Green Habitats Foundation Makes Sustainable Technology Luxe
By Nick February 12, 2009
Conservation exploratory non-profit foundation Green Habitats, located just outside of Atlanta, Georgia, works to promote sustainable building, support research and educational programs to design and build housing that conserves water and energy. Their most recent project is one that achieves this mission by encapsulating some of the most advanced sustainable technology and housing resources on the market today. The 800 sq ft Solar Decathlon House was originally designed and built by architecture and engineering students at Georgia Tech for an international competition. The House was recently moved to the brand new, state-of-the-art Tellus Museum, in Cartersville, GA, where it will execute Green Habitats ultimate goal of educating and inspiring an estimated 100,000 visitors to the museum in 2009 alone.
Eco-friendly specs:
The building’s base is insulated with high-density polyurethane and soy-based open cell foam.
The opaque walls and roof are comprised of two layers of extruded cellular polycarbonate. In between these layers is Cabot aerogel insulation, a unique material that is dense enough to insulate but transmits light effectively.
The translucent roof is shaded and covered by 27 solar panels and a set of 27 exterior movable shades that can be adjusted from season to allow more or less direct sunlight into the interior of the house.
In all, the 39 solar panels on the roof and 12 south-facing wall, produce around 8,500 watts of electrical power on a sunny day or 60 kW an hour, enough to power a typical single family home.
The house uses an evacuated tube system to capture the energy of the sun, concentrating it to heat an anti-freeze solution and piping the hot water into the house’s 80-gallon tank.
A water capture and reclamation system collects rain and grey water from the house and centralizes it in a 500-gallon tank. The water is then filtered and sprayed back onto the roof in the summer to promote cooling.
The energy, plumbing, HVAC and lighting systems of the house are fully- automated, constantly monitoring the weather, solar energy production, and occupancy/ energy use and adjusting to meet the current and projected needs.
John Lie-Nielsen, Founder of Green Habitats, believes visitors will see first-hand how accessible and aesthetically pleasing sustainable building can be. Through education programs and projects like this one, Green Habitats remains at the forefront of sustainable building.
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