Home Control System makes Saving Easy

By September 9, 2011 news_and_media No Comments

Sep 08, 2011 By Steven Castle/Electronic House

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http://hdliving.com/green-technology/2011/09/08/home-control-system-saving-easy

Being green and energy-efficient is often considered a mindset. The mantras of reduce, re-use, and recycle are repeated ad-nauseum. But one doesn’t need to adopt a minimalist mindset to be green and energy-efficient. In fact, Steve and Mashid Rizzone were of the mind that their new home, six years in the works, would be both green and energy efficient—and their contemporary California spread is as far from minimalist as you can get.

The nearly 12,000-square-foot Newport Beach compound encompasses three levels, with two kitchens, nine baths, a four-car garage, a gym, a state-of-the-art 14-seat home theater, 16 TVs, an infinity-edge pool, outdoor cooking area, motorized and movable glass walls, nine zones of heating and cooling, 17 zones of audio and video, an indoor waterfall, 11 closed-circuit security cameras, five biometric (fingerprint) access points, and nearly four miles of cabling. Oh, and there are views of the harbor to kill for.

So … um … how do you make all of that green and energy-efficient? Start with 3,000 square feet of solar panels mounted on a hillside to provide the home’s electricity. Add hundreds of super-energy efficient and long-lasting LED (light emitting diode) lamps throughout the house. Stir in ample helpings of an easy-to-use Savant home control system that operates nearly everything. And mix with generous portions of green building features, including a structural steel framework, recycled steel studs, concrete walls that help warm and cool the home, blown-in cellulose insulation, Energy Star-rated appliances and a rainwater harvesting system for landscape irrigation.

“This house has been a labor of love,” says Steve Rizzone. “We started about six years ago. We bought the property and decided that we wanted to build an energy-efficient house and be specific in terms of construction materials. In the interim we had two children, and we felt it was important to send a message to the kids. This was capped by what has happened in the last two years with energy and the cost of it, and what’s happening with the planet.”

The homeowners have applied for the highest level of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for Homes certification. The LEED system typically won’t certify a home that’s as large as theirs, but the Rizzones are not easily deterred. They’re still going for Platinum-level certification.

Click here to view the full article

http://hdliving.com/green-technology/2011/09/08/home-control-system-saving-easy

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