Renewable Resource Construction: Building a Sustainable Future with Energy-Efficient Designs

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Renewable Resource Construction Building a
Sustainable Future with Energy-Efficient Designs
What do we mean by renewable resource
construction and sustainable renewable energy
construction designs? Most of our stock plans
that we sell on our site Ecosustainablehomedesig
ns are designed for frame style construction
since this is the construction method most used
in the United States. However, instead of
designing for wood frame construction, which is
used most in conventional construction, we
specify using light gauge steel studs for the
primary structure of the house. Here are some of
the reasons why we adopt these design
criteria 1. Using wood for structural framing
is not sustainable. There is already a huge
supply and demand issue, which means that the
demand for wood for framing exceeds that which
regional forests can supply. Here in the
Southeast region as an example most of the
framing materials are not from regional forest
of Southern Yellow Pine but conifers from the
Northwest, Canada, Finland, and Norway. This
means we are stripping wilderness forests to meet
our immediate needs in construction. Life on
earth is dependent on these wilderness forests to
absorb carbon dioxide which is the product of
burning fossil fuels and creating the earth
warming greenhouse gases. These forests are
necessary for the oxygen they add to the
environment. The carbon footprint is highly
significant especially if you take into account
all the energy required to import and export
these materials around the world. I invite you
to take a look at satellite images of these
forests such as the deforestation of the Amazon
rainforest. If those images do not alarm and
horrify you, then it is likely you could not be
convinced to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle
and lower your impact on the environment.
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• Here is just one small image from the
  International Space Station of the deforestation
  of the Amazon. This image covers approximately
  100 square miles.
• Using non-regional lumber makes for all the
  ingredients for a high maintenance house. All
  trees have a natural adaptation to the climate in
  which they grow as well as resistance to the
  insects present to its environment. When you use
  non regional forests for your structure then
  these woods are more susceptible to rot, and
  growth of harmful organisms such as toxic black
  mold and then succumb to insect infestation.
• Using 24 wood studs limits the thermal mass that
  can be achieved for a highly energy efficient
  envelope which of course translates into energy
  consumption and higher utility bills. Thermal
  mass is measured by resistance to heat transfer.
  The best that can be achieved with a 24 wood
  stud wall is R-15.
• Whereas in a 24 steel frame wall you can attain
  R-22 by using solid high thermal mass
  insulation, which is non bias unlike fiberglass
  insulation. The difference is that fiberglass is
  designed primarily to slow down the transfer of
  heat from the inside out, whereas solid
  polystyrene foam resists this transference from
  both sides. Another issue with wood frame
  construction, in terms of renewable resource
  construction, is that in a span of a wall the
  greatest energy loss is the place where the wood
  studs reside.
• You can see this on a morning after there was
  frost overnight. You will notice that the
  location of the studs is telegraphed in the
  siding. This is of course due to the loss of
  heat through the wall where the studs are. Using
  solid thermal foam sheathing against the outside
  of a stick framed house is not appropriate
  because in a climate that has a high relative
  humidity, condensation occurs which accumulates
  on the inside of the wood framed wall setting up
  the conditions for rot and insect infestation.

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• This is the reason why synthetic (EFIS) stucco
  was such a disaster for homeowners who owned
  such houses. Furthermore, sprayed in expanding
  polystyrene foam between the studs is not
  appropriate for a wood framed wall in renewable
  resource construction since such walls need to
  be breathable to avoid such moisture accumulation
  being trapped between the inside of the wall.
  What follows wood decay is the wood becomes the
  food for dangerous organisms such as black mold.
• Steel framing is a more renewable resource than
  wood. Most light gauge steel is not from mined
  ores but from recycling existing metal and
  whatever scrapes are left after construction are
  completely recyclable. There is also less waste
  than using wood for framing since every piece in
  a pallet is straight and true unlike a pallet of
  wood framing materials where you will have a half
  a dozen or more boards that are twisted, warped,
  split or checked and good for nothing.
• The difference in materials costs between wood
  and steel is minuscule. The price difference is
  metal framing material is less than 2 more than
  wood framing materials and when you take in the
  fact that in every pallet of wood you will have
  waste then the difference is moot.
• All our designs utilize sustainable renewable
  energy both passive and active energy components
  by integrating simple principles of thermal
  dynamics. All our plans are designed to maximize
  the benefits of natural convection air flow
  which always works and is free energy. By working
  with instead of working against convection air
  flow we use this principle to reduce energy loads
  for both cooling and heating the house.
• Read Also-Stop Dreaming Start Building Your
  Eco-Sustainable Home Today
• All our plans use the integration of clerestories
  or dormers to draft out hot air and to provide
  natural lighting throughout the day. In custom
  plans which are designed specifically for your
  lot we do an extensive analysis of the natural
  resources present on your property and how to
  use these resources in both the construction of
  your house and in the heating and cooling
  systems. All our plans call for the use of
  Evacuated Tube Solar Thermal Collectors to
  provide domestic hot water and for water source
  heating and cooling.
• As compared to Solar Photovoltaic electric
  generation the initial cost is relatively low but
  the benefits are enormous. They provide 100
  free renewable energy by capturing the direct
  energy of the sun and these collectors will last
  a lifetime providing you with quiet, clean
  energy with no emissions for free.

