Eco-friendly features

eco-friendly houses

The eco-house structure is a modest home in an urban neighborhood that exhibits simple environmental approaches of global importance. The house showcases features that can be readily applied to any residence.

The house incorporates ecologically friendly materials and methods that reduce resource use, come from renewable resources, have minimal impacts in their manufacture, avoid toxic chemicals, do not off-gas harmful compounds, and can be reused or reclaimed at the end of their useful life. It contains such environmentally preferable products as natural linoleum floors, wood floors from a demolished house, salvaged cabinets, bamboo for the kitchen countertops and wood from sustainable forests.

Of primary importance is reducing our need for non-renewable energy sources. We completely insulated the house with cellulose, replaced lighting fixtures with low energy yet attractive fluorescents, installed high efficiency appliances, and replaced the hot water heater with a “flash” or instantaneous water heater that only heats water as it is being used. A solar water heater on the roof pre-heats water so the flash heater has to use less gas to get the water to the desired temperature.

The home’s photovoltaic installation provides all of the home’s electricity, and is especially appreciated on the sunniest, hottest days, when it supplies energy back into the grid.

When building the garden shed, UC students employed a medley of building techniques, including straw bale, rammed earth trombe wall for passive heating, and salvaged lumber insulated with light clay-straw. The garden shed houses equipment for our photovoltaic system, while its living roof and natural building materials blend beautifully with our permaculture demonstration gardens. The water captured from the roof drains into a salvaged tub that serves as the ducks’ bath.//

ecologycenter.org.

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Ga