Capital Solar Condos
21 03 2008Following in Mount Pleasents lead for solar powered homes in the District, is a development calling itself Capital Solar Condos. The building is a renovated row home that’s only 2 blocks from the Columbia Heights Metro, so the owners can really have a small carbon footprint.
The builders website does an interesting calculation to show that the home owner would save on average almost $5,300 a year from all the energy saving features. We are a little sceptical of the calculation, but are all for living sustainably.
The homes obviously come at a premium since it is being billed as a solar home, the prices go up to $650,000 for the three bed room.
The thing though about this house is that most of the “energy efficient highlights” are just things any home owner can go down to the Home Depot and buy them-self. Energy Star appliances, window treatments, low flow showerheads… these are all relatively inexpensive ways to reduce energy use and reduce your homes environmental impact. Also many area developments already feature almost all these technologies and don’t go around promoting the green angle.
So what do you guys think, worth the price, or are they relying on green technologies that are already fairly prevalent and not that big of a deal? Is Environmental Green being hijacked for $$$$ Green?
I agree the calculations on their site seem to be exaggerated, but solar panels do make a big difference as does the tankless water heaters!
I say it’s half good intentions, half hype!
[…] will be giving a green makeover to the Wheeler Terrace Apartments in Southeast. This project joins other initiatives around town that aim to incorporate green principles into existing buildings while having a minimal impact on […]
[…] the great reasons the condo board there is so proactive when it comes to energy efficiency. Also Capitol Solar Homes recently enetered the market with their effort at showing how existing DC homes can go green in the […]
It is an interesting attempt at going green but certainly has placed a premium on the delivery of it. It ultimately comes down to knowing your market and target audience of which they may have not fully researched along the way. One of the approaches which appears to be gaining momentum around the country in developing with an eye towards sustainably is through social networks or crowdsourcing. Several efforts are taking hold one being in DC and another in Seattle.