after a few weeks out of the midwest to escape the winter cold, we come back to see what progress Alex has made.... a team meeting today brought a few decisions:
- selected Winter Turbine from 3 options Windterra, Swift and Urban Green Energy - although Swift was a European designed product being manufactured in Michigan, we liked the vertical design of the Windterra a bit better.. and it was a bit less expensive... $11,000 versus $12,300 before the $3,000 tax rebate. The Urban Green Energy wind turbine was just released and so not much practical use in the field plus it is manufactured out of NY which compared less favorably for us. All of them provided over 1.KW of capacity at peak which was about all we could afford... the larger turbines go up in the $20K range... believe it or not it says these things get rolling up to 90 m.p.h!!! this price includes installation, the controller/inverter and a mounting bracket for the roof. We have upgraded the electrical system to allow for a bi-directional utility meter and will be wiring for potential solar panels as well.
- we finalized our siding/trim, considered a generator ($6500) which we will prepare for but not install initially, and debated the different roof options, basically TPO vs PVC, and had a hard time coming to a decision... the PVC production process is notoriously maligned but the product is actually pretty green as it is made of natural gas and rock salt. Research can be found favoring both products as the "green" choice... a bit more Alex research is needed.... lets decide this week!
- selected Winter Turbine from 3 options Windterra, Swift and Urban Green Energy - although Swift was a European designed product being manufactured in Michigan, we liked the vertical design of the Windterra a bit better.. and it was a bit less expensive... $11,000 versus $12,300 before the $3,000 tax rebate. The Urban Green Energy wind turbine was just released and so not much practical use in the field plus it is manufactured out of NY which compared less favorably for us. All of them provided over 1.KW of capacity at peak which was about all we could afford... the larger turbines go up in the $20K range... believe it or not it says these things get rolling up to 90 m.p.h!!! this price includes installation, the controller/inverter and a mounting bracket for the roof. We have upgraded the electrical system to allow for a bi-directional utility meter and will be wiring for potential solar panels as well.
- we finalized our siding/trim, considered a generator ($6500) which we will prepare for but not install initially, and debated the different roof options, basically TPO vs PVC, and had a hard time coming to a decision... the PVC production process is notoriously maligned but the product is actually pretty green as it is made of natural gas and rock salt. Research can be found favoring both products as the "green" choice... a bit more Alex research is needed.... lets decide this week!
- we met with an arborist and Gunner Piotter, Landscape Architect, to discuss the large property... we will be removing much of the dead or almost dead trees including a couple that have been struck by lighting and could topple onto the house at another storm. We are trimming some on the bluff to open up the lake and sunset views but leaving all other mature healthy trees . We are adding quite a few white pines, the official tree of Michigan(!!), and the rest of the landscaping will be indigenous grasses which require no watering.... the 3 rain chains in our new plan will provide for some nice rain garden's along the front and side of the house which will eliminate all need for irrigation.
It was a treat to see the whole space framed out in FSC lumber (which cost a bit more).. we could really get a sense of the new space!
A visit to Community Home Supply "Green Week" Sale will finalize all the plumbing fixtures....
I was too damn cold to run back to the car to grab my camera so I took one crappy shot above with my phone... Help....Natasha!!!!!
