Renewable energy is on the upswing in Connecticut and across the nation, becoming a reliable and cost-effective energy source for industry. Wind and solar expected to be the greatest growth industries this decade, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Corporations like Walmart, IKEA, Apple and Google are already tapped into the solar energy generation.
With this, the residential market for solar - in cooperation with grid-power companies - is growing exponentially, as well. Across Greenwich, solar systems are beginning to supplement or substitute traditional fossil-fuel forms of residential power, such as natural gas and oil.
At the start of 2020, Smart Energy International predicted that solar power in the USA will show 20% growth this year, with California, Texas, Florida, North Carolina and New York leading the charge.
Architect Richard Granoff is credited with designing the five-bedroom, 6,725-square-foot shingle-style colonial at 9 Witherell Drive in Greenwich’s Rock Ridge Association - a home that is definitively high tech and partially powered by harnessing the sun. Edward Mortimer of Sotheby’s International Realty is the listing Realtor for the luxury-market property, currently on the market for $4.295 million.
To keep the grounds lush and sated, a 20-zone irrigation system is digitally controlled. Granoff Architects is credited for the landscaping - sculpted with specimen trees, shrubs and perennial plantings, including redwoods, weeping cherries, ginkgos, magnolias, Japanese maples, dogwoods, beech trees and more.
Solar partially powers the house through a five-kilowatt 12-panel Photovoltaic system, generating approximately 30% of the electricity for the home, according to the homeowner. The power that is generated is used immediately, ff there is no demand, then the electricity goes back into the grid, and the owner receives a credit on their bill. Thus, helping lower the home’s carbon footprint
Complementing the solar energy system, there’s also five-zone propane heating with Nest thermostats, as well as a whole-house backup Generac generator.
Outside the home, there’s “resort-style exterior landscaping lighting,” according to Mortimer. Strategically placed, the lights illuminate most of the yard, pool, terraces and walkways.