My new Ford F150 Lightening arrived today (after 2years!). It is an awesome vehicle! The net price after Ford’s incentives, the federal tax credit and MA rebate is $61,000. That is the same price as a new BMW X5. It is replacing a 12-year old BMW X5. The X5 is costing me thousands of dollars a year in maintenance. The F150 Lightening will cost me almost nothing because it has no engine, gearbox, clutch, radiator, alternator or spark plugs to fail. Because I charge it from my solar panels I can drive it for about 2c per mile whereas the X5 costs 20c per mile. It connects to the Tesla supercharging network (and EVgo and Chargepoint) for long-distance travel. It has a 130 kWh battery that will power my house for 5 days during a grid outage. It is made in the US with UAW labor. Did I mention the zero-carbon footprint? I can run 4 x 120V appliances from the bed of the truck. A fridge (margaritas, beers or a chilled glass of bubbly anyone?), a microwave (hot dogs) a coffee pot and a TV projector make for awesome tailgating! This truck is a party on four wheels! It could also run a circular saw, a mitre saw, lights and a shop vac. It is a workshop on four wheels! Oh, and I can get four kayaks in the back.
I will be doing a talk for Sherborn on EVs and Vehicle-to-home electrification in January. This is the wave of the future. No more maintenance, no more emissions, no more back up generators! And lots of parties.
Battery back ups for houses
In 2021, I ordered 3 different home batteries (from Generac, Sonnen and EnPhase at about 15kWh each) to go with existing and new solar-panel arrays (this is how you get the SMART MA subsidy for batteries) for our house and two rental properties we own. THIS IS VERY COMPLEX!
•I was faced with replacing propane powered back-up generators at all 3 houses
•Would have cost $5k per house plus $500 a year for maintenance/service
•The batteries were about $20k each after installation, none was a Tesla Powerwall
•Powerwall cannot both run the house and charge from solar panels together making it useless during lengthy power outages in winter. It is designed for power arbitrage (CA), not back-up generation (MA)! This can be alleviated if you buy the Tesla inverter. A friend just installed two Powerwalls plus this inverter and it cost $23,500 in MA.
•The batteries+arrays were profitable (5-10% IRR) vs. arrays alone (10-15% IRR)
•A 15kWh battery will run my house (but not the heat pumps) for a day
•Not enough! We have had 3-day power outages at our house
•In late 2021 I ordered the Lightening (with a 100kWh battery = 7 PWs)
•In 2023 I cancelled all 3 battery orders. With V2H on most vehicles by 2025, don’t get a back-up generator or house battery – get V2H!
The V2H and V2G capabilities of EVs are one of the main reasons we need a time of day tariff for electricity in MA. CA has it and it is essential to reducing peaker plant usage on hot summer afternoons as well as saving money by charging your battery at night and using it during the day.
The introduction of this tariff would have a huge impact on greenhouse gas emissions. It would also allow low-income households to reduce their electric bills substantially by, for instance running the dishwasher and clothes dryer (and charging their EVs) at night.
David Green – the “Green Guru”
The highly-acclaimed book “Zero Carbon Home”
How we cut our home’s carbon emissions to zero
How we cut our home’s utility bills to zero
Solar panels on the roof of our house
Our heat pumps
Fiberglass and ISO board insulation on the roof of our house
Triple-pane windows in our living room
Useful links:
The Easiest Way to Calculate Your Home’s Carbon Footprint:https://greenzerocarbonhome.com/2018/07/what-is-the-carbon-footprint-of-natural-gas-heating-oil-propane-and-coal/
Written Answers to over 300 Questions about Zero Carbon Homes:https://greenzerocarbonhome.com/webinar-questions-and-answers/
Finance and Net Zero Energy Terms explained: https://greenzerocarbonhome.com/energy-and-finance-terms-explained/
Zero Carbon Home Website Home Page: https://greenzerocarbonhome.com
Database of State Incentive for Renewable Energy (DSIRE) https://www.dsireusa.org
Published articles on Zero Carbon and Net Zero Energy:
Department of Energy, EnergySage, “Zero Carbon Home”https://www.energysage.com/project/7230/zero-carbon-home/
Zero Energy Project, “My Zero Energy Retrofit beats my 401k”https://zeroenergyproject.org/2018/09/23/my-zero-energy-retrofit-beats-my-401k/
Cool Effect, “Mr. Green’s Zero Carbon Home” https://www.cooleffect.org/content/news/green-testimonial?utm_source=Cool_Effect_CRM&utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=20180814Engage_Testimonial&utm_content=green_CTA
Green Energy Times, “My Zero Energy Pool is a Great Investment!” http://www.greenenergytimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/GET_May-2019.pdf
Published Presentations on Zero Carbon Zero Bills:
To see a 3-minute interview of David Green by NBC Boston anchor Joy Lim Nakrin, please click here:TV interview
To see a 20-minute TED talk at Harvard Business School, please click here: TED Talk
You can watch a recorded version of my Zero Carbon, Zero Bills webinar here: Zero Carbon, Zero Bills Webinar
Reviews of my “Zero Carbon, Zero Bills” webinar included, “Minute-for-minute, point-for-point, one of the best webinars I have ever attended. Thank you!”, “David is a true inspiration and asset to our community. He inspired us to get solar panels and a new front door”, “This is like a masterclass in ZeroCarbon”, “Thank you soooo much for the sensible advice and your fabulous resources!!” and, although this next comment is a little flowery, it does express the sentiment of many other comments, “Your contribution to Greening America is great and will probably help our survival as a species a bit longer than expected”.
