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Author Topic: Carbon Neutral Buildings  (Read 9146 times)

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AGelbert

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Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings
« Reply #30 on: December 14, 2014, 05:46:37 pm »
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW-FRx1Pq2I&feature=player_embedded

Your Home Fits In The Van

 
 Welcome to a Yurt, or Ger, an old Mongolian style tent for nomadic populations.

 Boyan and his partner moved into their 21 square meter yurt and they love its simplicity and the freedom it affords them to move with the seasons, or jobs.

 They can be used even in climates with harsh winters, as most yurt companies now make their covers from a reflective insulation developed by NASA, and are designed to withstand winds up to 100 mph. Their round shape makes yurts more efficient to heat than square houses.

 For a basic yurt, prices range from under $5,000 for a twelve foot yurt, to about $10,000 for a thirty footer—not including the many customizations and add-ons that can transform your yurt from rustic to luxurious.

 About 10 minutes in to this video you can see in fast forward motion how the couple dis-assemble and re-assemble the yurt by themselves, all in a single day with no professional tools or skills. 

 A layer of sheep's wool is actually rolled out around the structure, functioning as one of the most important layers of insulation.

 It's an alternative to a tiny home, at 226 square feet and of course all the space is, well, in one huge space.

 Could you live in a big circular tent with your family?

 "Sometimes I think people like to live in bigger and bigger houses with smaller and smaller families, somehow to hide, not from the outside world, but from themselves." says Boyan. "Here there is nowhere to hide"

 This couple loves it anyway, and this fun, sustainable form of housing is on the rise.

 --Bibi Farber

 This video was produced by Fair Companies
- See more at: http://www.nextworldtv.com/videos/shelter/the-yurt-a-home-you-can-fold-up-and-move.html#sthash.z59DGGvn.dpuf
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings
« Reply #31 on: December 19, 2014, 12:03:04 am »
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSnRWm7VHv0&feature=player_embedded
Mycelium House   

Welcome To The Mushroom House! 

By far the most imaginative, sustainable Tiny House design yet!

 Literally, this 64 sq foot house was grown from organic matter, mycelium, which is the vegetative part of a fungus.

 This stuff makes up not just the insulation of the walls, but the structural form of the building.

 It was all grown in one piece, inside the wall cavities that already had wiring and plumbing. The mycelium "knit the wall together", glued the tongue and groove pine boards together. It forms the structure and it's the insulation all at once.

 Not only is it organic matter that is biodegradable, that can be "grown" instead of manufactured- but it comes with other benefits: it has outstanding thermal performance, it's fire resistant, and has no nasty things like VOC's or "aldehydes".

 This is a sustainability fairy tale come true!

 For more info on how to get started on your mycelium tiny house, see www.ecovativedesign.com

 --Bibi Farber

 This video was produced by: CNN Money http://www.ecovativedesign.com/
- See more at: http://www.nextworldtv.com/videos/shelter/tiny-house-grown-with-mycelium-.html#sthash.xycdOmeF.dpuf
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings
« Reply #32 on: December 19, 2014, 12:33:14 am »
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2dZgYgkofI&feature=player_embedded
You get a LOT of fantastic lighting effects with this house! 
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings
« Reply #33 on: December 24, 2014, 11:25:47 pm »
12/22/2014 02:46 PM     
In Wisconsin, Nation's First Net-Zero Energy Health Complex

SustainableBusiness.com News

In 2009, the Department of Energy announced the launch of the Hospital Energy Alliance, an industry-led partnership to get hospitals on board with energy efficiency and renewables.

 We're seeing the results as more hospitals make announcements like this: a 6.3 megawatt solar system just turned on at New Jersey's CentraState Medical Center - one of the largest distributed energy systems outside of utilities.

KDC Solar owns and installed the system and sells the power to the hospital. There are 21,408 ground-mounted solar panels on 26 acres of land. It's providing electricity to a medical center that serves 14,000 inpatients and 250,000 outpatient visits a year.

In Wisconsin, Gundersen Health System - a network of hospitals, medical clinics and nursing homes - announced they are producing more energy than they consume - the first net-zero energy health system in the US.   ;D



Gundersen Hospital

 They are doing this through a combination of energy sources: biogas from three local farms; methane from a local landfill; wood chips from local suppliers; solar installed on a parking lot; geothermal; and wind from two local projects.

