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-- OriginalOwner_ [tinyurl.com] writes:

from the true-independence dept.

Last Best News reports [lastbestnews.com]

With 2,400 square feet of living space, the house will be heated and cooled passively, ventilated in the summer by opening windows and solar-powered skylights, assisted by large, completely noiseless bamboo ceiling fans.

In the winter, fresh, warm air will flow through the house after being heated by the sun in the 300-square-foot garden room that sits between the house and the two-car garage. Circulation will be aided by a heat-recovery ventilator. [...] Heating and cooling are efficient and require few inputs because the house sits inside a super-insulated envelope of overlapping structural insulated panels.

[...]Power is generated by a 2.2-kilowatt solar array and a vertical-axis wind turbine on the corner of the property. [...] The house is also equipped with its own DC microgrid that powers all-LED lighting as well as some equipment and appliances. The Hafers plan to stay connected to the city power grid for a year, to make sure their calculations are accurate and the house produces enough electricity.

All the Hafers’ water will come from rainwater collected off the roof and stored in six 1,500-gallon tanks in the basement. Gray water—from sinks and appliances—will be stored in tanks totaling 1,500 gallons and will be used for irrigation, clothes washing, toilet flushing, and dish washing.

Toilet waste will be processed in a huge composter in the basement.

Original Submission