Man rebuilds home lost to tornado with solar

Russ Bressette has rebuilt his Monson, Mass., home with energy-efficient materials and 20 solar photovoltaic panels on his roof after a tornado swept it away last summer.

“All this house is going to cost me is a tank of oil a year,” Bressette said. “That’s it. Can you imagine?”

Bassette was always pretty energy conscious. He bought solar hot water heaters in the 1970s, which supplied all the hot water his family with two daughters needed. Nine years ago he added 12 rooftop solar panels.

But 2011 was a rough year for Bassette. He lost his wife and a few months later his house blew away.

Starting fresh, Bressette decided to rebuild with the ideal house.

“I really think this house is the way of the future,” he said.

It faces south to take advantage of passive solar heating and cooling. It’s so tightly insulated that Bressette is installing a special air exchange vent, and the 20 solar panels on his roof, installed by Real Goods Solar, will more than cover all of his electrical costs.

Bressette’s original nine rooftop panels were not covered under his homeowners insurance. But he’s gotten some assistance from Massachusetts’ state rebate for solar. The extra $5,000 made a big difference in affordability. He also got help from a $1-per-watt disaster relief rebate from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center.

He’s confident that all of the energy efficiency and clean energy upgrades he included in his rebuilt home will add tremendous value.

“After seven years, I’ll be taking money out of one pocket and putting it in the other one,” he said.

That’s how long he estimates it will take for all of the upgrades he added to pay for themselves.

“And when I go to sell this house, if someone hears it only costs them a tank of oil a year to live here, that’s going to make it more valuable,” Bressette said.

Bressette is hosting an open house this weekend to show his neighbors his amazingly efficient home. He’s a strong advocate for building all homes as intelligently as his rebuilt house is.

“I’ve always been a person that liked to save myself some money,” he said.