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Run Your Home on Car Power
Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) recently showed that electric vehicles can supply homes and businesses with electricity, with a public demonstration of its Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology.
According to a recent release (04/09/07), V2G technology allows the bi-directional sharing of electricity between electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in electric vehicles (PHEVs) and the electric power grid. PG&E’s prototype PHEV uses a lithium ion battery in a traditional Toyota Prius, which increases the vehicle’s ability to run solely on electricity. PG&E demonstrated that the prototype can reverse energy flow back to the outlet to supply energy to the home. The technology could allow users to sell energy back to the utility during peak demand times and could increase the amount of renewable energy used during peak hours. To learn more about the technology, read the release.
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Canadian Housing Project Using Wood-Waste Energy
Partners in a green-housing project in Victoria, Canada, hope its wood-waste gasification initiative will become a staple of future communities, according to a recent article in Business Edge (Monte Stewart, 04/20/07). The Dockside Green project will be the country’s first housing community to feature the gasification system, which will convert wood waste into synthetic gas to provide heat and hot water for all of the project’s buildings via underground pipes. The project, which is expected to achieve platinum status under the LEED certification program, will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 5,000 tons a year and will use wood waste from land-clearing and construction, according to the developers. To learn more about the project and the gasification system, read the article.
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NAHB and CEDIA Join Forces to Create Home Technology Alliance
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA) have joined forces to create the Home Technology Alliance, an agreement that will help builders meet increased consumer demand for residential technologies. According to a press release (04/19/07), recent research conducted by NAHB and CEDIA found that strengthening their relationship will be beneficial to their memberships, as well as the home building industry and consumers. The Alliance will focus on home technology integration and will demonstrate how to provide homeowners with better service regarding technology. For more information on the Alliance, read the release.
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University of Maryland Students Harnessing Solar Power in LEAF House
According to a recent article in Capital News Service (Megan Hartley, 04/17/07), a group of University of Maryland students are constructing an innovative home, complete with walls made of plants that will filter water for use in the home. The project, called the Leading Everyone to an Abundant Future, or “LEAF,” House, also features an indoor waterfall that sucks moisture out of the air in order to lower demand on the cooling system; floors heated by rainwater; solar panels; and sliding window partitions that allow occupants to change the layout and size of each room. The house will compete in the U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored Solar Decathlon this fall. To learn more about the house, read the article.
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“Open House” Exhibition Envisions Homes of the Future
The Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., is currently presenting "Open House: Architecture and Technology for Intelligent Living," an exhibition featuring futuristic housing projects by 10 architects. The featured designs include the Seoul Commune 2026, an alternative sustainable community that features towers covered in photovoltaic glass panels and “geotextiles” that allow vines to grow on the façade during the summer in order to shade the structure’s openings. The Jellyfish House is designed to treat water contamination in the San Francisco Bay by using an advanced skin to filter water and respond to temperature and light conditions. The Thinking Ahead! project seeks to satisfy occupant needs throughout their lifetime, with a special focus on the bathroom as a health center that can help occupants remain independent later in life. The “Open House” exhibition is open through July 1, 2007. To learn more about the exhibition, including detailed information on each project and design team, visit the Art Center College of Design’s website.
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PATH Partners Plan Show Home Focused on Mold Safety, Prevention
Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH) Partners are collaborating on a first-of-its-kind Mold Safe Model Home (MSMH), according to a recent article (04/06/07). The MSMH, which will be constructed in Chesterfield, N.H., will focus on risk-management efforts designed around the development of a new mold prevention protocol. The protocol includes the use of mold-resistant building practices and materials as well as a thorough inspection process that begins during the design stage and continues throughout the construction cycle and during occupancy. The project, which is scheduled to be completed in July, is sponsored by PATH Manufacturing partners CertainTEED, Georgia Pacific, and Typar and will be constructed by Courtlan Construction. To learn more, read the article.
