Comments on: Hyper-Efficient House Completed In Virginia

By: brian

brian — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 02:53:27 +0000

In reply to southsider. He wasn't saying the home needed a ceiling fan, that was a poorly disguised ad to sell ceiling fans and such.

By: Century75

Century75 — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 03:52:15 +0000

First.. you have to start with logic. No sense cranking out the same old.. same old junk. Look, this is the 21st century. We have the smarts and the technology to make tremendous improvements over this stuff. We can save tons of loot & energy.. by designing using the sunlight & daylight for many hours of natural light within the home. It is easy enough to design atrium-courtyard style houses. They not only bring natural light deep into the home.. but are wonderfully safe & private sanctuaries for the occupants. Homes should be designed to coddle & protect the dwellers.. in comfort.. and be as free of maintenance as possible. Not to be rotting.. flitting away of ‘shingles’ or other parts. We needn’t have to cut down Sherwood forest in order to build anything.. ever again. Concrete.. glass & steel (or anodized aluminum) don’t rot away or aren’t termite food.

The case study homes were an excellent place to amend the waste & cost associated with home ownership. Even today.. they provide a great starting point. We could improve the idea by using foamed concrete – it insulates.. is lightweight.. can be used for roofing also.

Enough for now…

By: southsider

southsider — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 23:28:00 +0000

why would you need a solar powered fan, hot air rises on its own, all you need is a ridge vent, or exhaust pipe at the ridge, and inlet slots under the roof in the soffits, or even side walls, but a sunroom is what i would suggest for passive simple solar and some thermal storage, google nick pine and solar closet!

By: Jack

Jack — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:36:48 +0000

Wow the house looks gorgeous! If you can’t afford to buy or build a new green house of your own, there are so many things you can do to improve your current home. I just saw this solar fan on sale which can easily be installed in an attic to cool down the whole house: http://www.greenhome.com/products/housekeeping/air_fresheners/116499/ they have rainwater collecting devices there too!

By: Dilettantedude

Dilettantedude — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 01:56:46 +0000

Composting toilets? Solar PV? Solar water heating? Greywater treatment system? Wind power? Water source? Do they use drinking water to flush toilets? How much do geothermal wells cost? These things would be nice to know or see instead of just bubbly praise. Looks like another showy, expensive suburbanite home to me, even if very efficient. We can build super efficient fuel cell hybrid cars, too. Doesn’t mean it’s practical for most folks. It would be nice to know if this is a great example for anyone other than the financially relatively well-off.

By: Green Guy

Green Guy — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:10:12 +0000

Didn't see that any solar thermal or PV had been incorporated? Austin solar water heater

By: Everblue Training Institute

Everblue Training Institute — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:53:08 +0000

First of all, congratulations on obtaining LEED Platinum certification! Secondly, what a BEAUTIFUL home! This is really a great idea and a great example for others.