The Tiny Life

Here is a Tiny House that comes from the Designers at Ecospace.  They design a full range of building from small office pods and bigger.  Using SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels) these houses can be put together fairly quickly.  At only a few hundred feet, they pack a ton into this thing.  At around $55,000 this is a premium house, but I feel it serves to provide good inspirations for your own design.

Made from sustainable cedar wood with an optional plant covered roof, low-energy heating, lighting and insulation, it’s right at home with the environment as well as your garden. Use it as your office and the garden commute will do wonders for your carbon footprint too.

Click link below for more photos!

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Interesting video with the Director of Transportation for DC.  He is well know for his contributions in Zip Cars.  Among many parts of a “multi-modal” system as he refers to it, is a bike share program.  Annual fees to have access bikes are $40.00

I from time to time go over to the local botanical garden and do a little work while sitting among the several acres of greenscape.  This company tops that, with having it right there and encouraging its employees to work there.

At a presentation at its Arkansas headquarters, mega-retailer Walmart announced a significant new sustainability goal for its supply chain: Reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from the life cycle of its products by 20 million metric tons (22 million US tons) by 2015–a figure roughly equal to the company’s current annual emissions, and about one and a half times the company’s projected carbon footprint growth in the same time period.  This is similar to 2.3 million cars worth of pollution.

In doing so it has collaborated with the Environmental Defense Fund, and with ClearCarbon Inc., the Carbon Disclosure Project, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and the University of Arkansas’ Applied Sustainability Center to verify GHG reduction claims.

In determining which product categories to focus on first, Walmart SVP of Sustainability Matt Kistler said:

Over the next five years we’re going to be focusing on certain categories, certain businesses where the biggest opportunity exists, where it’s the most efficient, and most cost-effective to remove that greenhouse gas from that supply chain. Whether it be in apparel, whether it be in food, whether it be in home line products, we’re looking at the category of products where there’s great opportunity, but where its at a low cost to remove.

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Seoul take a freeway and brings back the river it was built over to make great public spaces.  Seoul has begun to realize that pedestrian walk ways are key to a successful city.

With many Tiny Houses wanting to live off the grid, many of us dream of all electric cars charged by green energy sources, we get frustrated when our devices only last a scant few hours.  What does all this have in common?  Batteries.  Technology has allowed us to do so many interesting things in today’s world, but batteries are still from the stone age, or so they seem.  They are inefficient, heave, expensive, and have a low mass/volume to power ratio.  I have said to friends many times, want to make millions, make a better battery.

Living off the grid is one of the biggest benefactors of improvements in batteries.  While solar cells aren’t quite there yet, they have made some big strides in making them cheaper and more efficient.   The point is, they are on there way.  The second component to a solar array is storing that energy to have on had at night or when you are in some heavy  usage.  Better batteries will allow us to do this.  Here is a good article from Good.

For those who didn’t pay attention in class: Batteries are typically comprised of three main parts: a cathode (positive electrode), an anode (negative electrode), and an electrolyte (an ion-rich liquid that separates the electrodes). The movement of metal ions between the cathode and the anode through the electrolyte (and back) releases electrons, generating electricity

Lead-acid batteries, found in conventional automobiles, have a low ratio of energy to weight, which means it takes a lot of battery to provide just a little juice. Nickel-metal hydride batteries, the ones powering today’s hybrids like the Toyota Prius, are significantly lighter, but offer only a slight improvement in efficiency. Neither can compete with gasoline-fueled internal combustion.

Several technologies are competing to fuel the next generation of EVs. All of them, however, have serious weaknesses that researchers are still attempting to address. “People are betting on different horses at this point in time,” says Matt Keyser, a senior engineer in energy storage systems at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. “Which one is going to come out and win is anyone’s guess.”

