The waterfront colonial rising on Shore Road in Old Greenwich ”” already notable for its foam-block design ”” now features another first. According to Murphy Brothers Contracting, which is building the 2,700-square-foot home, the roof is now covered with electricity-producing shingles, the first such installation in Fairfield County. Manufacturer Dow sent a representative to mark the occasion.
Murphy Brothers is based in Westchester County, N.Y., but this particular house is being built for company principal Chris Murphy, who will soon move there from Westchester. Murphy”™s brother, fellow company principal Sean Murphy, lives in Greenwich.
The product is the Dow Powerhouse Solar Roof Shingle.
The cutting-edge home possesses the ability to shave utility bills by 75 percent, as reported in a Business Journal story Jan. 27 on its construction.
The company explained in a statement on the roof, “The 4.5-kilowatt system replaces over 600 square feet of conventional roofing because the solar shingles ARE the roof.” The shingles are expected to provide 50 percent of the home”™s year-round electricity.
Thirty-five-year-old Murphy Brothers is the Dow-authorized dealer for the shingles in a radius from eastern Connecticut to New York”™s Hudson Valley.
The house will be host to a presentation May 28 for area architects on Energy Star ratings for homes.