Vehicle to Home and Vehicle to Grid.
Vehicle to Home and Vehicle to Grid.
V2H (vehicle-to-home) uses your EV to replace your back-up generator
V2G (vehicle-to-grid) uses your EV to reduce peaker-plant usage on the grid
•not useful in MA, because we have no (time of day) TOD electrical tariff (there should be!!). A TOD tariff is where the price of electricity is higher during periods of high demand (usually mid afternoons in summer when people use AC) and lower at night. CA has this type of tariff but MA does not.
V2H is already on Nissan Leaf (with charge station) and Ford F150 Lightening.
•It will be standard on Teslas in 2025, all GM EVs in 2026, Kia EV9 in 2024
•This could be accelerated by legislation requiring it, but a bill in CA recently failed
My Ford F-150 Lightening has 100kWh of storage (7x a Tesla Powerwall!), it has 4 x 110V outlets in the truck bed. These can run things like: circular saws, lights, refrigerator, microwave, espresso – awesome tailgating/movies! Plus 220V for V2H.
•It will run my house for 5 days (without the heat pumps), a Powerwall would run it for a day. The F150 Lightening could also charge my Tesla.
•The Ford F150 Lightening costs $75k less $7.5k FTC and $7.5k MA rebate = $60k. Regular Ford F150 is about $45k plus $62k for 7 Powerwalls(=100kWh) = $107k
•The Ford F150 Lightening is a huge battery on 4 wheels. It is also a very nice truck! It has been on order for 2 years. Don’t get a house battery or new generator – get V2H!
David Green – the “Green Guru”
The highly-acclaimed book “Zero Carbon Home”
How we cut our home’s carbon emissions to zero
How we cut our home’s utility bills to zero
Solar panels on the roof of our house
Our heat pumps
Fiberglass and ISO board insulation on the roof of our house
Triple-pane windows in our living room
Useful links:
The Easiest Way to Calculate Your Home’s Carbon Footprint:https://greenzerocarbonhome.com/2018/07/what-is-the-carbon-footprint-of-natural-gas-heating-oil-propane-and-coal/
Written Answers to over 300 Questions about Zero Carbon Homes:https://greenzerocarbonhome.com/webinar-questions-and-answers/
Finance and Net Zero Energy Terms explained: https://greenzerocarbonhome.com/energy-and-finance-terms-explained/
Zero Carbon Home Website Home Page: https://greenzerocarbonhome.com
Database of State Incentive for Renewable Energy (DSIRE) https://www.dsireusa.org
Published articles on Zero Carbon and Net Zero Energy:
Department of Energy, EnergySage, “Zero Carbon Home”https://www.energysage.com/project/7230/zero-carbon-home/
Zero Energy Project, “My Zero Energy Retrofit beats my 401k”https://zeroenergyproject.org/2018/09/23/my-zero-energy-retrofit-beats-my-401k/
Cool Effect, “Mr. Green’s Zero Carbon Home” https://www.cooleffect.org/content/news/green-testimonial?utm_source=Cool_Effect_CRM&utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=20180814Engage_Testimonial&utm_content=green_CTA
Green Energy Times, “My Zero Energy Pool is a Great Investment!” http://www.greenenergytimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/GET_May-2019.pdf
Published Presentations on Zero Carbon Zero Bills:
To see a 3-minute interview of David Green by NBC Boston anchor Joy Lim Nakrin, please click here:TV interview
To see a 20-minute TED talk at Harvard Business School, please click here: TED Talk
You can watch a recorded version of my Zero Carbon, Zero Bills webinar here: Zero Carbon, Zero Bills Webinar
Reviews of my “Zero Carbon, Zero Bills” webinar included, “Minute-for-minute, point-for-point, one of the best webinars I have ever attended. Thank you!”, “David is a true inspiration and asset to our community. He inspired us to get solar panels and a new front door”, “This is like a masterclass in ZeroCarbon”, “Thank you soooo much for the sensible advice and your fabulous resources!!” and, although this next comment is a little flowery, it does express the sentiment of many other comments, “Your contribution to Greening America is great and will probably help our survival as a species a bit longer than expected”.