 Energy consumption is down 40%, saving $2 million a year, and they earn another $2 million by selling the electricity and manure byproducts of biogas production. 

"We did not set out to be the greenest health system, we set out to make the air better for our patients to breathe, control our rising energy costs and help our local economy. We believe we have made more progress on all three than anyone else in the country," says CEO Jeff Thompson.

 He notes that hospitals typically consume 2.5 times more energy than commercial buildings, and Wisconsin has one of the most energy-intensive climates in the nation.  They reached these goals even while they built two new hospitals. The cost: $30 million of its own money and $11 million in state and federal grants.

Waste reduction is another big goal in a system that relies on disposal items like syringes and sample cups - 5.9 million tons a year. Hazardous and pharmaceutical waste is down 40%, food waste by 70%, and styrofoam is gone. 

Since Hurricane Sandy, when hospitals were flooded and even the sickest patients had to be evacuated, hospitals are on the front lines to protect themselves from severe weather events.  About 200 hospitals use cogeneration and many are developing microgrids. St. Luke's Hospital in Pennsylvania is pioneering a "farm to hospital" model.

Read our article, Greening Hospitals Would Cut Health Care Costs.

Summaries of some of Gundersen's projects:
Website: www.gundersenenvision.org/gundersen-reaches-first-days-of-energy-independence
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26068

  Merry Chrsitmas to all. And to all a good night.

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings
« Reply #34 on: January 06, 2015, 09:35:59 pm »
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgdcBOWPYZc&feature=player_embedded
Short Construction time of a carbon neutral home with modular construction technique

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naGAnhax-tI&feature=player_embedded
Hemp Crete Construction is biosphere friendly!

 


 
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings
« Reply #35 on: January 18, 2015, 02:39:44 pm »
Solar-Powered Furnace   

The SRCC certified Solar Powered Furnace (SPF) is the industry leading, state of the art, solar air heating system. These patented solar panels are designed and manufactured by RREAL to integrate seamlessly with residential and commercial buildings of all sizes. Made in USA. Patent 8,757,143



The fan moves air through the collector(s), where it is heated, and then redistributed to the building using conventional, off-the-shelf, HVAC ducting and air handling equipment.

Check valves prevent reverse thermo-siphoning and uncalled-for heat, so you get clean, free, solar heat only when you want.

Solar air heat is often the most efficient and cost competitive solar technology available in colder climates, saving clients many thousands of dollars and eliminating toxic emissions!




http://www.rreal.org/solar-powered-furnace/solar-air-heat-basics/

http://www.rreal.org/solar-powered-furnace/

Rural Renewable Energy Alliance (RREAL)

http://www.rreal.org/

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings
« Reply #36 on: February 12, 2015, 03:10:17 pm »

Maine Belfast Cohousing and Ecovillage   

A Glimpse Inside a Super Energy-Efficient Home

 Sarah Lozanova 
 February 12, 2015

One year ago, my family joined Belfast Cohousing & Ecovillage in Midcoast Maine and moved into a high performance house, with triple-pane windows and doors, large south-facing windows, lots of insulation from the slab to the attic, and a metal roof. Our home is heated largely by the sun, appliances and occupants, but a modest heating system is available as needed. Our heating bills are 90 percent less than a typical code-built home in the same climate.

It’s rare to have a house with so many energy-efficient features under the same roof. Many people have been curious about our home and asked numerous questions. These are some of the top questions we’ve received.





I’ve heard of mildew and air-quality problems in super energy efficient homes. Has this been an issue?

I’ve heard some concerning stories about super energy efficient houses without ventilation systems, and the mold and air quality issues that occur. Our home however has a Zehnder heat recovery ventilation system, which constantly supplies fresh air while removing stale air from our kitchen and bathroom. By utlizinging a heat recovery ventilation system, intake air is filtered, removing dust and pollen, then preheated from recycled heat from the exhaust air before it exits our home. Although we can boost the speed of our system with a switch in the bathroom or kitchen, the default mode is sufficient the vast majority of the time and we’ve had no mold or moisture issues in our bathroom and elsewhere.




