Ready for the Next 100 Years
Steve and Beth Billings combined
solar panels with an array of other
energy-saving strategies to make their
100-year-old house the most energy
efficient it’s ever been.
“We’d like to leave this house
better than we found it and more
compatible with where the world is
going with renewable energy,”
Beth says.
Solar panels are just one way
they’ve made their house more
sustainable since moving to Shaker in
2007. Their first project was hatched
shortly after they opened their first
winter heating bill.
“I’d never seen one with four
digits,” says Beth. “We were horrified
because the house wasn’t even that
warm.” So they had insulation installed
in the attic, fixed some existing storm
windows and added others. They later
added radiant heat in the kitchen and
a heat pump system. Electric heat
pumps are a popular option in Shaker
Heights homes for air conditioning, but
many models can also produce heat.
While in the winter the Billings’
home relies on its natural gas boiler,
Steve explains they use the heat pump
as “a secondary source of heat for in
between seasons, so we don’t have to
turn the boiler on so early.”
These efficiencies have enabled
the Billings to reduce the amount of
energy needed to heat their home
and transition a portion of their
heating to electricity. Between their
solar panels, which produce about
60 percent of their electricity, and
opting in to a 100 percent renewable
power supplier, their energy demands
– including for their electric car – are
renewably produced.
“A big part of the motivation for solar panels was to try to reduce
our carbon footprint,” Steve says. “Cutting back on the electric bill was a
secondary motivation.”
Andy Hay, vice president of Solar Is Freedom, the Cincinnati-based solar
installer that worked on the Billings’ home, also cites the added value that solar
brings to the house and the ability to take control of your energy future: The price
is locked in for the life of the system.
“Our experience was very positive,” Beth and Steve agree. “The installation
was done in three days, and it was all outdoors. There was very little effort on our
part or really any inconvenience.”
Solar panels are just one of the
components of Steve and Beth
Billings’ energy-saving strategy.
Photo: Jason Miller
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