DC Residents Go Green
District residents going green despite urban, monetary challenges
by Chris Snyder
American University Interactive Journalism Program
Fall 2007
Photo by Chris Snyder
GBO Construction founder Chris VanArsdale
explains the process of net metering.
WASHINGTON, D.C.–Chris VanArsdale’s Kalorama townhouse would make Al Gore proud.
From the photovoltaic panels on the roof to the centrifuge for drying clothes and the salvaged ash flooring in the kitchen, his home is as earth friendly as you will find in the city. Although he estimates that total number of solar homes in the D.C. area is still quite low, VanArsdale is optimistic about the trend’s success- and with good reason.
He is the founder of Green Building Options (GBO) Construction specializing in local environmentally-sensitive designs.
“The market is growing, it’s certainly not mainstream yet but it’s going in that direction,” he said.
Photo by Chris Snyder
VanArsdale discusses cheap
ways to save on energy.
This is his third year in which he has participated in Metro Washington D.C. Tour of Solar Homes, along with about seven other buildings including a green middle school and one of the first green-roofed garages in the city.
He says the technology has lowered gas bills, and he has seen about a 90 percent improvement in energy usage. But remodeling your home to be green-friendly can get pricey, with the more efficient solar arrays totaling as much as 30 or 40 thousand dollars according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory .
Cheaper methods, such as passive solar techniques that capture sunlight through window positioning are more difficult in a metropolitan area, such as Washington D.C.
“This is a 100 year-old row house, so we had no choice in terms of solar orientation,” he said.
VanArsdale moved into the home seven years ago, and didn’t begin renovations until five years later.
It isn’t just the old buildings that can be problematic; it is the laws as well. He says he has set up a system to flush the toilets in his home with collected rainwater, but isn’t legally able to turn on the switch.
Photo by Chris Snyder
Sidwell Friends Middle
School uses a constructed wetland
to recycle wastewater.
“The D.C. code is still a little bit antiquated with respect to rainwater use inside homes,” VanArsdale said.
Sidwell Friends Middle School, situated off Wisconsin Avenue isn’t as restricted. A constructed wetland treats wastewater and recycles it back into the buildings which they can use in flushing toilets and cooling systems.
Solar tour guide Madeline Stewart says that this water is theoretically safe enough to drink, but D.C. health codes forbid it.
The principal of the school, Sally Selby says they have just put finishing touches on the wetland which is the first in Washington D.C. The year old green building also includes solar panels, a green roof, and is constructed almost entirely out of recycled and renewable resources. The school is the first LEED Platinum-rated K-12 school in the world and the first Platinum building in Washington, D.C.
These innovators are facing some roadblocks of their own.
“We were having some technical problems. This is new technology in terms of the wetland itself…The liner wasn’t thick enough so we were losing water. It was leaking out into the ground,” Selby said.
Stewart also says that the efficiency of the solar panels isn’t ideal. She says renovating the building to be LEED Platinum cost 15 percent more than a normal building, but is an educational investment.
Chevy Chase resident Steve Seelig is just getting started with his solar home. Three years ago he built a green roof, motivated in part by scarcity of land. He says this was a gateway into a greener lifestyle.
“I’m embarrassed to say we did it mostly at first for aesthetic reasons, simply because we wanted to have a garage on our fairly limited lot space, and we would be overlooking that from our sink area and from our kitchen area.”
Seelig’s only problem so far has been with getting approved for funding from the city to help install solar panels. He says he will try again next year and hopes that the city has enough money the next time around for everyone that applies.
From the looks of the stead stream of visitors participating in this year’s solar tour, he could be facing some pretty tough competition.
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