If your house heats itself largely by the sun, appliances, and occupants, won’t it overheat in the summer?

It would seem that a home that stays so warm and cozy in the winter would overheat in the summer, but this is not our experience. Last summer, the house was cooler than the outside temperature on hot days. For additional cooling, we opened the windows when the outside temperatures dipped at night. The heat recovery ventilation system helps maintain cooler indoor temperatures; when it’s warmer outside in the summer, our ventilation system pre-cools the incoming air from the exhaust air.



Given that Maine has a cold climate, how long is the heating season?

When viewing our home's electric bills, I was struck by how low our energy usage was from April through October. Although we may experience below-freezing temperatures during April and October, our home typically remains in the upper 60s and low 70s, without supplemental heat. We turned our heat on in November and turned it off in March, trimming two months off.





What is the lighting like in your house?

Because the south-facing living room windows are 5 feet in height, lots of daylight comes into the home. Of course, our north-facing bedrooms get less ldayight. Even during cloudy days, we rarely use lights during the day, especially in the south-facing rooms. When the angle of the sun is lower in the sky during the winter months, sunlight fills the living room and helps keep the winter doldrums away. During the hot summer days, the angle of the sun is higher in the sky and less sunlight enters the home. The only downside to all our south-facing glazing is cleaning all the little fingerprints that appear from my two young children. We also use LED lightbulbs in most of our fixtures to reduce energy use.




What are the heating bills like for your new home?

Our home is all electric, therefore we don’t use wood, propane or natural gas,    and receive only one energy bill. Before we installed a photovoltaic solar system, our largest electric bill was $120 for January for nearly 900 kWh of electricity. The summer electric bills were around $50 for nearly 400 kWh, because we don’t need air conditioning. Now that our home is net-zero and we have a solar system that generates all of our energy over the course of the year, we pay $9.75 monthly for the delivery fee.     


http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2015/02/a-glimpse-inside-a-super-energy-efficient-home-at-belfast-ecovillage



Main Belfast Cohousing Aerial View
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings
« Reply #37 on: February 19, 2015, 02:44:53 pm »
California Taking Significant Steps to Support Clean Energy in Low-Income Housing

Agelbert NOTE: It's better than nothing but the STEPS ARE TINY:(

Maria Stamas, NRDC 
 February 19, 2015  |  1 Comments 


California has announced a major new set of initiatives and finalized two agency decisions that will bring increasing amounts of weatherization and solar benefits to low-income residents of affordable multifamily properties, which represent one-third of the state's low-income housing stock.

Until now, this sector has received little attention when it comes to clean energy initiatives in California. But state action over the past few weeks is changing that, which will benefit thousands of Californians living in low-income housing.

Cap-and-trade Funded Low Income Weatherization Program


In mid-January, the Community Services and Development Department finalized guidelines for its single-family and small multifamily low income weatherization program (LIWP). In addition to helping the state meet its greenhouse gas goals to cut dangerous emissions, LIWP will help reduce air pollution, improve public health, and reduce energy bills and water usage--all while stimulating the economy and creating jobs.

Funded through revenues from the state's cap-and-trade auction of the gradually declining amount of permits for the state's largest emitters, a total of $75 million over two years will go directly toward improving the efficiency of households in disadvantaged communities and providing solar photovoltaic panels to eligible homes. Measures are far ranging and go beyond current weatherization programs implemented by utilities through the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). For example, the new program will offer LED lighting; smart power strips; cooling, heating, and hot water replacements; and upgraded windows.

Distinguishing between Small and Large Multifamily Buildings

What may seem like a categorization nuance of these final guidelines is in fact a big deal. In its program, the Community Services and Development Department distinguishes between small and large multi-family dwellings based on whether apartment buildings have individual water heaters and heating/cooling systems (classified as small) or central systems (classified as large).

Why is this important? Previously, low-income energy efficiency programs have tended to neglect properties with central systems, at best, treating only tenants with individual heating or hot water units. As a result, the large multifamily building stock is especially in need of energy savings measures and tenants in these buildings have received far less benefit from weatherization programs.

