Work was just being completed last summer on the giant solar electric array on a hillside below Steve Rizzone’s new house in Newport Beach, Calif. The system, made of 168 panels covering 3,000 square feet, is designed to provide all the power for the home, but some neighbors complain that it’s an eyesore in the waterfront community.
“We had a hillside with an ideal solar angle, and I wanted to take
advantage of it,” Rizzone says. Rizzone, Tony Valentine Construction of Corona del Mar, Calif., and
the architect, Marcelo Lische of Laguna Beach, Calif., worked on the project for five years. The home is rated LEED Platinum. Rizzone says he wanted it to be one of the greenest custom homes in the United States.
While it’s hard to downplay the contribution of solar, building en-
velope and energy management systems also play important roles in making the house super green. For instance: Steel framing is covered with an exterior insulation system. An Apple-based Savant home automation control system manages lighting and air conditioning. Those demands are low, thanks to a nine-zone HVAC system and LED lights. The controls also move shades across windows, based on the time of day and movement of the sun. But not everyone is enthusiastic about 3,000 square feet of glass and metal covering a very visible hillside in a community of multi- million homes. Local media have interviewed several neighbors who call the array an eyesore. California’s tough solar access law prevents projects from being
stopped, based on aesthetics. And Rizzone is planting trees and shrubs to soften the impact. Rizzone says it will take time for people to un- derstand and appreciate the nation’s dire need for alternative energy sources. “We aren’t trying to send a message,” he says. “It’s just what we
believe in.” That may be true, but the take-home message for custom builders
and designers is to make solar energy fit in with their projects, and not the other way around. GB
www.greenbuildermag.com October 2010 GreenBuilder 29
Photo courtesy Premier Power Renewable Energy
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