It's Easy Being Green

Today is my birthday and my girlfriend bought me one of the best birthday presents ever! She picked up this little device called a Solio. It’s basically an array of 3 solar panels that open up like a flower. The panels have an internal battery and produce enough power to recharge just about an cell phone or mp3 player you might have on the road with you. It’s great because while you’re driving, you can harness the power of the sun right on your dashboard. You can also take these devices out into the field and not have to rely on an wall power or other random outlet to recharge your phone.

I’m super excited because over the last month I started travelling more for my job. It can take me to some really remote, out of the way places and this is one simple way I can make sure I have power for all my portable devices while living a little greener! I can’t wait to take it out with me on the next trip to see just how well it works. If you’d like to learn more about the Solio line of products, head on over to the Solio website.

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A team of scientists and researchers have developed a new way to harvest energy from the sun. According to an article on the Idaho National Laboratory’s website, the team developed “nanoantennas” that collect the suns rays on a tiny antennae about 1/25th the size of a human hair. The reports says the antennae could be stamped on just about any flexible material and essentially cost just a few cents per yard of material. To make the idea even better, the product can harvest energy long after sunset.

The team says their “nanoantennas” are more efficient at producing solar energy because they are also able to harvest infrared radiation, released from the earth long after the sun has set below the horizon. It’s also a spectrum that solar cells can’t currently turn into energy. They say while conventional solar cells can harvest about 20% of the sun’s rays, the new technology can harvest 80%.

Now the team will set forth on another challenge, figuring out how to take the harvested energy and turn it into something that’s usable. The frequency of the current generated switches back and forth about ten thousand billion times per second. Your common household appliance cycles power frequencies about 60 times per second. But the future is bright for this invention which could one day coat the roof of our home or be embedded in the clothes we wear.

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I caught an interesting program on The Science Channel the other day while I was at work, called Invention Nation. The show profiles some pretty cool inventions and developments in the green movement while the three hosts take a veggie-fueled trip across the country to get an up-close look at each one. While I don’t think the production quality or the hosts do the idea much justice, it’s nice to see various aspects of sustainable living shaping up across America, despite the reefer-infused hippie bus theme the show portrays.  Come on, green is more mainstream than that! This one episode got my attention because they were making stops in the Flagstaff area, visiting a LEED certified home. The house, being built in Bellemont just 10 miles west of Flagstaff, is one of only four platinum-certified homes in the U.S.

So what makes this house so green? The list is a long one and amazes me that they’ve packed so many environmentally responsible features into one home. The show focused on the “brain” of the house, an automated control system that essentially runs the place. A weather station installed outside the home monitors all weather conditions and relays them into a computer. That computer automatically opens and closes windows, adjusting the interior temperature with the outside temperature. The system also keeps the interior humidity at a healthy range. Aside from just the way the home feels, the system also tracks water and power useage, providing the homeowner a full rundown of just how much they’re using in the way of resources. The power monitors also look at the power output of the solar system, generating a little more than 7 kW hours of power and a wind turbine harvesting the almost regular northern Arizona wind, generating 2kW.

The Bellemont home is not connected to any water service. Instead it harvests all of its water from the sky through 40,000 gallons of collection tanks. The home’s designers say that’s enough for 2 years of potable water and irrigation uses. It doesn’t matter whether it’s rain or snowmelt, it all eventually finds its way into a collection tank where it’s stores and purified. The computer monitors just how full the collection tanks are. A newly planted apple orchard at the home is watered thanks to the home’s grey water system.

The eco-friendly house produces zero emissions. It’s zero energy and zero carbon emissions and produces more energy than the home itself uses. The extra electricity is fed onto the local power grid where the home actually earns energy credit for the power it produces. The home is outfitted with all Energy Star appliances and lighting. In fact, the house has such a high Energy Star rating that it exceeds IECC 2007 requirements by over 75%. When it comes to heating and cooling, a solar hot water system feeds an in-floor radiant heat system throughout the house. It’s also designed with thermal massing and passive solar design to reap the rewards of the Arizona sunshine during the cold winter months. Sewage from the home is treated with a UV alternative septic system which designers say is the first to be installed in the state of Arizona.

I think this home is truly remarkable and inspiring for the sustainable living movement. As the idea catches on and more and more homes are built with the ideas being demonstrated in the LEED Pilot Home, I think green construction will become more cost effective and mainstream. It shows people that what seems difficult could be really very easy. It would be easy for many to live green if their home was outfitted that way from get-go!

The house was designed by Architectural and Environmental Associates. Carl Ramsey, the company’s owner, seems truly committed to green and sustainable design.

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