The Community Services and Development Department is developing a unique pathway for this large multifamily subset of buildings, which will include whole-building audits and corresponding efficiency measures for the building as a whole. These guidelines are under development and are expected to be published in June 2015.

Governor's Partnership with HUD


On January 29, Governor Jerry Brown and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julian Castro announced a number of actions to expand financing for energy efficiency and solar energy in multifamily housing--following on the heels of the governor's new goal to double the efficiency of California's building stock.

Access to Building-level Data

While many have highlighted the governor's new financing initiatives in partnership with the MacArthur Foundation, HUD, and the U.S. Department of Energy, fewer have emphasized his accompanying commitment to improve access to building level data for owners. Namely, the governor committed the state to
Quote

"obtain and ensure owner access to energy usage data, with appropriate privacy protections, for multi-family buildings and set data standardization and benchmarking efforts to ensure the data that is collected in a way that is accessible and can be used to track progress toward achieving their energy and climate goals."

As building owners currently can't assess even the monthly energy usage of their entire property due to utilities' current interpretation of privacy regulations, this is a most welcome announcement.

MASH Program Extended and Improved

Also on January 29, the California Public Utilities Commission approved $108 million in additional funds for the solar affordable housing programs known as MASH (Multifamily Affordable Solar Housing) and SASH (Single-Family Affordable Homes). Half of these funds, $54 million worth, are allocated to the multifamily sector (via MASH), with a goal of 35 megawatts of installations. Established in 2008, the MASH program offers solar incentives to qualifying affordable multifamily properties. For additional details, see this blog by Everyday Energy or the full decision here.

Groundbreaking Policy Change to Overcome Split Incentives


The decision adopts a unique policy tweak designed to overcome the split incentive between the building owner's investment in solar and the tenants' payment of utility bills. The CPUC approved an enhanced incentive level for solar installations in order to deliver direct tenant benefits on utility bills. The reduction in bills will come through Virtual Net Metering. This added incentive level will, for the first time, ensure that benefits to low-income renters will be equivalent to those of single-family homeowners.

What's Next

These program decisions and new initiatives all demonstrate a growing commitment to cut bills and electricity waste for California's low-income multifamily tenants, while increasing the health and comfort of their homes. For example, improved insulation and furnace repairs or replacements result in reductions in unsafe indoor air particles.

Over the next several months, we can look forward to the CPUC tackling the state's largest low-income energy efficiency program, the Energy Savings Assistance Program. The commission has scheduled a proceeding to set ESAP's direction for at least 2016 and 2017 based on previous commission directives to make significant program enhancements for the multifamily sector. We can also look forward to the Community Services and Development's launch of its large multifamily weatherization program this June.

California's multifamily efficiency milestones represent a growing momentum toward providing more significant energy, financial, and health benefits to affordable multifamily tenants, and in turn, to our climate and environment at large because when smarter energy use leads to reduced electricity consumption we don't need as much polluting fossil fuel generation to make it.

This artice was originally published on NRDC and was republished with permission.

Read More Solar Energy News Here


1 Comments

 A. G. Gelbert   
 February 19, 2015 

This is interesting and positive. However, I am a bit concerned about eligibility requirements and the definition of "Low Income". For example, anyone who lives in a trailer park should NOT have "Income" hoops to jump in order to be eligible.

The so-called Government determined "poverty level" used to "net worth test" people to determine if they are SNAP eligible has been a cruel farce for at least a decade.

Federal money at the SAME rates that Wall Street Bankers get (i.e. about 0.25% interest) for speculation (that does nothing to help this nation's GDP) should be available for individuals for the purpose of absolutely any renewable energy infrastructure installation. And it should be available FIRST in manufactured homes, regardless of arbitrary "poverty level" hoops or SNAP type sleight of government hand to deny or shave benefits if the person has a few thousand dollars in the bank or owns a car, never mind the gamed inflation numbers that keep low balling the "poverty level" to lower and lower levels of desperation.

It is an absolute scandal how the government has shafted the landless poor of this country while it falls all over itself to baby the rich profligate speculators.

The fact that renewable energy has not been backed by an affirmative action program favoring the landless poor (most manufactured home owners and other poor do not own the land their home sits on) is testament to the fact that utilities would lose profits currently extracted from those poor.

