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Picture this, you are driving home it starts to rain and you think , 'oh great the sprinklers are going on during a shower and I'm paying for it'. Lets face it, if we knew when it was going to rain we wouldn't need to use the sprinklers. How about extra humidity? That counts too, according to CYBER-RAIN, the technology that allows your sprinkler system to adjust it's watering schedule to meet the needs of the day. Cyber-Rain also adjusts to meet watering requirements in the different areas of your yard. It costs about $399.00. Cyber-Rain software enables the controller and your computer to communicate. It communicates with the sprinkler controller to stop watering until the forecast changes. The wireless range from controller to computer is 300 feet.

The computer checks the weather forecast, automatically, throughout the day, communicating to the controller. It stores information, so the computer doesn't have to be the whole time either. It manages up to 8 different zones, which you label yourself, so' fig tree next to bedroom window', can get less water than the 'front yard lawn'. If you don't want the sprinklers to come on when you're having a party you just program it in. Want to know how much you've saved? The system tells you, it keeps track of the amount of water you're using, and it shows you with graphs. Sixty percent of home water use is said to be used for landscape watering. You can dial in your monthly bill on Cyber-Rain's web-site, at www.cyber-rain.com and they will show you how much you would expect to save.

A home building company in Seattle, Howland Homes, recently announced that it will start construction on zHome, a development of 10 townhomes that use zero net energy, 60 percent less water and have clean indoor air.

The development will be built east of Seattle in Issaquah, Washington. Since 2004, Issaquah has required new buildings to meet certain environmental standards and has offered incentives, such as expedited permitting and free green-building consulting, to private developers who do the same.

The homes will cut energy use through such measures as extra insulation, triple-pane windows, LED lighting and ground-source heat pumps, and offset the energy use with solar panels that generate power. The homes will cut water use with rain recycling and efficient water fixtures, reduce runoff with rain recycling, incorporate salvaged, reclaimed and locally made materials, divert 90 percent of construction debris through waste prevention and recycling and use ventilation and healthier materials to improve air quality.

The homes will cost about 25 percent more to build than traditional townhouses. However, because the land was donated for free, they will sell for only 5-10% more, with prices starting around $400,000. The homes are expected to be finished next fall.

Will zero-net energy homes become the next hot building trend? Only time will tell.

In this weeks Slow Home Report we discuss the Rue Street House by Hurt Partners Architects.

I attended West Coast Green this weekend, in San Jose, CA. The usual suspects of brilliant green architects, builders, and all things green related were there. The presentations were great and getting to experience the products in the trade show is always so helpful.

I was happy to see Greg Thorsen, of Environmental Lights. He is so knowledgeable and able to speak in layman’s terms to anyone who wants to know more about LED technology that is now ready for full deployment in our homes. A new day is dawning.

Kevin

On September 15, 2008 the Bio-Mimicry Guild and HOK 'formed an alliance to integrate nature's innovations in the design of buildings, communities and cities worldwide' www.hok.com . The potential of this relationship is of great impact for expanding and progressing the world of sustainable design. This is good news for builders of all 'habitats', large commercial buildings as well as homes. As the world reaches out for sustainable solutions, there will be new answers, for design and engineering, that are surely to come from this new alliance. From a casual perspective, the idea behind Bio-mimicry is that if we could imitate the ways of nature we could solve our own problems. Bio-mimicry uses the emulation of the processes of nature to design sustainable products and building strategies that go with the flow of the eco-system. The Bio-mimicry Guild actually has biologists on call who can help you to find ways that nature can improve your product or building process. www.biomimcryguild.com HOK has been in the business of sustainability for twenty years. It is based on building type, geographic region and budget level. Boasting 'HOK Ideas work' as their slogan, and the influential HOK Guidebook to Sustainable Design, both the ideas and the book are about to get very, very, big. The current project from this union is underway at the Lavasa Hill Station community near, Pune, India. Next on the list of project collaborations include Saudi Arabia and North America. The goal is bio-inspired cities, which they hope to change the world. None the less, surely the solutions and products that are discovered along the way will trickle out to the mainstream market.

Berkeley, California has approved a new financing scheme that gives loans to homeowners who install rooftop solar panels.

The program finances city-backed solar loans through a small addition to the property taxes of each participating home, eliminating the need to find up-front cash to install panels which can cost as much as $30,000.  Using property taxes to repay the solar loan also ensures that home values rise to reflect the addition of energy-efficient technology.  If a home sells before its solar loan is fully repaid, its new owner will take over the loan repayments and reap the electricity savings. 

The next step for Berkeley is to line up a source of capital to begin offering the loans, which are expected to have a 20-year life and be repaid by a $180 monthly property tax increase.

This plan, which is similar in concept to a local law passed several months ago by Babylon, New York and mentioned by this blog, which provides low-interest loans to residents to pay for energy efficiency upgrades to their homes.  Providing public money for renewable energy or energy efficiency upgrades is a win-win in our book. We hope this is the start of a trend. 

When desciding about what materials you are able to afford take a tip from Habitat for Humanity.  The Winchester, VA Habitat for Humanity first looked into using Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) for the Womans Build because they are easier for unskilled labor to work with.  Then after much research, and a little help from Cardinal, they found that SIPs worked very well within their budget and they were able to budget them in on more than one project. 