Low E coatings on a door
Question:
We are installing a new wood and glass door — with the style of 15 panes of double glaze glass (sort of a traditional style door) — and, on top of that a new single-glaze storm door. The question is, which door is best to put Low E glass in? The outermost storm door, or the inner double-glaze wood door? This will be on the south side of the house. (and would it make any difference if the inner wood-glass door is 15 actual panes or simulated divided lites?)
The architect suggested we use Low E glass, as that side of the house is sunny, but he doesn’t know which door is best to put the Low E into. He thought the inner wood door might be the best place, as it has a tighter seal and is two layers of glass, but he doesn’t know for sure. I thought maybe the outermost door (the storm door) is the best place for Low E, so it deflects heat before it enters the few inches inward into the building envelope and heats up the space between the storm door and the multi-pane glass/wood door. But, I’m just guessing. Also, in summer, the top 1/2 of the storm door won’t have glass, but will have a screen, so Low E on the storm door would be only on the lower half of the door for about 1/2 of the year. (there will be a small overhanging roof, but only about 3 ft of overhang)
So, with that info, what might the science really suggest is the right place to put the Low E glass?
Answer: With a south facing door with a 3’ overhang you have about the optimal set up for gaining the maximum heat from the sun in winter (when the sun is low in the sky) and still preventing overheating in summer because the sun is high the the sky and the overhang shades the glass. In our house in these circumstances we used no lowE coating on the windows and patio doors. This allows a lot of sun into the house on sunny winter days which makes lovely places to warm up in the sun. We don’t have pets, but I have heard that pets love spaces like this to curl up in the warmth! So I suggest just clear glass, no lowE coating. This is for the outside. You still want the lowE i89 coating on the inside because this reflects heat (infra red light) back into the house keeping it much warmer in winter. The storm door will not add much insulation because air moves behind it. Storm doors protect the real door from wind and rain, they do not add much insulation. If it is possible to get the door with triple-pane panels that would be better. The insulation value of a glass door with simulated divided lites will be higher than that of door with real wood strips dividing 15 smaller panes of glass because even a plain double glazed window is about R2 whereas wood is about R1 per inch and the depth of the wood is about an inch, hence the wood is the most thermally leaky part of the door.
I hope this helps!
David Green – the “Green Guru”
The highly-acclaimed book “Zero Carbon Home”
How we cut our home’s carbon emissions to zero
How we cut our home’s utility bills to zero
Solar panels on the roof of our house
Our heat pumps
Fiberglass and ISO board insulation on the roof of our house
Triple-pane windows in our living room
Useful links:
The Easiest Way to Calculate Your Home’s Carbon Footprint:https://greenzerocarbonhome.com/2018/07/what-is-the-carbon-footprint-of-natural-gas-heating-oil-propane-and-coal/
Written Answers to over 300 Questions about Zero Carbon Homes:https://greenzerocarbonhome.com/webinar-questions-and-answers/
Finance and Net Zero Energy Terms explained: https://greenzerocarbonhome.com/energy-and-finance-terms-explained/
Zero Carbon Home Website Home Page: https://greenzerocarbonhome.com
Database of State Incentive for Renewable Energy (DSIRE) https://www.dsireusa.org
Published articles on Zero Carbon and Net Zero Energy:
Department of Energy, EnergySage, “Zero Carbon Home”https://www.energysage.com/project/7230/zero-carbon-home/
Zero Energy Project, “My Zero Energy Retrofit beats my 401k”https://zeroenergyproject.org/2018/09/23/my-zero-energy-retrofit-beats-my-401k/
Cool Effect, “Mr. Green’s Zero Carbon Home” https://www.cooleffect.org/content/news/green-testimonial?utm_source=Cool_Effect_CRM&utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=20180814Engage_Testimonial&utm_content=green_CTA
Green Energy Times, “My Zero Energy Pool is a Great Investment!” http://www.greenenergytimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/GET_May-2019.pdf
Published Presentations on Zero Carbon Zero Bills:
To see a 3-minute interview of David Green by NBC Boston anchor Joy Lim Nakrin, please click here:TV interview
To see a 20-minute TED talk at Harvard Business School, please click here: TED Talk
You can watch a recorded version of my Zero Carbon, Zero Bills webinar here: Zero Carbon, Zero Bills Webinar
Reviews of my “Zero Carbon, Zero Bills” webinar included, “Minute-for-minute, point-for-point, one of the best webinars I have ever attended. Thank you!”, “David is a true inspiration and asset to our community. He inspired us to get solar panels and a new front door”, “This is like a masterclass in ZeroCarbon”, “Thank you soooo much for the sensible advice and your fabulous resources!!” and, although this next comment is a little flowery, it does express the sentiment of many other comments, “Your contribution to Greening America is great and will probably help our survival as a species a bit longer than expected”.