Here’s a look at some of the technologies vying to corner the EV market:

Lithium-Ion

These batteries use lithium ions as the electrolyte. A battery pack made of these cells, while more powerful than lead-acid and nickel-metal hydride batteries, is still 10 times weaker than an internal combustion engine of the same weight. Versions of these batteries are already used in in both the Tesla Roadster and Chevy Volt, as well as many electronic devices, such as laptops and cell phones. The knock on current lithium ion technology: It dispenses its stored energy slowly, so acceleration may be slow, and the batteries take several hours to charge. Also, while lithium is plentiful, it’s not extensively mined, so it’s expensive to obtain. It may take up to 10 years for supply to catch up to projected demand.

Ultracapacitors

Ultracapacitors charge quickly and dispense their charge speedily (curing the slow acceleration problem that plagues some electric cars). They also last much longer than batteries—they can be recharged over and over again, whereas batteries eventually will not recharge. That’s because ultracapacitors use electric fields, instead of slowly depleting chemicals, to get charges. They are already in use in short-run electric buses in Russia and garbage trucks in the United States. The downside: They only hold their charge for a limited time, so it’s unlikely that ultracapacitors will become a viable option for powering a car alone. “I think ultracapacitors are a technology that’s going to work with [battery] systems,” says Savinell. However, one Texas-based company called EEStor says it has solved the storage problem, claiming its ultracapacitors will enable a small car to travel 250 miles on a single charge that only takes five minutes to complete.

Fuel Cells

Like batteries, fuel cells have cathodes and anodes and involve a chemical reaction, specifically making water and electrons (and thus electricity) by combining hydrogen with oxygen. The technology is simple enough, but the safety issues are the drag: The transport and onboard storage of highly explosive (remember the Hindenburg?) hydrogen gas could keep fuel cells from catching on. In addition, the catalysts needed to split hydrogen atoms into protons and electrons (like platinum, palladium, rhodium, nickel) are very expensive. “Fuel cells from a mobile standpoint are difficult,” says NREL’s Keyser. “Maybe in twenty five or thirty years down the road, we may be able to deal with all the storage issues, the transport issues, the infrastructure issues, the catalyst itself.” Seemingly agreeing with Keyser’s skepticism is the Obama administration, which cut $100 million from the federal hydrogen fuel cell program in 2009.

Redox Flow

Similar to fuel cells, redox flow batteries would require filling stations rather than plug-in capability. In this case, a charged electrolyte flows through the battery, producing electrons. After a while, the electrolyte loses its charge and needs to be pumped out and replaced. The electrolyte is typically made with vanadium, which is the 22nd most abundant element in the world. It’s also very safe. “If you were to spill this on the road and light a cigarette near it, it’s not going to go off like hydrogen,” says Keyser. “The big thing with [redox flow batteries] is: Are you going to get the energy density or power density that you need for the car itself?” Right now, even lithium ion cells are several times more powerful than redox flow cells. German researchers, however, claim they have a method to increase the distance redox flow batteries can power a car by four to five times, rendering them roughly equal to lithium ion batteries.

Metal Air

Savinell and Keyser both point to metal air batteries as the technology of the future. This battery uses the oxygen in the air as its cathode, which means it doesn’t need as much material and gets more energy for its weight. Depending on what material is used for the anode, metal air batteries could be anywhere from three times more powerful than lithium ion batteries of the same weight to as powerful as an internal combustion engine. IBM intends to bring these to market in five years for smaller electronics. “For lithium air, I think that’s more ten to fifteen years down the road [to power a car],” says Keyser. “We’re just starting to really look at that and understand all the benefits and the costs associated with lithium air batteries.” One major barrier remains: When the oxygen reacts with the electrolyte to form ions, it also creates a solid that can gunk up the air intake, blocking the battery’s function. Researchers are searching for an electrolyte that will produce the necessary ions but avoid the formation of this solid.

A recently  completed ‘dome house’ at Bishops Wood environmental centre, near Stourport-on-Severn, could provide a groundbreaking solution to how buildings are made.