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Green Home Demand Exceeding Supply
Demand for green building and remodeling is increasing beyond the available supply, according to participants in an NAHB teleconference on April 16. During the teleconference, Harvey Bernstein, McGraw-Hill Construction’s vice president of industry analytics, alliances and strategic initiatives, stated that recent surveys conducted by the company found that there “are not enough green builders out there and demand is exceeding the homes available.” Bernstein added that the shortfall is most pronounced in the East. Gopal Ahluwalia, NAHB’s vice president of research, said that energy efficiency is now a primary concern of housing consumers. Participants added that customer satisfaction with green homes is “phenomenal,” and that remodeling customers are interested in being as energy efficient, green, and healthy as possible, even though the improvements don’t alter the rest of the house. For more results of the teleconference, read the recent summary in Nation’s Building News (04/16/07).
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Lennar Creating Virtual Reality for Potential Buyers
When Lennar began plans for its Irvine, Calif., Central Park West (CPW) project, the home builder faced the challenge of showing 82 different floor plans for the 1,380 units. The solution was to create an innovative theater showroom that features full-scale, virtual floor plan tours that demonstrate each floor plan and give potential buyers the chance to “walk through” multiple plans without leaving the building. According to a recent article in Builder Online (Robb Crocker, 04/13/07), the theater room’s 9-by-12-foot, wall-to-wall screen gives viewers the feeling that they are walking through the property, and offers floor plan views with or without furniture. Once buyers have narrowed down the choices, a salesperson takes them to the physical show home. To find out more, read the article.
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ToolBase.org Featured Technology—Switchable Glazing
With the flip of a switch, electrochromic windows can change from clear glass to a darkened tint that controls daylighting, glare, and solar heat and saves energy in the process. Electrochromic windows are an example of a new generation of window technology called “switchable glazing” or “smart” windows, one of the numerous innovations listed on the PATH Technology Inventory. According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), "smart" windows can reduce a commercial building's energy use by 30 to 40 percent. Although most electrochromic windows use electrical controls to initiate tinting, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has developed two types of solar-powered, electrochromic devices that vary tinting based on the amount of sunlight received. Additionally, NREL has performed durability tests on electrochromic devices; at least one manufacturer (Sage Electrochromics) produces a ceramic thin film electrochromic device that has shown excellent durability under test conditions. View the PATH Technology Inventory Listing for Switchable Glazing to learn more about this technology.
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A Material Change in Architecture
According to a recent article in Business Week (Elizabeth Woyke, 04/24/07), ETFE, duarable, adaptable plastic made from a fluorocarbon-based polymer, is helping architects achieve designs that were formerly limited to the imagination. ETFE (or Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene) resin is unique because it can be spun into a thin but extremely durable film that is packed in rolls – similar to a very sturdy plastic wrap. According to the article, this versatility has made EFTE a “go-to” material for architects who want an alternative to traditional materials, like glass. Some additional properties of this material include: its weight is about 1/100 that of glass, which reduces other structural costs; it can stretch to three times its length without losing elasticity; it naturally vents smoke out of a building by softening and shrinking away from heat; it comes in a variety of finishes and colors and can be lit from within or printed with patterns; it can be installed in much longer pieces than glass panels; and it is recyclable. To learn more, read the article or view the corresponding image gallery to see how buildings are using EFTE.
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Public Awareness of ENERGY STAR Label Growing
A recent nationwide survey found that public awareness of EPA's Energy Star label is now at 68 percent of U.S. households, according to a recent release (04/25/07). This is up about 5 percent from the same survey one year earlier. The survey, “National Awareness of Energy Star for 2006,” which was commissioned by the Consortium for Energy Efficiency, also found that more than 60 percent of households were favorably influenced by the Energy Star label. Additionally, more than 30 percent of U.S. households knowingly purchased an Energy Star-qualifying product or appliance in the past year, and nearly all of these households are likely or extremely likely to recommend Energy Star. To learn more, read the release or download the report.
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