Forbes recently published an article that should have homeowners, architects, and environmental activists all sitting up and taking notice. The article detailed the unveiling of the new “Zero Home,” a working smart house that actually utilizes alternative energy sources and efficient design to generate more energy than it uses. The home is three stories tall, covered in solar panels, and makes use of the most cutting-edge home automation innovations to help it cut down on wasted energy. The house is the brainchild of the home automation company Vivint. Since the time of its inception, Vivint has been working towards developing new, eco-friendly designs at reduced cost. The Zero Home is something of a landmark for them; not only does it produce all of it’s own energy, but it doesn’t cost much more than the conventional homes that surround it.
Vivint CEO Todd Pedersen is certainly excited about this development. “There shouldn’t be any new homes not built this way,” the article quotes him as saying, “Why not take advantage of current technology that provide ease of use, cost savings and change consumer habits? Why not have houses built like this?”
It’s a fair question. Certainly the technology now exists for homes anywhere in the world (even in the middle of the Utah desert) to be able to exist outside of the electric power grid and still retain all of the amenities of a modern smart home. So, what else might be stopping other home builders from following suit?
Solar power is an effectively free energy source. It shines down on almost the entire landmass of the earth pretty much every day. Even more impressively, it will continue to do so for at least another six billion years, making it a fairly dependable source of power. The only downside to solar power is that the paneling tends to be fairly expensive, due to high production costs and low availability. However, if the information about the Zero Home is accurate, cost isn’t really an issue either.
So what else could it be that is preventing the home-building industry from embracing this new innovation? The answer, I suppose, is caution.
Established industries are often afraid of risking what they have in favor of something new, and zero-energy smart homes are definitely new. Although the technology seems sound, and the designs are top notch, there remains the possibility that some unforeseen complication, some unanticipated defect, will reveal the Zero Home as just another impossible dream. Given the current state of the housing market, one can hardly blame them for being wary. No, rather than take the chance, home builders will continue to do things the same way that they have for decades, leaving the issue of energy neutral homes for another time.
Still, it’s nice to know that there are some who are willing to take the chance in the name of progress. If more people decide to follow Vivint’s lead and make energy reduction a top priority, then perhaps in a few short years we’ll be able to reduce our dependence upon harmful power plants and electrical grids. When that happens, it will be nice to know that—when it comes to helping the environment—a few inspired people (or even one inspired company) can actually make a difference.