Jay Emery, who runs manufacturing specialist Dingley Dell Enterprises, has used African inspired designs to come up with a cost-effective construction system that uses glass reinforced concrete that offers a number of eco-friendly benefits.

Backed by specialist support from the Manufacturing Advisory Service – West Midlands (MAS-WM), the South African entrepreneur is hoping the project will provide the platform for him to enter dramatically different markets, ranging from high spec garden and office buildings through to vital low cost housing for the developing world.

He said: “When I started producing bushman burner chimineas 10 years ago I had to come up with a new material to replace terracotta and, at the time, I could see that glass reinforced concrete could be suitable for numerous applications.

Key facts on domes :

Height 3.5m
Diameter:6m
Floor space:28.5 m2

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Builder website

This great guest house was designed by Wayne F. Tjaden, he was tasked to figure out how to take a awkward space of 100 square feet with 13.5 foot high ceilings and make it a home away from home.  The end result is pretty amazing and the re-purposing of an old mill reduces its impact.

Here is what he had to say about the process of design:

I was inspired by the challenge of converting a 200 sq.ft. former factory restroom plus 100 sq.ft. of an adjacent corridor, all with 13 ft. ceiling, into a guest apartment for the owner/architect’s live/work loft on the floor directly above.  To solve the problem, I introduced diagonal walls, at aspect ratio of 1:4 separating the space longitudinally into principal living spaces and support spaces located adjacent to existing plumbing services. Then, I suspended a sleeping mezzanine within the 13 ft. tall space.  The diagonal walls create forced perspectives which enhance the perception of spaciousness and the floating mezzanine allows the spaces to be appreciated as parts of a single whole.

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I saw this caption on a photo of a yurt and couldn’t help but laugh…and make it the post title.  Yurts will always have a special place in my heart, I was almost going to put up one while in my masters program, but the land ended up having no sewage or water.

I still question their efficiency when it comes to insulation, I have slept in one while in Vermont, it was very cold even with a wood stove.  They can be really dressed up, with full kitchens, bathrooms and nice wood floors.  Here are 5 reasons to consider living in a yurt.

1.Yurts are the Real Green Deal

Dave Masters (of the Luna Project) talk about his life in a yurt: “We talk all the time about living with less; Dave lives in 706 square feet with off grid power, a composting toilet, a shower and a full kitchen and didn’t give anything up at all to live in comfort and style. When you live in 706 square feet you don’t need much to run it; he collects water from his roof, power from the sun and wind, heat from sustainably cut wood. He spends about six hundred bucks a year for his propane barbeque, gas for his chainsaw and log splitter and that is about it.”

2. Yurts are Eco-Friendly

Living in a yurt can help us re-connect to nature, sure, but the literal structure of a traditional yurt is also nature-friendly. The materials are recyclable and should you decide to pick up and move your yurt, there’s no residual damage to the ground because no permanent foundation is used.

3. Yurts Have Stood the Test of Time

“They’ve been used throughout history by nomads in Central Asia,” from HowStuffWorks.com. Evidence of fourth century B.C. yurts has been discovered, and the oldest complete yurt was found in a 13th century Mongolian grave. The structures were well-suited for the nomadic lifestyle because only a few oxen were required to carry a family’s entire home. But the structure was also easy to heat in the cold Mongolian winters where temperatures might reach 50 degrees below Celsius (-58 degrees Fahrenheit).

4. Yurts Can Be Modern, Too

By combining the durable yurt concept with a few modern updates, we now have something called a yurta. This form of micro-architecture has optimized the original yurt concept to create a shelter that is steadfast, quick to install, light-weight, easy to transport, minimal in footprint.

5. Yurts are Cheap

The Nomad Yurt, for example, costs a little over $5,000 (US) for a 22-foot diameter version with an insulated skin. If a few comrades pooled together for land, you’d have yourself a yurt commune and giant step forward and away from the unsustainable life.

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