Todd and Pam Hubbard are among the early adopters of sustainability that have helped drive the robust market that we now enjoy. In 2011, they built a home in Iowa City’s Shimek neighborhood with many features that were not yet commonly available – solar panels, geothermal heating and cooling, heat recovery ventilation, and LED light bulbs. While early adopters assume risks and reap rewards, we all benefit from their experience. Frank Durham, JCED board member, interviewed Todd recently about decisions that informed the house that the Hubbards built.
- Can you describe your house for our readers please?
Our 2,500 square-foot house was begun in July 2011. We moved into it during March 2012. It is a single-story home with a fully finished basement. The long-term plan was (and is) to “age-out” in the house.
- What clean energy features does your house feature?
The overarching philosophy was limiting impact and reducing long term energy demands, all within a defined budget. (Of course, our aspirations exceeded our budget!) The primary components that were less conventionally incorporated into standard homes at the time include:
- a 3.8 KW PV solar system
- a 4-ton geothermal unit for heating and cooling
- dual zoning for the upstairs and the finished basement
- a heat recovery ventilation (HRV) system that essentially extracts heat from exhausted air and warms incoming air using that extracted heat during the winter
- foam insulation. Our intention was to use closed cell throughout the house, but, due to a miscommunication, we received closed cell in the basement and open cell in the first level.
- LED lights These days that doesn’t seem like an innovation, but when we had the house built, we had it wired with step-down amperage to accommodate LED lighting. Within two years (by 2014), you could get LED bulbs that worked in conventionally wired homes at any big box store. That effort to outpace the market reflects a well-intentioned choice, but it turned out to be wasted money in the end. Sometimes being an early adopter of clean energy can produce missteps.
- How did you become such an early adopter of clean and sustainable energy?
We have long attempted to live as sustainably as possible in any component of our lives that we could consciously control. It was only natural to think about these issues when deciding to build a home that met overarching principles of semi-sustainability.
We had been looking for a property that would allow us to walk to town and have a reasonable parcel to grow food and native flora. We were fortunate to find a piece of land (~1.5 acres) in 2010 and purchased it.
- What, if we may ask, are your electricity bills like during the winter months? And during the summer months?
Our average monthly bill, based on the actual data from MidAmerican Energy, was below $60 for 2020-2022, $70 in 2023, $79 in 2024. (This includes the ~$10/month connection fee that all recipients pay). Winter is definitely more expensive than summer for two primary reasons: First, our solar offset is reduced by cloudy and less direct solar radiation during winter months and, second, geothermal units demand more energy to heat than cool. The loops come back from the field at ~55 F, so cooling is cheap and efficient.) Regardless, we’ve very rarely had power bills exceeding $100. (The record was $125). It’s intuitive, but our gas bills are very low (always less than $20, including connection fee), because we only use gas for stovetop cooking.
- Which contractors did you work with to install your clean energy system?
In 2011 there weren’t a lot of options for solar contractors locally, so I had a few connections from being a member of I-Renew (Iowa Renewable Energy Association). We ended up hiring Dennis Pottratz, out of Decorah, Iowa. He was one of the few listed for that type of work and had done the initial system on Luther College’s campus. For electrical and HVAC work, we were able to use conventional companies that were local, and they worked with Dennis to address code requirements and other wiring issues.
- What kinds of financial incentives were you able to take advantage of?
In 2011 when the system was finished, there were only federal rebates and incentives. Iowa began offering rebates in 2012 that reflected a percentage of the federal rebates. The federal rebates were 30 percent for both the PV solar and the geothermal unit. Given the new Trump administration’s rush to undo such programs, we will have to see how they shake out.
- Can you think of other points that JCED’s readers would benefit from learning from your experience?
I’m all for renewable options, especially on new construction, but maximizing your economic return on low hanging fruit is a sure win. For instance, a tight home, efficient appliances, and high awareness of energy usage go a long way to helping reduce one’s energy footprint.
Ultimately, I think the whole experience further enhanced the way I conduct my life when thinking about my personal impacts. The very nature of going through a process like this can’t help but make one think of the linkage between behavior and resource usage.
Finally, I know there has been lots of progress in technology and approaches to building, and the like since we went through this process, and I have certainly fallen behind on current practices. There is still so much to learn!
JCED thanks Todd and Pam Hubbard for sharing their knowledge and environmentally focused approach to life with our clean energy community.