There are currently three Habitat Homes being built with SIPs and another two are scheduled for the spring.  Habitat wants to help people not only get into a home but to be able to afford to heat and cool the homes.  The tight envelope that the SIPs create will help reduce energy leaks drastically and in turn save the homeowner over the long term.

Another benefit is the speed and ease of construction.  Since the Habitat for Humanity structures are built mostly by volunteers, you have eager workers but not always skilled workers.  SIPs are very easy to work with and since they can come in large formats you have a large area of work completed in less time and with less people.

This type of building benefits everyone.  Those who work on the home are left with a sense of well being for helping their fellow man.  Those who receive the home have a sense of security that comes with home ownership and affordable bills.  Also the home will use less energy so it is better for the earth.  All together this is the best type of Green Building.

Speaking of concrete, Ecowall.com distributes environmentally friendly Ecolite concrete wall systems. Wall systems are custom done and delivered to the site. They are built offsite, cutting back on construction site waste. Ecolite is considered a high quality cellular concrete, and is also an environmentally conscious alternative to poured concrete walls. The wall panels are said to cost less, can be assembled faster, and help the environment with composition of 50% recycled materials. Ecolite has qualified for four LEED points, rating them in support of eco-friendly building. Eco-lite is a smooth surface and can accommodate brick, stone inlay or other finish choices and applications. It can be used for commercial projects as well as residential homes.

Not to be confused with, ...the concrete plant wall. A wall of concrete that is treated with reactive magnesia that allows for a more permeable concrete. These walls are designed to grow plants! It is based on the ability of concrete to trap and retain water. The building breathes, sweats and modifies itself. The pores of the concrete is where several plant species grow. Organic concrete can 'harbour and nourish plants.' The modified concrete can be used for not only plants aesthetics, but lighting effects. Light effects are achieved from adding optical glass fibers into the concrete. The light will transmit from the outside in or inside out. It is the same strength as regular concrete and and can transmit through a wall as thick as 22 feet. Check out the Brazilian building, from Lisbon's E-Studios at BoingBoing with vertical garden. This is truly a 'living surface'. And of course our regular readers are familiar with the amazing living roof and wall innovations and projects from our star member George from GreenLivingTechnologies!

The most widely used material on earth is concrete, just ask China where they utilize more than 40% of it. Burning Fossil fuels to make concrete, is responsible for 5% of global CO2 emissions. Ironically, concrete itself, absorbs CO2. It is also the inspiration for a new process of concrete carbonation from Carbon Sense Solutions, in Canada. The method allows for precast concrete to store large amounts of CO2. Storage of up to 60 tons of CO2 in 1,000 tons of precast concrete. The method also uses CO2 to speed up the making of concrete, the presence of CO2 actually cures the concrete. It is thought that speeding up the curing process, and the additional storage of CO2 will reduce Global emissions 1% per year. As an added bonus, the end product is more durable, and more resistant to shrinking and cracking. However, this technology remains unproven. But wouldn't it be nice to avoid 20% of all cement-industry carbon dioxide emissions? There is a pilot plant underway in Nova Scotia this summer, with plans to produce preliminary results by the end of the year. www.inhabitat.com, www.technologyreview.com

I know I blogged about InLight, Richmond's first "Art, Turned On" addition to First Friday and celebrating 1708 Art Gallery's 30th anniversary last week.

But for you geeks like myself out there, thought I'd expound more on the technical green building/solar information as well as the volunteers whom made the Solar Sidewalk possible.

('Cause. I'mma geek. This is better than Legos!)

Scott Kyle, the green building architect who created this piece, explains:

"A quick description of the system: Two Kyocera 65 Watt PV Modules, 24V Solar Lighting Control, & two 12V Concorde SunXtender Deep Cell Batteries.

This is what is showing up in my truck and on the roof with the guys from Cityspace Construction (Richmondcityspace.com), who volunteered time and materials to the cause.

Thanks also to Kenny, whose rooftop apartment we have to go through every time we have to access the roof.

Next, there is 24V DC wired from the roof to inside the window seat at the storefront of 1708 where there are two 25W LED Fiber Optic Illuminators (http://lightbeaminc.com/illuminators_25_watt.html).

These are state of the art illuminators with very high light output and very low current draw, ideal for photovoltaics. If we would have used halogen, which is standard for fiber optic illuminators we would have had to have added four more PV modules (yes there is a lesson here for homeowners and their appliances and lighting).

The fiber optic (plastic filaments) bundles are divided into four smaller bundles from each of the two illuminators where they are brought to each of the eight concrete panels in metal conduit that are then covered in sidewalk cement.

That's Stan Webb of Concrete Ideas handling the fiber optic cables. Stan's company manufactured the fiber optic concrete panels in their shop in Richmond. The PV modules are illuminated at dusk and stay on for a set period of time (currently 8 hrs - long enough for staggering club dwellers to see their way home by). The PV controller takes care of the battery charging and control of the on-off cycle. "

Thank you, Scott, for sharing your wonderful project with us!!!! Er, see ya at Green Drinks Thursday! : )

There is no photograph that can accurately freeze-frame/capture it, except to see/experience it.

Below is my video where I tease Scott (his wife has a degree in sculpture)... but it kind of gives you the "experience" of seeing this nice addition to Richmond at night...

A great addition to the Richmond arts scene- it is a good time to be in Richmond!