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For a typical 3-bedroom 3 bath home the initial
cost of purchasing and installing such a system
is less than 6k whereas a photovoltaic system to
power your house is in the range of 30k and
such a system has a maximum life span of less
than 17 years not taking into account the cost
of replacing and disposing of batteries every
five years. Lithium batteries at least for now
are not recyclable and have to be disposed of as
toxic waste, which is costly and one day soon
with the uptake of the use of these batteries in
electric automobiles for example the disposal of
these batteries will lead to an environmental
disaster. The ultimate in renewable sustainable
energy will be in using hydrogen fuel cells to
power electric generation which is quiet and
clean with no emissions by hydrolyzing hydrogen
from tap water and storing the excess energy to
pressurized hydrogen fuel tanks. This eliminates
the necessity of storing electricity in expensive
and non- sustainable lithium batteries.
Renewable resource construction is the future of
sustainable energy. These hydrogen fuel cell
electric generators are still not readily
available at affordable prices. However here are
some companies who have hydrogen fuel cell
electric generators which are mobile H2X Global
Hydrogen Power Generator Joule Box Portable
Hydrogen Power Plant(this system seems to be the
most promising as a whole house off the grid
micro power plant. It integrates solar
photovoltaic collectors and a wind generator to
power the house during day light hours while
also hydrolyzing hydrogen gas from tap water
storing this fuel in a series of pressurized
tanks which fuels an electric generator during
low to nil solar exposure.). On core Energy
Micro Grid suitable to power your home Generac
Mobile-GEH2 ( I hope to see this generator and a
mobile unit by Kohler providing the power needed
to construction sites.)Toyota is also on the
cutting edge of producing the most advanced
hydrogen fuel cells and in fact the Generac
Generator is powered by fuel cells produced by
Toyota. 6. In our custom plans we like to
integrate the use of such systems as earth
convection air tubes for heating and cooling.
This is a completely sustainable renewal energy
source. This system takes advantage of the
thermal value of the earth which is a continuous
free energy source. This involves setting a
series of 4-8 pvc pipes underground with an
average depth of 8 feet. The sizing is dependent
on the cooling and heating load your house
requires. It requires having enough surface area
to lay the tubes which requires a larger lot or
in some cases
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a difference between having a septic system or
being able to connect to a municipal sewer. In
other words, if you do not need a septic field
that area can be utilized for your earth tube
system. The insulating factor of the earth keeps
the air in these tubes at between 58-66 degrees
Fahrenheit all year round. This system through
convection can circulate this air throughout the
house or can be used in conjunction with a fresh
air intake on your air handler. This consistent
air temperature makes the energy threshold for
heating or cooling very low to keep the house in
its optimal interior comfort level. Depending on
the thermal mass envelope of your house this
natural renewable sustainable form of energy can
cut your heating and cooling cost by more than a
half. This is a system which is relatively low
in cost for installation that consistently
provides you with free sustainable renewable
energy for a lifetime.
This is a picture of a natural convection earth
tube system using a system of 6" diameter pvc
tubes. 7. In our custom plans and consulting we
work with you to utilize all the natural
resources present to your lot into the total
design plan. This includes designing the house
orientation to the sun so that we can best
harness the power of the sun for passive solar
heating and placing Evacuated Tube Solar Thermal
Collectors in best location to maximize their
solar exposure for the direct energy of the
sun. Of the trees that need to be removed we plan
to use this timber in the construction plans.
Any trees over 12 in diameter should be milled
and used for framing timbers,
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moldings, cabinets, flooring, doors, paneling,
and flooring. Any trees smaller than 12 should
be salvaged for firewood to heat the house. Any
wood left over after the above salvaging should
be ground up and used for mulch for landscaping.
If you have a creek, river, or lake on your
property then this resource should be integrated
into your sustainable renewable resource heating
and cooling system. In one case we had a client
who had a cave on the property, and we were able
to use this resource to heat and cool their home,
showcasing innovative Renewable resource
construction techniques. For two other clients
we were able to utilize the resources they had on
their property to build their houses. In one
case we designed and built their house out of the
timbers they had on their building site. This
house was a timber framed house where 97 of the
structure was built with their own timber. In
another case we designed and built a house whose
walls were rammed earth made from the clay and
sage brush present to their property, and the
roof was framed with timbers present on their
job site. Renewable sustainable resource
construction and utilization of renewable
sustainable energy to heat and cool your house
has almost endless possibilities and greatly
reduces your environmental impact all at the same
time saving you thousands of dollars over your
lifetime in maintenance and energy costs.
Locally sourced stone from the building site to
make this stack stone face for this mountain
home. Other natural resources from this property
we utilized in our Renewable resource
construction plans was the timber on the site.
The dental brackets you see under the soffits
were from Fir on the property. All the interior
doors, flooring, moldings, cabinets and
wainscoting were made from the timber on this
building site. We processed all the timber
onsite to minimize any waste.