open to the public on that day as well.  Mr. Heath lives in the first house on the right on Stone Tree Road in Arrowsic.  For questions about or directions to his home, contact him at 443-6614.