Green Building

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Green Building

• Thinking About Our Footprint on the Earth

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Whats In A Home?

• There are more than 76 million homes in the U.S.
  today
• These homes
• - account for over 2/3 of electricity used in
  the U.S.
• - are a major source of the pollution that leads
  to poor air quality and climate change
• - are accountable for 35 of carbon dioxide
  emissions, the chief pollutant blamed for
  climate change
• - create 3-7 tons of waste each in construction
• By 2010, another 38 million buildings will be
  constructed

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• Green building practices offer an opportunity to
  create environmentally sound, resource efficient
  buildings
• Small changes in the way we think about building
  will make all the difference
• ex. If 10 of homes in the U.S. used solar
  water heating systems we would avoid 8.4 million
  metric tons of carbon emissions every year
• We begin by looking at the relationships between
  a building and its components, surroundings, and
  occupants

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Seeds of Solidarity Farm and Education Center

• We will walk through this home as one example of
  the changes we can make in the way we think about
  and build our homes

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• Before building we think about our needs, the
  land, and the available materials
• All building has a major effect on the land
  this thought process allows us to build with
  minimal impact

6
Basic Shape of House

• The house is rectangular because this is energy
  and cost effective
• While not that exciting, it allows for a lot of
  artistic work to be done inside

7
Foundation

• Foundations are usually dug 4ft into the ground
  causing a lot of disruption
• This frost protected slab involves minimal
  digging, then layering gravel, foam, and 8 inches
  of concrete
• The result is a stained concrete floor which
  absorbs sun and heat from the stove in the
  winter, and cools in the summer

8
Insulation

• Double walls are built and then filled with
  blown-in cellulose
• This extremely tight and efficient insulation is
  made of recycled paper and is locally produced

9
Heat

• The house is heated through the use of a wood
  stove
• In New England, correctly harvested wood is
  renewable
• Heat is saved because the chimney is built inside
  the house and in a central location
• The house is so well insulated that it takes only
  1.5 cords of wood to heat it for an entire winter

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Passive Solar Heat

• The roofing overhang is designed at an angle
  which protects the house from the high summer sun
  and allows the low winter sun to come in through
  the windows and heat the concrete floor

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Solar Power

• The home is powered entirely by an 8 solar panel
  system
• Each panel contains silicon chips which work to
  produce 120 watts of energy

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Solar Power

• Energy is stored in a battery bank as direct
  current
• An inverter changes direct current to alternate
  current which can then be directed through
  regular electrical outlets
• This system is not connected to the main grid,
  systems that are connected can send extra energy
  back to the grid

13
Energy Efficiency

• Household appliances are energy efficient and
  only used when necessary
• Compact fluorescent light bulbs are used in place
  of inefficient incandescent light bulbs to save
  electricity
• An on-demand hot water heater heats water only
  when needed
• - this will soon be replaced with a solar hot
  water system

14
Local Economy

• Local craftspeople are used when necessary to
  promote a local economy
• Wooden beams are local cedar

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Vegetable Production

• A greenhouse is built onto the house
• In the winter, excess heat from the house can be
  let into the greenhouse
• Excess heat is never wasted it can be used to
  produce food

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Organic Growing

• The land around the house is farmed lovingly and
  sustainably
• This attention benefits both the land and those
  who work it

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Biodiesel

• The family cars are run using biodiesel
• This is a combination of fresh or recycled
  vegetable oil and ethanol/methanol that can be
  used for a number of things, including running a
  car and heating a home

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Biodiesel

• Biodiesel lowers pollutants and is made in the
  U.S.
• It is available locally through Burke oil

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• These are the choices one family has made about
  how to shape their footprint on the earth
• Green building offers us many choices about how
  to make our homes more sustainable - from
  switching the light bulbs in our lamps, to
  building with straw
• These are a few more options

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Strawbale Construction

• Strawbale construction uses baled straw to
  create walls which are then covered with a mud
  plaster or cement stucco
• This is a highly effective use for the waste
  material left in fields after plants have been
  harvested for seed

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Strawbale Construction

• Straw is a low cost material which creates highly
  insulated walls
• There are many different styles of strawbale
  construction which allow for individual artist
  work

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Adobe Construction

• Adobe is made of dried mud (20 clay, 80 sand)
  which can be made into bricks or hand layered to
  build up walls
• It has been used in construction for thousands of
  years

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Adobe Construction

• The mass of adobe walls will absorb heat and
  radiate it back out into the house at night,
  working well with solar energy
• Materials are cheap, local, and easy to build
  with but can involve a lot of detail work

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How Will Your Home Affect This Earth?

• Information is at your fingertips, go and look
  for yourself
• www.sustainable.doe.gov
• www.strawbalehouse.com
• www.epsea.org