What part of "Renewable Energy is good for the nation and the planet" does the government and the Federal Reserve not understand? Or does "Federal Reserve" really mean "Only the Rich Deserve"?

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2015/02/california-taking-significant-steps-to-support-clean-energy-in-low-income-housing#comment-140039
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings
« Reply #38 on: February 25, 2015, 02:55:55 pm »
World’s First Carbon-Positive Prefab Home Hits the Market  ;D

http://ecowatch.com/2015/02/24/archiblox-carbon-positive-prefab-home/
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings
« Reply #39 on: February 27, 2015, 03:08:44 pm »
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KNcPq5gQF8&feature=player_embedded
Delivery of, not Carbon Neutral, but CARBON POSITIVE  :o ;D, house. 
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings
« Reply #40 on: April 30, 2015, 12:58:27 pm »
04/28/2015 03:54 PM       

Stanford Leads With Massive Renewable Energy System


SustainableBusiness.com News

Stanford University announced a massive upgrade to its energy system that makes it a world leader among universities, while saving $420 million on energy costs over the next 35 years.

There are two components - an extremely efficient combined heat and power system (CHP) and lots of solar energy.

SunPower is installing 5 megawatts (MW) of rooftop solar on campus and a 68 MW project on 300 acres of land - a commitment only exceeded by University of California.  Combined with purchases of renewable energy from the grid, the projects will generate 65% of Stanford's electricity. 

On the efficiency side, Stanford will cut emissions 68% and conserve 15% of potable water through its CHP plant, Stanford Energy Systems Innovations (SESI). An amazing 90% of campus heat will be supplied by recovering waste heat from the system that chills water on campus.

 22 miles of underground pipes had to be replaced and 155 buildings were retrofitted to convert from the old steam cogeneration system that ran on natural gas. Stanford essentially created a District Energy system, common in Europe, but rare in North America.

 Construction started in 2012 and the $438 million project began operating in March.

Stanford patented the software that optimizes the system. It continuously monitors plant equipment, predicts campus energy loads and grid electricity prices, and steers the system to using energy at the most economical times. It also continuously reviews its own performance.

 Stanford says:

"SESI is designed to take advantage of Northern California's temperate climate, although the system is adaptable to nearly any environment. As with most modern large commercial facilities, university buildings are being cooled and heated at the same time throughout the year to supply different room-temperature requirements.

"In other words, the cooling process can be seen as a collection of unwanted heat. Some modern facilities take advantage of this heat overlap on a stand-alone building basis. SESI, however, takes this approach to an entirely new scale, encompassing a 15-million-square-foot campus with a population of more than 30,000.

"By significantly reducing natural gas usage and electrifying the campus heating and cooling system, we enabled the university's energy supply to be substantially transitioned from fossil fuels with volatile and unpredictable long-term prices to clean renewable electricity sources with affordable costs fixed for a very long time," says Joseph Stagner, executive director of Sustainability and Energy Management at Stanford.


Under Stanford's ongoing Energy and Climate Action Plan, new buildings must be 30% more efficient than state code - which already leads the nation. Existing buildings are getting major retrofits and campus programs teach students, faculty and staff how to cut back on their energy use.

Last year, Stanford announced it would divest from coal, the first major university to do so.   ;D

For another innovative use of waste heat, read our article, London Homes Heated By Subway Waste Heat.

Learn more about Stanford's system:

 
Website: http://sustainable.stanford.edu/campus-action/stanford-energy-system-innovations-sesi

http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26268
« Last Edit: June 09, 2021, 06:18:52 pm by AGelbert »
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings
« Reply #41 on: May 16, 2015, 08:27:11 pm »
Refrigerator Coupling to a Water-Heater and Heating Floor to Save Energy and to Reduce Carbon Emissions

Download Download as PDF (Size:2235KB)  HTML   ePub,  PP. 21-29   
DOI: 10.4236/cweee.2013.21003    2,603 Downloads   10,811 Views   Citations
Author(s)    Leave a comment Romdhane Ben Slama Affiliation(s)

ISSAT Gabes Rue Omar Ibn Khattab, Gabes, Tunisia.

