Walk Softly, LLC, is moving forward with an effort to design and build Zero Net Energy homes. These homes will integrate four innovative green technologies, eliminate the need to use expensive and environmentally costly heavy infrastructure, while promoting energy efficient building technologies and processes.
The home designs, ranging from 800 – 1600 square feet, will be built and evaluated in Walk Softly’s own developments. Specifically, the home designs will integrate the following innovative green building technologies:
Zero net energy so the house produces as much energy as it uses,
Water catchment to handle most of the household water needs,
Recycling systems built into the house to maximize re-use of the waste stream,
Edible landscaping and gardens providing on-site food production.
The relatively small square footage of the home designs means that homes with green technologies can be made available to more buyers. The home designs and plans will be usable by mainstream homeowners who will not need a technical background or special knowledge in order to operate the systems in their home. Ultimately, this will bring together information that is currently dispersed in many different sources to one source that is easy to understand and provides complete technical guidance on how to use the green technologies.
Home designs and plans integrating the four green technologies--zero net energy, recycling systems, water catchment, and edible landscaping. Each home design will have an integrated system in place including the following technical details for each system:
Zero Net Energy The main energy saving capabilities and energy production features of these homes will create a zero net energy house. A number of prototypes and individual zero net energy homes have been built and evaluated by local and national builders and organizations over the last 3-5 years.
The specifics involved in zero net energy include extensive energy efficiency built into all parts of the house, including lighting, appliances, insulation, building envelope, windows, doors, HVAC system, etc. Zero net energy also involves producing energy equal to the amount used by means of alternative energy technologies like PV solar, wind, geothermal, etc.
All main categories and specifics of the zero net energy home will be researched for the most current and efficient plans which enable the integration of on-site power.
Water catchment involves catching the rainwater that falls on the roof of the house with a series of gutters and downspouts, filters, tanks, and pumps designed into the house to catch, clean, store, and distribute the water to its appropriate place in the home or landscape. The large scale need of collecting, treating, and pumping drinkable water from a centralized public utility is minimized using significantly less energy. Storm water runoff from large rain events is also moderated creating less negative impact on landscapes and streams.
Easy recycling systems means that a house that composts and recycles a significant portion of its waste stream will send less water to large sewer plants and less waste to landfills which reduces pollution and energy usage. Waste streams to compost and reuse on the home site are food scraps, paper products, yard wastes, gray water (if approved), and possibly composting toilets. Indoor composting involves creating a logistically easy way to store and process food scraps. The compost is taken outside to the garden area for use in the growing of the edible landscaping and in combination with the rainwater that has been stored.
A recycling area in a convenient place for glass, metal, plastics, boxes, and papers placed in locations that are easy to use will support the homeowners in remembering to recycle. These bins go directly to the recycling center or to curbside recycling.
Edible landscaping. The following components are part of each home’s edible landscape: a kitchen herb garden, areas for small fruit trees and berry bushes, a small scale, intensive vegetable garden, and food-bearing perennial plants. Creating an outdoor edible landscape means that the yard will grow a portion of the household’s food. Food can be harvested right outside the home making the food fresher and more nutritious.
This local food production is better for the environment because it eliminates the need for food to be shipped from across the country or overseas. The compost from inside the house is deposited into the soil around the house and the water catchment system is used to water the landscaping and garden areas around the house.
With global climate change and the need to reduce consumption of energy, these self-sufficient household designs will supply homeowners with the basic needs of shelter, energy, food, and water, creating a more secure and sustainable future.