Pilot Homes

The Browns wanted to switch to clean energy for years, but affordability of the retrofit was a barrier for them. They felt they could be strong ambassadors for HomeZero as they have much in common with many families in the community (and beyond) and were very interested in the community engagement aspects of this initiative. This is their forever home and were thrilled at the opportunity to retrofit it to reduce their footprint, with the support of this program.

•  Cold climate air source heat pump while using the existing furnace as a backup

•  Hybrid electric hot water tank

•  Solar photovoltaic system to power all appliances and new heating equipment

•  Level 2 EV charging outlet

•  Energy monitoring system

This residence has clay tiles installed on their roof. These are harder to work with for solar installation as the tiles are brittle and can break. SkyFire Energy, a company that has experience installing on clay tiles took on the job and completed it flawlessly. The Browns also have a hot tub which takes up quite a bit of electrical panel capacity. The HomeZero team used historic load calculations to estimate actual loads and installed all equipment without requiring a service upgrade – a major accomplishment that reduces impact on our electrical grid.