ABSTRACT

With an aim of rationing use of energy, energy safety, and to reduce carbon emission, our interest was geared towards the refrigerators and all the refrigerating machines. Indeed the heat yielded by the exchanger condenser can be developed for the water heating, floors heating etc. After an encouraging theoretical study, two prototypes were produced in order to validate the theoretical results. A first refrigerator was coupled with a water-heater and another with a heating floor. The water temperature reached, in one day, is of 60℃; which makes it possible to predict better results with a continuously used refrigerator.  In the same way for the heating floor coupled with the second refrigerator, the temperature reached high values because the surface is reduced; however for the heating floors the standard fixes the temperature between 28℃ and 30℃.


KEYWORDS


Refrigerator, Recuperator, Heating Water, Heating Floor, Heat Pump Cite this paper

Slama, R. (2013) Refrigerator Coupling to a Water-Heater and Heating Floor to Save Energy and to Reduce Carbon Emissions. Computational Water, Energy, and Environmental Engineering, 2, 21-29. doi: 10.4236/cweee.2013.21003.

http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=27480
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings
« Reply #42 on: May 26, 2015, 07:01:33 pm »
Epic Urban Treehouse Offers Glimpse Into Future Living
Lorraine Chow | March 16, 2015 10:01 am

Did you ever dream of living in a treehouse when you were young? Well, the residents of 25 Verde in Turin, Italy are living out the ultimate childhood fantasy in a breathtaking eco-friendly building enclosed within hundreds of trees.


Hundreds of trees and shrubs surround 25 Verde in Turin, Italy, creating a “perfect microclimate” inside the building, architect Luciano Pia said. Photo Credit: Beppe Giardino

Designed by architect Luciano Pia, the five-story structure is held up by rust-colored metal beams made to look like tree trunks and branches.

Potted trees and shrubs of various leaves, colors and flowering are placed on terraces and inside the building to provide shade and reduce noise pollution. There are 150 trees surrounding the building and on the roof and 50 more trees in the courtyard.

As the architect puts it, the building is alive, grows and changes with the seasons. “When all the green is fully blooming it gives the feeling of living in a tree house,” he wrote on his website. “You can dream of a house or live in a dream!”

Deciduous varieties of flora were chosen to filter out the hot summer sun and to allow light to break into the units during winter as the leaves fall from the trees. Like an urban forest, the abundant foliage apparently sucks in 200,000 liters of carbon dioxide an hour, a welcome reprieve from the city’s notorious pollution.

As noted by a local English publication, Turin is one of the most polluted cities within the European Union due to a number of factors including the high concentration of industrial plants, and how it’s situated in the Po Valley, which traps pollution.

The building has several green features. Pia wrote that “one of the aims of the project is the increase of the energetic efficiency, and for this reason several integrated solutions have been adopted: continuous insulation, sun protection, heating and cooling systems which make use of the geothermal energy with heat pumps and recycling of the falling rain to water the green.”

There are a total of 63 residential units in the building. The upper floors have views of a park and the Po river, and the top floor apartments are covered by private green roofs. According to the New York Times, two-thirds of the apartments were sold before construction completed in 2012 at €6,500 per square meter.

The northern Italian city was the site of the 2006 winter olympics and is home to carmaker Fiat. The building sits on some of the auto company’s former offices at the address Via Gabriele Chiabrera, 25, 10126 Torino, Italy.

Check out the Google street view and wander around the area, but first check out these cool images:

There are potted trees and shrubs of various leaves, colors and flowering throughout the building. Photo Credit: Beppe Giardino


There are 50 trees planted in the court garden. Photo Credit: Beppe Giardino
http://ecowatch.com/2015/03/16/urban-treehouse-luciano-pia/
« Last Edit: May 30, 2015, 12:49:17 pm by AGelbert »
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings
« Reply #44 on: June 06, 2015, 03:56:30 pm »
France passed law making rooftop solar or gardens mandatory on new commercial buildings 


Quote
Two months ago, France passed a law that requires the rooftops of new commercial buildings to be partially (at least) covered by solar panels  or plants . The law, passed back in March, was a compromise with French environmentalists and more conservative* members of society.

Details and background here:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/05/27/1388257/-France-passed-law-making-rooftop-solar-or-gardens-mandatory-on-new-commercial-buildings
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

 

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