Page 24 - Green Builder January 2017 Issue
P. 24
Flame on. Flue-less, ethanol alcohol fireplaces keep hot air from being sucked out through the chimney.
the drain. “In the U.S. and globally, water as a resource is becoming control mechanism, albeit a natural one. Because sunlight coming in
increasingly scarce,” he says. “There are regions of the world that from the east has such a long angle, it can shoot through the entire
are turning into desert because of a lack of water; where farming house and overheat it. Compensating would have meant extremely
is dead because of it. We waste billions of gallons waiting for hot long overhangs from the roof. But by making the south side the front
water to get to the spigot.” of the house, the overhangs don’t have to be as long to control how
much sun—and heat—comes in.
The solution was a button that, when pressed, sends the cold water
sitting in the pipes not down the drain but back to the hot water Installing solar panels on the south-facing side of the roof—two
tank, where it gets recycled. Meanwhile, water that has already been photovoltaic arrays for generating electricity and three for heating
heated by the tank comes out through the line. As it gets very close water—also didn’t create special challenges. But they help the
to the sink or tub, a light goes off to tell you the faucet is ready. Thus, house go from using the small amount of energy allowed in a
when you turn it on, the water is hot from the get-go; none is lost passive build to a net energy gain, reducing carbon emissions by
waiting for it to heat up. that much more than a traditional build. That was important to
homeowner Keating. “To the extent that we can make electricity
Building the system was “just a question of understanding pumps without impacting the carbon footprint, we are helping not only
and demands,” Katon says. “The plumber was crystal clear on that.” the overall environment but also human health in the here and
now,” he says. “The solar panels are another demonstration of the
SITING FOR OPTIMAL SUN kind of technology we can be installing to further reduce a negative
One smart element stemmed from the way—and where—the house from the point of view of climate change and people’s immediate
was built. The long end of the house faces north and south rather than well-being.”
east and west. Keating explains that this ended up as a temperature
22 GREEN BUILDER January/February 2017 www.greenbuildermedia.com
