EMAIL SIGN UP!
Most Popular This Week
- One American Who Isn't For Sale
- Edward Snowden: Saving Us from the United Stasi of America
- Major Loss to Organic Farmers as Court Rules in Favor of Monsanto
- The Judicial Lynching of Bradley Manning
- Remembering Satyajit Ray’s Hirok Rajar Deshe: On Edward Snowden, Resistance and Inverted Totalitarianism
Popular content
Today's Top News
The Island House That Powers Itself - With A Little Help From 100mph Gales
Life on the most northerly inhabited island in Britain can be very tough indeed. On Unst the winters are harsh, and the winds brutal and relentless, regularly sweeping across the treeless landscape at more than 100mph.
But Unst is the island chosen by a retired couple from Wiltshire to build one of the world's greenest houses - a "zero carbon" home powered entirely by the wind and the sun. It sits on the same latitude as southern Greenland, but will soon boast lemon trees, grapevines and green pepper plants in its greenhouse, an electric car powered by the wind, and floors heated by drawing warmth from the air.
The three-bedroom home designed by Michael and Dorothy Rea, near the shoreline of a secluded bay, has become a test bed for living "off-grid": generating all their power from renewable sources, growing most of their food at home, and running a car without a petrol station.
Their home - built for just over £210,000 from an off-the-shelf timber framed house - has quietly become famous. The Scottish executive in Edinburgh is using it as a benchmark for new sustainable house-building rules; officials in the prime minister's office watch its progress and Chinese officials are studying its innovative technologies for a new 5,000-home eco-town in Guangzhou, in southern China.
Last year, the Reas learned that their website - zerocarbonhouse.com - was the fourth most popular site worldwide on Google. Michael Rea is often up at 5am answering emails from PhD students, green activists and even Canadian senators.
The Reas believe their home is the first of its kind. "If we can do this here, anyone can do it anywhere," said Dorothy, a former headteacher. "It's just an ordinary house. It could be in Edinburgh; it could be in Chigwell."
"It's definitely significant," said Duncan Price, a director of one of the world's largest green energy consultancies, ESD, and an advisor to the Reas. "What's very special is they're trying to address the carbon impact of their whole lifestyle. It's a microcosm of how the world would be in a carbon-constrained future."
It is one of several pioneering off-grid projects in remote areas of Scotland, where communities such as the islanders on Eigg in the inner Hebrides and another living on Scoraig, a remote peninsula near Ullapool in north-west Scotland, have developed their own independent green power sources.
Around 80 people living on Scoraig, which is only accessible by boat or with a five-mile trek overland, power their homes and businesses chiefly using small hand-made wind turbines designed by local resident Hugh Piggott, a guru of self-sufficient off-grid living. Solar panels and diesel generators supplement the turbines.
In February, the islanders of Eigg, just south of Skye, switched on the UK's first independent "green grid". It provides power to all the 45 homes and 20 businesses by combining electricity from wind turbines, solar panels and two small hydro-electric dams into a single supply. For the first time, islanders can run fridges, electric kettles, satellite TVs and computers without using unreliable oil-powered generators.
Forced by their isolation to become self-sufficient, many observers believe these communities prove that micro-generation and home energy schemes are viable UK-wide. Nick Rosen, author of How to Live Off-Grid, a handbook on off-grid communities, said: "It doesn't mean we should all live like Scoraig but we should be fostering communities like it all over the place. It increases the self-reliance of our society overall, in the event of sudden energy price hikes, the Russians cut off the gas or strikes in the oil industry."
The Reas are not naive about the severity of Shetland's weather or the scale of the challenge. They erected the timber frame for their new home during a gale in November 2006; the strongest gusts threw heavy roof sections through the air, smashing one to the ground.
Shetland, the Reas note wryly, has the strongest and most reliable winds of any inhabited part of the world, closely followed by the Falkland islands. But then they have striking views over a south-facing bay across to the low-slung, mottled green islands of Uyea, Fetlar and Yell. In midsummer, the temperature can hit 30C and the sun never sets.
"I could foresee the time when energy would be very, very expensive," Michael Rea said. "But at first what we were doing was viewed as the black arts, but we weren't cranks. We were ordinary people."
Although they describe their home as normal, it will use advanced low-carbon technologies, many of which are being fitted this summer. With help from Dundee University and Duchy College in Cornwall, they are building a greenhouse which uses hydroponics where their vegetables, fruit and herbs will be grown in a liquid with specially controlled lighting to create artificial "seasons". The University of Delaware is refitting a Toyota Yaris car with an electric engine.
