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Al Gore Gets A Solar Roof

by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 06.12.07
Science & Technology (alternative energy)

solar-roof-at-al-gore-home.jpg

Al Gore's home, which has been undergoing renovations for months, now boasts a solar roof. When his neighborhood in Tennessee changed zoning laws earlier this year, Gore was able to go ahead with the solar panel installation. You can read about the details of the battle to get the solar panels installed here. Gore is now preparing to install a geothermal system that will drastically reduce the cost of heating in his home. Other renovations on the house are aimed at meeting the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council. He is upgrading windows and ductwork, installing more energy-efficient light bulbs and creating a rainwater collection system for irrigation and water management. :: Via: Truth & Progress

Comments (25)

I see he is starting to practice what he preaches.

jump to top Brian says:

That's good to hear. The conservative meme about his house being less efficient than George W. Bush's ranch was making him lose face. Of course, one needs to consider that Al Gore's house also serves as the headquarters for a lot of his ventures in business, activism, and politics. It'd be interesting to see how Bush's ranch house compares to Gore's home once all the renovations are finished.

Of course, what really counts is the environmental policies the government makes. One house is nothing compared to what Bush has done to the environment.

BTW, I heard that Al Gore helped design Bush's ranch. Is there any truth to that rumor?

jump to top Tim says:

where can i get residential solar panels?

jump to top Anonymous says:

Get it from Home Depot. No, really!

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ContentView?storeId=10051&jspStoreDir=hdus&pn=SV_HS_Solar_Power_Systems&catalogId=10053&langId=-1

jump to top SolarMan says:

Improvements done using sums of monies the average person couldn't hope for.

jump to top Anonymous says:

more importantly, where can one get Presidential solar panels?

There are lots of contractors and sources, start with googling "solar panel sales"

You can also look into Home Power magazine for ongoing articles, howtos and news as well as the ads.

jump to top Anonymous says:

"Improvements done using sums of monies the average person couldn't hope for."

It's a real catch 22, isn't it? Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

jump to top Anonymous says:

I wonder if his electric going public had anything to do with installing these panels?

Another thing to remember - there is only so much 'green power' in his area. By using 20 times the normal amount of electricity, he is basically grabbing 'green' power that could have been used in other homes. wasting green energy heating a pool is STILL wasting energy.

not to mention, wasting resources building solar panels so that he can still heat is pool is STILL wasting energy.

have to say, don't care for this site if they cannot see this simple fact. Possibly Capitalism needs some revisions to exist in the post-Peak Oil world?

jump to top zorn says:

That's good stuff, but I wonder how much more energy has been wasted retrofitting this stuff as replacements for things that didn't need replacing?

Eg. how much energy to create a complete set of new windows?

Solar panels are good though.

jump to top Jim says:

"BTW, I heard that Al Gore helped design Bush's ranch. Is there any truth to that rumor?"

Why not? Gore invented the Internet, didn't he?

jump to top Anonymous says:

Yeah good. Glad HE can afford it. What about all of us that his buddy Bill taxed to the hilt for eight years

jump to top Rick says:

what about white house?

jump to top syawal says:

So if Al Gore puts panels on his roof he is somehow voilating your (above negative comments) concept of GREEN. More power to him, may he garner more energy politically as well as solar, geothermal etc. Your vociferous and yes, ignorant comments are most definitely very, very red, and shows a lack of green thinking, but just in a wholesale fashion. What he does in his yard to his house is his biz. The guy is trying to bring to the world consciousness the pitfalls of continuing down this reckless path of self destruction and all you have to offer is negative drivel. What is your contribution to our planets salvation? Waiting....

jump to top Orbmanelson [TypeKey Profile Page] says:

"What is your contribution to our planets salvation? Waiting...."

Not having a huge house that needs heating, not flying in private jets, and driving small, fuel efficient cars.
Thanks for asking. :)

jump to top EricR says:

what took him so long

jump to top Anonymous says:

What took him so long; he's cover his back side for preaching about global warming. Did he and Tipper help in the clean up process after Live Earth Concert?

jump to top cleo says:

"what took him so long?"

Municipal regulations, afaik.

jump to top Anonymous says:

What about all of us that his buddy Bill taxed to the hilt for eight years

Oh, yes - the 90s were such a horrible time for people. Here - have a hankie. Then go see your doctor about your Clinton obsession.

jump to top Anonymous says:

i'm glad to that Al Gore has decided to give up being an environtmental hypocrite.

jump to top Leo Pisculli says:

Clearly Gore could NOT install solar panels until the ordinance in his neighborhood was changed. However the Repuggies have all jumped on this and they love saying Bush house is green and Gore house is wasteful. A few points---(1) Bush house is the white house and that electric and utility bill dwarfs Gore's house. (2) Local ordinance prevented Gore from installing solar panels so THAT is why he couldn't install them sooner. (3) All the talk about Bush's house using ground to heat and cool it, yet, they cleverly avoided saying what the electric and Utility bills actually WERE! ...I want to know! I am willing to bet the electric(and/or utility) bills were more than Gore's!

jump to top Sam Maggio says:

Wait - this can't be true because it's not possible to get a LEED certification on an existing house. There's something fishy going on here.

jump to top Anonymous says:

Any thought ,planning, caring or intelligence that went into the president's house is definitely none of his doing. He has shown us repeatedly just how much he holds the rest of us in contempt.
Besides, just imagine the magical green wonders we could all live in if we had the resources of the federal government to work with.

jump to top Bob says:

oh yeah thats great. What about the house being 20 bedrooms and the jet he flies around in all the time and his cadillac he drives. He is just another example of a rich guy who has invested and bought global warming patents that is trying to get the rest of use to do the same. I always try to conserve energy around my house and water as well. These rich people are the ones that are ruining the earth not the middle class. This guy is a hypocrite. Why not go nuclear. France is almost 80% nuclear already.

jump to top Anonymous says:

I honestly find it hard to believe that a person with Gore's resume and resources would really be hampered by an ordinance (can't view it) that wouldn't allow him to put solar cells on his house.

The fact that he buys "green power" or that he buys "green credits" is just covering up the fact that he (and his family) use much more energy than the average person, which is only bad because of the pedestal he's put himself on.

I am curious to find out if his city/county/state offer incentives to install these systems. Many do, but they come out of a grant, and the funds are limited. Florida's incentive fund is already used up for the year. So I wonder if he took advantage of this. Sure, he has every right to have his state pay for his remodeling just like anyone else, but it'd be nice to know that with his wealth, that he left that money for someone who actually needed it more.

jump to top Oldshade says:

I honestly find it hard to believe that a person with Gore's resume and resources would really be hampered by an ordinance (can't view it) that wouldn't allow him to put solar cells on his house.

The fact that he buys "green power" or that he buys "green credits" is just covering up the fact that he (and his family) use much more energy than the average person, which is only bad because of the pedestal he's put himself on.

I am curious to find out if his city/county/state offer incentives to install these systems. Many do, but they come out of a grant, and the funds are limited. Florida's incentive fund is already used up for the year. So I wonder if he took advantage of this. Sure, he has every right to have his state pay for his remodeling just like anyone else, but it'd be nice to know that with his wealth, that he left that money for someone who actually needed it more.

jump to top Oldshade says:

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