Not many kids get the opportunity to say “I live in the cleanest home in my town.”
No, not clean as in actual cleanliness. The most energy efficient home in town.
However, Jamie and Jake Yarmoff, ’12 and ’10 respectively, can truthfully make that claim.
In 2007 the Yarmoff family installed 56 solar panels on their house, and in December of 2009, introduced a geothermal system, making it the most energy efficient home in Westport.
“It feels really good to know that my house is so environmentally friendly. We generate our electricity right at home, which is pretty cool to think about,” Jamie Yarmoff said. “Obviously, one of the biggest differences from normal homes would be that we have 56 solar panels positioned towards the sun on our roof.”
“I would forget about them even in the first few months of having the panels,” Jake Yarmoff said.
David Yarmoff, their father, claims that living in the house is not very different from living in a regularly powered home.
“My house operates like any other in the fact that we use electricity to power our appliances. The main difference is that our electricity is generated on-site via 56 solar panels mounted on the roof, so we don’t contribute to burning coal to produce electricity, which is how over 50 percent of the electricity in the U.S. is generated,” David Yarmoff said.
The family was originally inspired because “it was the right thing to do,” according to David Yarmoff.
Their house was also perfect for installing solar panels because of the way it was designed and the amount of sunlight they received, so for them, it became, “Boy, if we don’t do it, who would?” David Yarmoff said.
“Our family has always been very conscious of the problems that our environment faces and we really wanted to do as much as we could to help,” said Jamie Yarmoff.
David Yarmoff says that the savings are incredibly significant.
According to Yarmoff, “most months we don’t pay for electricity at all.”
He highly recommends making the change.
“If one nets out the replacement costs, the payback on going geothermal is staggering, so if you’re getting to the point of replacing your oil furnaces you really should consider geothermal,” he said.
His only issue is his TVs.
“My vice is that we have plasma TVs, whereas LCDs are more energy efficient, so when it’s time to replace them we’ll choose with the environment in mind,” David Yarmoff said.
Apart from their house, David also drives a Prius to and from work. He is currently awaiting the introduction of all-electric vehicles.
“When electric vehicles get going in the next couple of years— Nissan will mass-produce the Leaf by the end of the year— we’ll be on board soon enough,” said David Yarmoff.
The Yarmoff family can’t stress enough how important saving the environment is.
“We have plenty of reasons to change our energy habits: national security, national independence, long term cost, protecting the environment, et cetera. Each one of us has the ability to change our generation or consumption, and there’s a step for everyone,” David Yarmoff said.
CORRECTION: “Yarmoff” was spelled incorrectly in the title.
