Trilogy Partners is pleased to report the completion of the first net-zero energy home in Breckenridge.

Designed and built under the direct supervision of Trilogy Partners, the home is located in the prestigious Timber Trails neighborhood where it enjoys ski in and out access to the Breckenridge ski area. The home uses advanced insulating technologies, geothermal wells, photovoltaic panels, and advanced energy management systems to obtain its Zero-Net designation. In the winter months the home relies on geothermal technology for heating and draws power from the local electrical grid as needed. During the summer the home utilizes geothermal for cooling and delivers unused electricity generated by the solar panels back to the grid, effectively causing the electric meter to run “backward.” This is the first of hopefully many Breckenridge homes to utilize fully sustainable energy conservation and generation technologies.

Stay tuned as we plan more articles to cover the technologies and techniques that went into making this home not only beautiful, but an energy marvel. We’ll focus on construction technologies, geothermal, solar panels, and energy management systems.

The most debated tax bill that was set to expire on December 31^st of this year has just received a reprieve from President Obama and Congress. This bill will also give an extension to the green energy credits providing a boost to the wind and solar industries as well as for those who choose to take public transit.

President Obama Signing the Tax Bill. Courtesy of Inhabitat

Denise Bode, the head of the American Wind Energy Association, told the New York Times that it was “a great holiday present for the 85,000 American workers in the wind energy industry, tens of thousands of whom will now be able to get back to work.’’

What do you think of the extension?