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Extreme Green Makeover

The ABC television show "Extreme Makeover Home Edition" ends its season this Sunday night with a green twist: the rebuilt house will include both photovoltaic and wind power systems.

PV Powered of Bend, Oregon, along with Sun Power Corporation (CA), Perfect Power (AZ), Unirac (NM) and The Good Power Company (AZ) were chosen to coordinate, design and install a state-of-the-art, 2kW PV generation system for the deserving family's new home. The system uses a combination of the highest efficiency inverter (PV Powered) and modules (Sun Power) available today.

As an added bonus, Southwest Windpower installed a 1kW wind turbine to augment the home's PV system. With an abundance of sunshine and wind available in Flagstaff, the home will receive 65-75% of its energy needs through clean, green renewable sources, and the Piestewa Family will see a significant decrease in energy costs. The addition of a grid-connected wind power system made this the first hybrid PV/wind system installed in the state.

As interesting as this is -- and it's certainly a good thing to have renewable power sources play such a prominent role in a relatively popular home show -- it doesn't look like it will be the WorldChanging Home Makeover. Renewable energy is good, but there's a lot more to a green home than solar panels and wind turbines. But it's yet another early warning sign of a cultural shift; don't be surprised to see "Sustainable House," "Green My Ride" and "America's Top Ecoactivist" on the Fall schedule in a year or two...

(Via Sustainablog)

Comments (7)

Patrick Di Justo:

I've said it before and I'll say it again: environmentalism, as a subset of the mainstream, is dead.

Environmentalism now IS the mainstream.

When EVERY home makeover programme includes solar panels etc. then I will beleive it.

When people aren't wasting their time watching idiotic television shows, I'll believe it.

mp:

Also in Canada,

http://www.codegreen.tv/

Jamais Cascio:

Thanks for that, mp!

"Environmentalism now IS the mainstream."

I'm not quite sure it is yet, but it's coming.  I suppose I'm an example; I grew up with Earth Day, and I'm an engineer.  I spend my time debunking erroneous or just plain clueless arguments against various environmental or energy-saving technologies.

I couldn't care less for Gaia-worship, but for some reason waste offends me.  Maybe it's due to my frugal German heritage. ;-)

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