Here is the News Gazette article if you didn’t get a chance to read it on Sunday. It was well done and I think will help to spread the word and explain what we are doing. There were just a few items discussed that are worth clarifying:
1) The ICF foundation is actually 12″ thick, not 18″, although thicker would be nice.
2) The rainwater collection system is sized such that it could at some point provide 80% of the house water needs. Currently, we only have permission from the State to use the water for toilets. The plumbing will be configured so that it can easily be transitioned to use rainwater for showers, laundry, and non-potable outside if that should be approved in the future.
3) Passive homes are both super-insulated and super-sealed. While we have our own building simulation models and are employing different construction techniques, our goal is for the house to perform at the Passive House energy standards.
[singlepic id=477 w=200 h=150 float=left]The house has been wrapped like a present just in time for the holidays. This Tyvek is a breathable vapor barrier and will make working inside more bearable until windows and doors are added.
The garage door as well as the front and back doors have been put on order. Windows are here, but are in storage until the doors arrive, which should be about a week or two. In the meantime, the interior walls are being constructed and preparation work can be done to prepare the rough door and window openings.
Below are pictures of the University of Illinois’ Gable Home; the entry in the 2009 Solar Decathlon competition is back on campus. The house did awesome, winning three events and placing second in three more out of the ten total. Overall, the team finished in 2nd place. The house is now located in the South farms area near the Assembly Hall.
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The house also happens to be located close to the largest solar collector in Illinois. The solar pond along First St was one of Ty’s university research projects. Constructed in 1986-87, it is an integral salt gradient thermal energy storage solar pond. It sits adjacent to hog research facilities which were partially heated by the pond during its active research phase. Thermal energy stored in the pond during the summer can be used for building heating or supplemental process heat such as for grain drying.
The land on which the pond sits is slated to become a golf course. With so much talk on campus about sustainability, it would be nice if they could find a way to incorporate the solar pond into the development plans. Perhaps make it a water hazard. The solar pond really is a historical project and while its energy storage is not currently used, it continues to demonstrate that it can stand the test of time. The materials have held up through multiple hot summer and frigid winter cycles. Maybe the solar pond could be the campus’s alternative energy experiment equivalent to the university’s Morrow Plots.
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