energy independence
when I was in college my dad and I went to an architecture exhibition/competition in DC.
engineering schools across the US were competing to build a completely self-sufficient house that was also environmentally-friendly.
they were all designed and built at the respective engineering schools, disassembled, transported, and rebuilt in little plots lining the mall.
It was part of the U.S. Department of Energy's initiative to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy.
the public exhibition was over a holiday weekend and was basically open to anyone to wander in and out of the houses and ask whatever questions they had about how it works and why it was designed that particular way.
at the end of the three-day exhibition the houses were judged by an official panel on stuff like architecture, market appeal, engineering, affordability, self-sufficiency, energy use, temperature control, hot water availability, etc.
I can't remember who the winner was but I remember it was my favorite one.
since they had to be disassembled and rebuilt, some had problems getting them put back together in time for the exhibition and still had exposed wires, missing pieces, and parts laying around but they looked like they had potential, while others were little more than wooden sheds with a gasoline generator and a hot-water heater - not very inventive or "green".
however, there were a few that were very impressive and they all seemed to share the same characteristics:
they were all minimalist-looking, they used recycled or composite materials in their construction, the windows on one side of the house had angled slots so that direct sunlight heats the house in the winter but is blocked in the summer (the sun is higher in the sky in the summer), the roofs had slanted solar panels to get the most sunlight and to collect rainwater runoff, they had batteries to power the house at night or on extremely cloudy day, they used septic systems, they had double-paned windows and lots of wall insulation (to save heating/cooling energy), they used high-efficiency appliances (fridge/stove etc.), they were all one-story and not very big - either because it needed to be transported and rebuilt or because it saves on heating and cooling, they used small energy-saving reversible heat pumps for heating/cooling instead of furnaces or air conditioners, and some even had a hookup for an electric car, though most couldn't generate enough power to rationalize including one.
most of the interiors had very modern-looking furniture and open one-room designs, only the bathroom and a utility closet (water tank, batteries, circuit box, air unit, water heater) were in separate rooms, although some of the houses separated the bedroom and living room with a partition or a high shelf.
almost all of them had 'european-style' bathrooms where the whole bathroom is tiled and there's no separation (e.g. curtain, door, ledge) between the shower and the rest of the bathroom, just a drain on the floor, which was interesting and modern-looking, but I kept thinking "how do you keep your towel dry if water's gonna get everywhere?" until someone explained to me that it offers such-and-such advantage and I thought "oh, that makes sense", but I can't remember what it was.
Anyway, walking through the houses was like walking into the future.
This is how houses should be.
We're too dependent on the grid for survival.
the threat of losing power loomed over me all day yesterday, I kept a flashlight by my side after dusk and I kept my phone plugged in so it would keep charging right up until the power went out.
losing electricity I don't mind very much, especially if it's only for a few minutes or hours, and especially if its in the winter since I can just put on more layers of clothes or light a fire in the fireplace, flip on a flashlight, and read a book.
I do mind however, losing power in the summer and losing AC, or for several days so the hot water runs out, the freezer melts, and my phone dies.
I want a self-sufficient house.
I want to never have to worry about losing power, to never have to pay utility bills, and to be able to put a house wherever i want without having to hook it up to the 'grid'.
not only do I want financial independence, I want domestic independence.
engineering schools across the US were competing to build a completely self-sufficient house that was also environmentally-friendly.
they were all designed and built at the respective engineering schools, disassembled, transported, and rebuilt in little plots lining the mall.
It was part of the U.S. Department of Energy's initiative to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy.
the public exhibition was over a holiday weekend and was basically open to anyone to wander in and out of the houses and ask whatever questions they had about how it works and why it was designed that particular way.
at the end of the three-day exhibition the houses were judged by an official panel on stuff like architecture, market appeal, engineering, affordability, self-sufficiency, energy use, temperature control, hot water availability, etc.
I can't remember who the winner was but I remember it was my favorite one.
since they had to be disassembled and rebuilt, some had problems getting them put back together in time for the exhibition and still had exposed wires, missing pieces, and parts laying around but they looked like they had potential, while others were little more than wooden sheds with a gasoline generator and a hot-water heater - not very inventive or "green".
however, there were a few that were very impressive and they all seemed to share the same characteristics:
they were all minimalist-looking, they used recycled or composite materials in their construction, the windows on one side of the house had angled slots so that direct sunlight heats the house in the winter but is blocked in the summer (the sun is higher in the sky in the summer), the roofs had slanted solar panels to get the most sunlight and to collect rainwater runoff, they had batteries to power the house at night or on extremely cloudy day, they used septic systems, they had double-paned windows and lots of wall insulation (to save heating/cooling energy), they used high-efficiency appliances (fridge/stove etc.), they were all one-story and not very big - either because it needed to be transported and rebuilt or because it saves on heating and cooling, they used small energy-saving reversible heat pumps for heating/cooling instead of furnaces or air conditioners, and some even had a hookup for an electric car, though most couldn't generate enough power to rationalize including one.
most of the interiors had very modern-looking furniture and open one-room designs, only the bathroom and a utility closet (water tank, batteries, circuit box, air unit, water heater) were in separate rooms, although some of the houses separated the bedroom and living room with a partition or a high shelf.
almost all of them had 'european-style' bathrooms where the whole bathroom is tiled and there's no separation (e.g. curtain, door, ledge) between the shower and the rest of the bathroom, just a drain on the floor, which was interesting and modern-looking, but I kept thinking "how do you keep your towel dry if water's gonna get everywhere?" until someone explained to me that it offers such-and-such advantage and I thought "oh, that makes sense", but I can't remember what it was.
Anyway, walking through the houses was like walking into the future.
This is how houses should be.
We're too dependent on the grid for survival.
the threat of losing power loomed over me all day yesterday, I kept a flashlight by my side after dusk and I kept my phone plugged in so it would keep charging right up until the power went out.
losing electricity I don't mind very much, especially if it's only for a few minutes or hours, and especially if its in the winter since I can just put on more layers of clothes or light a fire in the fireplace, flip on a flashlight, and read a book.
I do mind however, losing power in the summer and losing AC, or for several days so the hot water runs out, the freezer melts, and my phone dies.
I want a self-sufficient house.
I want to never have to worry about losing power, to never have to pay utility bills, and to be able to put a house wherever i want without having to hook it up to the 'grid'.
not only do I want financial independence, I want domestic independence.