Dogged and single-minded, Michael Rea has cajoled builders, banks and even the window firm Velux into sponsoring the project. Eventually, the house will be lit by very low energy LED lights, the greenhouse will use electricity from its own wind turbine and the chief source of heating will be a heat pump which draws warmth from the air into an under-floor system.
"I have been waiting 24 years for this house to be built," said Dorothy, 65. "But it's just a standard house, an honest house, nothing fancy. It's a serious project in renewable design and energy efficiency, an experiment in joined-up technology, but it's also a house we intend to grow old in."
Explainer: How heat is harnessedThe house is very heavily insulated and its under-floor heating uses warmth drawn from the outside air and stored in a giant "water battery". Heat inside the house is captured by a ventilation system and reused. Rainwater is harvested for toilets and the washing machine. Large windows capture warmth from the sun.
Power for dishwasher, cooker, toaster, fridge, computers and lights comes from a wind turbine, which charges fuel cells able to store power for four days. The house's LED lights will use the same power as one 100W bulb.
The greenhouse will have its own wind turbine. Plants will grow in high-nutrient hydroponic liquids, with special LED lights to create artificial seasons and daylight. A converted battery-powered Toyota Yaris will be charged from the fuel cells.
© 2008 The Guardian
Comments
Note: Disqus 2012 is best viewed on an up to date browser. Click here for information. Instructions for how to sign up to comment can be viewed here. Our Comment Policy can be viewed here. Please follow the guidelines. Note to Readers: Spam Filter May Capture Legitimate Comments...
14 Comments so far
Show AllBut where does all the material come from to build the LED's, greenhouses, wind turbines, Toyota Yaris, and fuel cells. What type of energy is used to extract the metals, harvest the wood, make the glass, etc. I admire their ingenuity, but a zero carbon footprint means more than just looking at the footprint of the house, it requires a fundamental redesign in the way materials are extracted, used, and recycled.
If renewable energy was used in every step of extraction, production, and transport of every material that the house is built from then it possibly could be considered a zero carbon house. The problems that are posed by global warming are systemic, they relate to our very perception of the Earth as a source of raw materials. We take without giving back. What has been extracted is planned to be 'thrown away', not recycled endlessly like in nature.
The sooner we model natural systems design, the better, and until we do we'll only be addressing the symptoms and not pursuing fundamental solutions.
This is just a scheme so a couple more rich people can try to have nice things at the end of all things...
Of course this house isn't a zero carbon house, for the reasons metanoia said, but it's just about as close as we can get right now. Better to do what we can now, instead of waiting until we have a perfect system.
And, with a little government help, like subsidizing solar panels and windmills and electric cars, big changes could be made. The biggest problem with this kind of thing is that so few people can afford to do it. But if we can get the cost down to a level they can afford . . .
The coolest thing about this house is that it shows us what can be done, if we want to do it, and there's nothing wrong with that.
Yeah, finding ways to refrain from murder in meeting your daily needs is "just a scheme so a couple more rich people can try to have nice things at the end of all things."
These people are doing a great thing and I applaud them. They are helping to show that the idea that an ecologically benign lifestyle means going back to hunter-gatherer societies is bullshit.
Yes, most of those materials were probably not made to be continuously recycled. Some of them are "monstrous hybrids"--biological and technical nutrients combined into a single product without a plan for separation and reuse. Some companies are beginning to understand and implement cradle-to-cradle lifecycle planning or product-service business models and I applaud them. I would not insult or libel these companies if they used 20% coal electricity in manufacturing or fossil fuels in transport, though it may be good to point those things out as areas for improvement.
In an era of energy descent, projects like this one will free up more of the remaining cheap fossil energy so we can build a renewable energy infrastructure. In other words, let's crack some eggs but please make sure they make it into the frying pan.
We live off the grid in North Central Washington due to the fact our local PUD wanted $18,000 to bring the power 1,400 feet. We built our home ourselves, lived without any power for 2 1/2 years, wood heat kept us going, then as we could afford it bought solar panels, radiant heat in the floor . We don't have a microwave, clothes dryer or dishwasher. We reuse our greywater for flushing toilets and watering plants. We have learned on the fly and it has taken some adjustments but we feel like we are living the good life! I purchased an electric bike off Craigslist and that is my main mode of transportation as town is only 3 1/2 miles away. Most folks are just too accustom to the pampered life to make ANY ajustments to help realize the goal of being green.
