Making Our Brooklyn Brownstone an Energy-Efficient Home (Part 1)
Brooklyn interior designers are all about the latest trends, but it’s also important to consider our impact on the world: how do we raise the bar not only for visual aesthetics but to create more energy-efficient homes and green, sustainable housing that helps improve the environment and compete with the best interior designers in New York and around the world?
Green housing and energy-saving have always been one of our prioritized design concerns for us and we’re so excited to be making our very own brownstone in BedStuy an energy-efficient home! The best part of being a brownstone interior designer (who lives in his own brownstone) is modeling what I want our clients to do as well. I’ve been wanting to do this for years but giving the brownstone facade a facelift—repointing of brick, and replacement of cast iron handrail and balusters—came first. Now that we restored the 19th-century details, it was time to add some 21st-century amenities.
When solar power was first invented over 30 years ago, the concept of residential solar heating was also proposed. But because of the lack of governmental support and high costs, the concept never quite hit its stride. Nevertheless, I have wanted solar since I was little because it just seemed like such a great way to conserve energy and I remember our little experiments in school with some silly rotor propeller. In my own head, I persuaded my parents to get a solar hot water heater. Now I have the chance to make this happen because of Brooklyn Solarworks, a solar energy company dedicated to making solar appealing, easy, and available for Brooklyn homeowners!
Modern advances have allowed technology to catch up and now many people are turning to solar energy as a viable way to salt away money at virtually no cost. Now instead of sending your hard-earned money off down the wire to buy your electricity from a large utility company, you can now keep those dollars for yourself by taking advantage of the great deal you get from your own solar panels!
Even better than saving money is the fact that when you generate your own electricity using solar panels, you’re helping the environment by preventing pollution by fossil fuels or nuclear sources of energy and reducing greenhouse gasses that end up in our atmosphere. So now, to be able to generate nearly 97–100% of the energy for 3 out of 4 apartments in our building is truly awesome. Moreover, every year, we’re saving the carbon dioxide load equivalent to 10,000-12,000 car miles, saving money as well!