The Sustainable House March 25, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Breaking News, Adaptive Reuse, Energy Efficiency, Sustainability , add a commentI am a big fan of using the sun and wind as energy sources rather than paying the local utility, and working to create a sustainable house. I love to imagine what one of these “energy-free” houses would be like and I think I found one in Enertia. I saw them tonight on the Science Channel.
In the Enertia Building System, solid Energy-Engineered wood walls replace siding, framing, insulation, and paneling. An air flow and access channel, or Envelope, runs around the building, just inside the walls - creating a miniature biosphere. Here solar heated air circulates, pumping and boosting geothermal energy from beneath the house, storing it in the massive wood walls. Thermal inertia causes the house to “float” between the cycles of night and day, and even between the seasons.
Many aspects of the Enertia® House are unusual and innovative - but backed up by science, common-sense, and prototype homes across America. In fact, each aspect listed below increases the energy efficiency of the building. The effect is Synergistic - equal to more than the sum of the parts. The Enertia® House can make more energy than it uses!
What do you think? I love this idea. Could you do one of these in Chicago?