That's pretty inspiring, bestdogcoop. Thank you.
What's missing from this picture? Neighbors.
This is a visionary pioneering effort that shows what's possible. It will be even better if and when we figure out how to refine, organize and finance this model for people who have less to spend.
All the better if the technology can be applied to existing structures so things don't have to be built from the ground up. I see no reason why wind or solar power, depending on the climate, cannot be added to any house or building. The gray water system should be automatically part of any new building and I suppose a clever plumber could modify many existing buildings. Window orientation, passive heat capture, tree placement, use of native plants for groundscaping, greenhouses - the ideas are out there.
I look on in stunned disbelief when in this day and age I see huge new buildings going up with the same old same old: windows that do not open so that AC is required all year long; hallway lights that stay on 24/7 rather than motion activated or French style lights; no solar or wind energy component; no water re-cycling; no incorporation of green plants or trees for air quality and climate control. These buildings are going to be albatrosses in a few years as energy prices soar and clean water becomes more scarce.
Since we live in a marketing society, I hope that every innovative structure gets a lot of positive publicity so people begin to say "I want that!"
Don't know if your supposed to re-respond but hey I'll give it a try. I am really passionate about being kinder to Mother Earth. After raising 8 kids together, being buried in debt, we decided it was our turn to take a stab at making a differece. We bought 32 acres of woods, lived in our 1986 RV on the weekends while we built(three hour drive from our home), worked our jobs during the week for those 2 years. We sold our home in suburbia, payed off all our debts moved into our unfinished, off the grid home in the woods and pretty much lived like the pioneers for 2 years while we finished it. Well, we're still not really finished but my point is, it is so doable if you want it. We learned as we went, it was really difficult sometimes but there was such a sense of accomplishment when we prevailed! We have our home on 32 acres for less than you'de pay for an empty lot in suburbia.
I'd be even more interested in learning about the green grid created by the islanders of Eigg (mentioned in the story). It sounds like they've come up with something for an entire community (albeit a small one) that gives them energy independence and gets them off a fallible grid. In our country we've seen a grid malfunction take out an entire region. It simply isn't good for the citizens, only for the huge monopolies who control the grid.
Hydroponic growing!?!!? Not the way to go; if there's one thing that should be guaranteed sustainable, growing food should be it. But with artificial inputs, it just doesn't make sense.
We may look back one day at some of these green living attempts as somewhat naive or amateurish, but we need to start somewhere. That house looks like a cozy place in a bitter environment. I find it inspirational.
It's telling that, according to google, their site was the fourth most visited site. People are awakening to alternative ways of living. It's the ONLY way things are going to change.
Despite their ads, BP ISN'T the answer.
History says that change is often instituted by the middle class. Individuals who can afford to pay out of their own pocket to experiement with green technologies that one day may benefit us all aren't selfish, its a gift to the rest of us. Its research and development that the working class doesn't have to finance out of their tax dollars. And yes, the technolgies that produce the equipment may not be green. Yet. Change is uneven and has to begin somewhere. Its the global decrease in carbon emissions that matters, not that each change is 100% carbon free. I salut this couple for putting their money where their values are and giving the rest of us information about what is possible in the future when we take the tax money and put it into systems such as this rather than war.
mjtimber, you don't need artificial inputs for hydroponics. It's only a method of delivery for nutrients. Where to get the nutrients (gypsum mine, compost tea, Exxon, etc.) is up to the grower, and pretty much unrelated to the hydroponics method used.
It can be completely sustainable if you just use a little sense.
These people are a great example to all of us.
I think heat pumps are a practical solution forward.
According to the Petroleum Institute, oil fired furnace installations are decreasing in the Eastern US. What is replacing them? electricity. OFten baseboard heaters or electric furnaces. The least we could do is use heat pumps which gives 2x or more heat from every kWhr of Electricity.
Most alternative energy solutions are incredibly simple. years ago in engineering school, I saw a film from the 1960's about a guy who dug up his front lawn, put in some piping, and bought an old refrigeration unit from a comercial freezer, and made a heatpump.
Couple heatpumps with wind and solar and you can keep warm, even in a northern climate.
Real change comes from the bottom up not top-down. Forget about passing laws and making global directives, and get some good books and get your hands dirty and build something for yourself!!