When solar panels were installed on the Westport Fire Department headquarters roof, it was one of the first such projects for any Connecticut municipality.
There are solar panels at the Westport train station too.
And on many homes in town — including John Rountree’s.
But the architect, and longtime solar power advocate, wishes there were more.
John Rountree
Rountree is no Johnny-come-lately to the benefits of converting the sun’s energy into electricity. He was studying architecture at Syracuse University when President Carter installed solar panels on the White House roof. (president Reagan removed them a few years later.)
Rountree incorporated solar into his own work, first with Valus & Carpenter and then at his own firm. For several years he also ran a solar consulting business.
The other day, he sat in his sunny home office, on Compo Road South. Rountree and his wife Cheryl have lived — and raised their 2 now-adult children — there since 1997.
They’ve done plenty of work on what was once a dilapidated 1910 home. Solar panels on it, and a nearby free-standing garage, are important (and money-saving) parts of their lives.
His house is not Net-Zero. (The term refers to super-efficient design and construction that can generate up to 100% of the energy it consumes, through renewable energy systems. With thick walls, high levels of insulation, high-performance windows, meticulous air sealing, balanced ventilation, well-functioning electric heat pumps and photovoltaic panels, they are quiet, well-ventilated, and extremely comfortable.)
But in 2015 he was hired to design a Net-Zero house on North Avenue, near Staples High School. The electric bill for the 7,000-square foot home is just $40 a month.
The owners don’t hear any traffic. And the air quality is “exceptional.”
Net-zero, on North Avenue. (Photo/Videler Photography)
Rountree is an advocate for anything that increases energy efficiency, and helps reduce carbon footprints.
More and more, he says, that’s what clients ask for.
Such design — whether new construction or part of a renovation — is more costly, by about 8-10%. However, he energy savings pay for themselves in just a few years.
The challenge is that not many contractors know how to build like that.
Nor do they want to.
“I don’t want to badmouth them,” Rountree says. “But adding 10% to the cost of a spec house can be a hard sell. So it really has to be a custom job, for a specific client willing to pay for it.”
Still, he says, “when you explain the benefits, why wouldn’t you build that way?” (The federal government offers tax credits for Net-Zero construction too, as well as up to 30% for solar panels. There are also state credits for energy efficiency.)
Solar panels are not just for homes. This is a rendering Roundtree made for Westport fire headquarters. The actual view today looks very similar.
These days, much of Rountree’s work involves renovations. “It’s hard with walls that are just 2x4s,” he says. “It’s a little easier if you take the siding off to add windows; then you can add insulation. Sometimes you do the best you can, with what you’re given.”
Solar panels are less difficult to install (and explain). All that’s needed is southern exposure, and few overhanging trees. (Rountree cringes when he sees panels on northern exposure, or hidden by branches.)
As he gives a tour of his own sustainably designed home — showing and describing his roof panels with its heat-recovery system, his European wood-burning stove with a built-in bake oven, and the array of batteries and pumps in the basement — Rountree is content.
John Rountree has added solar panels to his house, and a nearby garage.
He’s doing what he can, personally and professionally, for the environment, and the planet.
He’s raising awareness, so others can do the same.
On this chilly early spring day, his home is brightly lit.
And very, very warm.
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