Builders in Ontario have completed what they say could be the most environmentally friendly house in Canada, and reading though the partial list of features, I believe them.
Low-Hanging Fruit
A quick look at what it takes to be the green champion of an entire country is both encouraging and overwhelming at the same time. On the encouraging side are the design features and building systems that seem reasonably doable. For example:
High Insulation Values: The foundation is insulated with up to 8 inches of tiny glass balls, originally manufactured as a lightweight additive for concrete, that provide an insulation value of at least R12. The walls are constructed with prefabricated, straw-bale Bio-SIPs that provide R35-level insulation. Neither of these insulating methods is standard procedure, but increasing R-values is achievable in any building though a variety of methods.
A Tight Building Envelope: This green house is sealed super-tight, the idea being that keeping conditioned air inside the structure saves energy. There is an ongoing discussion about the pros and cons of super-sealing a house and relying on mechanical means to bring in fresh air, but if you're looking to improve energy efficiency, sealing up air leaks is something you can do yourself.
High-Efficiency Appliances and Solar Energy: The house uses an efficiency air-source heat pump that can operate in extreme cold?as low as minus-22 degrees F. Electricity for the house is provided by an advanced solar array. It also has a contract with a utility company to draw renewable energy when solar is unavailable.
Major Challenges
On the overwhelming side of the equation are features that seem, at first glance, more of a challenge. But given the benefits over many years of use, maybe these steps are worth the effort and cost.
Fully Composting Toilets: The house has only a gray water sewer connection. All toilet waste is flushed away by a foam mixture and into an advanced composting system. The system requires only 0.02 gallons of water per flush?considerably less than the industry-leading 1.6 gallons for a conventional toilet. Different? Yes. But there's no arguing the reduction in environmental impact on a per-house basis. What to do with all that, um, compost though?
16-Inch-Thick Exterior Walls: The Bio SIP walls mentioned above have at least one major drawback: They are 16 inches thick! That makes it impossible to use standard windows and doors without relying on a fair amount of extra carpentry and finish work. And if the lot size itself is restrictive, then theydo use up valuable space.
If you're not ready for some of these heavy hitting green techniques, maybe you can start one small room at a time. 5 Easy Ways to Green Your Bathroom should get you going.
Tim Layton is a home and DIY blogger for Popular Mechanics. Follow him on Twitter: @RemodelingGuy
Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/how-to/blog/5-secrets-of-a-super-green-house-15750403?src=rss
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