Tag:Green
Living in a Box!
Shipping Container Home
As the song goes, “I’m Living in a Box”. Maybe this is an answer to Culver’s Affordable Housing Crisis? I ran across this on the Viralands site. I’ve seen several different versions of Shipping Container Construction, many of them designed as affordable housing, including some that are multi-story which I showed here before. I think this is one of the more attractive ones though. There are more pictures at the site here.
Currently this would not fly under Culver’s Zoning Ordinance without a variance since the square footage would be too small. It would probably also spark a spirited discussion with the County Building Inspector since it wouldn’t fit neatly into current building codes. It is an interesting concept though and at the stated $2,000 for a used shipping container, it would be hard to beat that price for the shell of your new home. This would have to be some of the ultimate recycling as well, so it’s definitely green!
Picture Source: Viralands
Culver Wellhead Protection Map
Map of Town of Culver wellhead aquifer area
I received the handy-dandy map to the right in the mail from the Town of Culver the other day along with a letter from Dave Schoeff, Culver Town Manager, talking about various procedures for protecting the well water for Culver’s municipal wells. All of it was a good reminder as ground water contamination isn’t something that people think about on a day to day basis. I doubt many people think about where the municipal tap water comes from beyond the faucet to which it is attached. I doubt many people really looked at the map either. Aside from the weird abbreviation for street “Str.” and the random dashed line area floating above the Lutheran Church property, two other things struck me. First being that the aerial photography for the base map is old. Construction began on Culver Garden Court in 2011 and it is not shown in the photograph. The second and more interesting thing pertinent to recent discussions is that the 10 year protection line extends very close to the current Culver Zoning Boundary.
Hopefully this will be added to the list of reasons why Culver should be allowed to extend their Territorial Authority per the Comprehensive Plan. Any decisions about development in these zones should be considered against the backdrop of wellhead protection along with all the other factors. If that is the 10 year line, then the 15 year line is farther out yet, not to mention some of the locations being considered for another well might have aquifer areas even farther out. Add this to your file Dave!
Solar Shutters
Plantation shutters are useful for keeping sunlight out, but they can also be adapted to harvest solar power… at least that is the vision of the San Diego company called Plug ‘n Save Energy Products. Placing these shutters on the windows on the south side of your home will do double duty reducing heat gain from sunlight while collecting the solar energy. Connect the photovoltaic panels on the louvers to an inverter that plugs into an outlet and returns power back to your electrical system.
Picture Source: latimes.com
Remote Control Shades & Blinds
Pella has introduced their new SmartSync technology that allows remote control access to raise and lower blinds. This works with the integrated blinds and shades in Pella’s Designer Series of windows and doors.
Not only does this let you adjust the shades without getting out of your chair, but it can be tied into your home or business automation system through web-enabled devices like computers and smart phones.
This is the first step to using your window shades to help control your environment. For example, the west facing windows shades you opened in the morning to let light in might soon detect the movement of the sun and automatically close to reflect that excess heat in the summer or vice versa, open when the sun hits them in the winter to pick up that passive heat. (Pretty cool even if it doesn’t qualify as Green That Saves Green.) Likewise for security, if you normally close the blinds when you’re gone to keep out prying eyes, you’ll be able to check them and close them from your smartphone or work computer. No more wondering if you remembered to close them before you left.
Interesting Streetlights
Image borrowed from webecoist.com
In doing the previous post on alternate WECS’s (Wind Energy Conversion Systems) I ran across some interesting options for street lights that are powered by wind, solar or a combination of the two. Some are more decorative than functional, but I thought they would be interesting to consider for the Sand Hill Farm project. I’ve collected a list of interesting links below showing some of the innovations that are out there. I’ve also included some pictures gleaned from the net.
E-Turbine image borrowed from alternativeenergyecogreen.blogspot.com
I also was impressed with the idea of the E-Turbine. This bollard size WECS is designed to be installed along roads and take advantage of the constant rush of air caused by passing vehicles. I would imagine these would be extremely efficient in underpasses and tunnels where that energy can be directed to the turbines and then employed to light the surrounding areas. Each Turbine has a built in battery to store the energy produced. This is similar to the idea previously posted here regarding paving tiles that steal the energy created by foot traffic.
With the currently proposed ordinance these may well be banned too. 0.5 Kilowatts (low end of proposed ordinance WECS definition) is 500 Watts. Street lights use bulbs averaging from 35 to 250 watts per hypertextbook.com That means for a fixture using bulbs at the upper end of this scale, each bulb would require its own turbine to stay under the mandated wattage.
The Flow fixture by Igen Design. Link: http://www.coroflot.com/vasquez/Flow-public-lighting-for-the-Third-World
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UGE Wind-Solar Hybrid Street Light
UGE’s whimsical Wind-Solar Hybrid Street Light. http://www.urbangreenenergy.com/solutions/wind-solar-hybrid-streetlights/how-it-works
Wind Tulip by Tuvia
Wind Tulip by Tuvie: http://www.tuvie.com/windtulip-wind-powered-street-light-that-looks-like-a-tulip-flower/
Beach Lamp by Zengzhu Deng
Beach Lamp by Zengzhu Deng. http://www.ecochunk.com/3777/2012/11/14/sea-and-land-breeze-power-the-eco-friendly-beach-lamp-concept/
Loopwing Korea’s WECS
Loopwing Korea powers clocks as well as street lights. http://www.greendiary.com/loopwing-korea-unveils-self-powered-streetlight-wind-power-generator.html
Of these, I think I like the UGE version with the banner option and wind/solar combination power. Some of the links above talk about 400 watt bulbs, but assuming there is a battery to charge too, the wattage may well exceed the 0.5 Kilowatt limitation being proposed. The wattage restriction would also limit the option of one turbine powering several lights.
The kind of creative thinking that creates these things won’t be stifled by Culver banning WECS’s. The ban just stops the use of the new technology that’s out there. This is what I tried to suggest at the Plan Commission with limited success.
