A blog about real estate, interior design, and the home in the Washington, DC area.

New Condo Spotlight: Capital Solar Condos

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By Kate Nerenberg

What are believed to be Washington’s first solar-powered condos are for sale in a renovated Columbia Heights townhouse. Sunlight not only powers the place but also pours in through skylights and bay windows.

What: Capital Solar Condos

Where: 1337 Harvard Street, NW

Number of Units:  Three

Prices: The basement and first-floor duplex which has three bedrooms and three baths is $620,000;  the two bedroom, two-bath unit is $499,000; the two-bedroom, one-bath unit is $475,000

Green perks: Dual-flush toilets, motion sensor lights, tankless hot water heaters, bamboo floors, and low flow shower heads. On the sunniest of days, you’ll save up extra energy which can be sold back to PEPCO, and re-used on cloudier days.   

Location: Two blocks from Columbia Heights Metro

Sold: None yet

So what do you think? Are we going to see more of these in the future? And is decreasing your carbon footprint worth the price?

Comments

I also wish these condos were the norm in the past condo boom. I thought about going "green" before I purchased my home two years ago. Not only would it have been EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE, but installers familiar with things like solar panels and tankless water heaters were few and far between, and wanted to charge a premium for their services. My estimate for solar panels alone came in at $30K and it would be a two year wait due to the high demand. I also had difficulty because I don’t solely own the roof of my condo. So I had bamboo floors installed instead of hardwood, and I recently switched to low flow shower heads. I see some savings compared to my previous bills.

Posted by: Walter | Mar 16, 2008 07:54:21 AM

Great to see these green ideas being marketed. Wish they had been the norm in the past condo renovation boom - but this is great to see. I hope the owners will track and publicize the benefits economically and ecologically. Would Washingtonian commit to a feature for next Earth Day tracking progress?

Posted by: Tom | Mar 14, 2008 07:09:09 AM

That’s pretty high for the neighborhood. I don’t think I would pay it...

Posted by: | Mar 13, 2008 11:51:47 AM

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