Sustainable Design Update

Empire State Building

The Empire State Building, once a famous perch King Kong and Fay Wray is  about to undergo a $100 million green renovation.  The midtown Manhattan monument will reduce energy use by 38 percent, or $4.4 million big ones annually.  The Rocky Mountain Institute is part of the team that is greening this great building.

The return on investment of 4.4% may not sound like much, but it beats the heck out of my portfolio.

From Inhabitat:

The 102-story building was built during the Great Depression; now, as we face new economic ’stumbles,’ it is poised to lead the way into a more efficient future. “We have a very deep commitment to sustainability,” Tony Malkin of the Empire State Building Company says. “Without applying sustainable practices in all aspects of our businesses and lives, we will greatly harm our future.”

The group has decided not to apply for LEED certification, opting instead to making the building as efficient and healthy as possible without such guidelines. This is an interesting approach in a time when many cities seem to be embracing the USGBC’s guidelines like giant apes to skyscrapers, but it appears as though the numerous planned upgrades and technological additions will do great things for the building and its inhabitants without applying the LEED checklist.

The partners involved are fully aware that this project will be serving as a template for the massive efficiency upgrades in store for many of the nation’s buildings in the not so distant future. Seventy-five percent of the 4.5 million buildings in the United States are more than 20 years old and need energy retrofits (buildings alone account for over 40% of our energy use!). While a 38% predicted reduction in energy use is an incredibly ambitious undertaking, the Rocky Mountain Institute is not an organization for pulling punches and neither are the folks at the Clinton Climate Initiative, Johnson Controls Inc., or Jones Lang LaSalle. Some of the measures included the Empire State Building’s renovation agenda include a total overhaul of the HVAC system, improvements to the building envelope, triple-glazed windows, electronic readouts to make users aware of their personal energy consumption, maximized daylighting, tenant demand ventilation control, and occupant sensor controls.

Kong Says: “Go Green or Face Extinction”

Whenever I think about the Empire State Building, I remember this guy.

More at Inhabitat

Empire State Photo: prendio2

San Marcos La Laguna, Guatemala.

I managed to catch the San Marcos Green Building Tour in March this year. San Marcos was partially washed out in a mudslide a few years back and some Gringos and locals have rebuilt homes and businesses in the center of the town using a variety of green building techniques.

I don’t remember the names of the home owners, but our tour guide was Charlie Rendall, a Brit who has been in San Marcos for several years and a great green building advocate.

Earth Tube Structure

The earth tube structure is made by filling a mesh tube with sand and coiling it around.  The final form is then coated with stucco or a mix of local mud and portland cement.  This wonderful little house has an open pod in the back where the owner grows orchids.

Stair Made From Local Stone

We visited a restaurant made from local materials, adobe, stone, bamboo and a grass roof.  The quality of workmanship was impressive, making these simple materials look great.  Notice how the tree root is worked into the shape of the stairs.

House Made From Cobb and Bamboo

Cobb construction is mostly about playing in the mud.  A mix of clay, water and some straw or pine needles can become a nice place if done with care.  Imagine how low the carbon footprint is for this house.  Local mud, local pine needles, local bamboo.  You can count the embodied BTUs on one hand.  The local textiles drying on the line add a lot of color to this photo.

The “San Marcos Wall System”

The “San Marcos Wall” system. Recycle a bunch of soda bottles, fill them with clean scraps of plastic bags, cover with wire mesh and trowel on stucco. It provides insulation and keeps plastic out of the landfill.

There are more photos on my Flickr Photostream

-jsbarrie

Liberia’s Blackboard Blogger

As an avid blogger and big fan of Afrigadget I couldn’t pass this one up.  Imagine a zero carbon footprint internet.  No crashes except for the automotive type.  Here in Liberia is a man who updates passers by with the latest news.  His cell phone and contacts help keep him in touch with the pulse of hte people.

From Afrigadget:

Alfred Sirleaf is an analog blogger. He take runs the “Daily News”, a news hut by the side of a major road in the middle of Monrovia. He started it a number of years ago, stating that he wanted to get news into the hands of those who couldn’t afford newspapers, in the language that they could understand.

Alfred serves as a reminder to the rest of us, that simple is often better, just because it works. The lack of electricity never throws him off. The lack of funding means he’s creative in ways that he recruits people from around the city and country to report news to him. He uses his cell phone as the major point of connection between him and the 10,000 (he says) that read his blackboard daily.

Via: Afrigadget

Windmill Test Site in Zeeland

A real world test of several top rated windmills performed in the Netherlands has shown disappointing results for most small wind systems.

Twelve windmills were placed in a row (which may cause some problems with some windmills in the shadow of others). Their energy yield was measured over a period of one year. Three windmills broke but the Skystream looks like the real winner.  My friends at Bauer Power install the Skystream as well as the Swift, which was not tested.

From Low Tech Magazine:

- Energy Ball v100 (4,304 euro) : 73 kWh per year, corresponding to an average output of 8.3 watts
- Ampair 600 (8,925 euro) : 245 kWh per year or an average output of 28 watts
- Turby (21,350 euro) : 247 kWh per year or an average output of 28.1 watts
- Airdolphin (17,548 euro) : 393 kWh per year or an average output of 44.8 watts
- WRE 030 (29,512 euro) : 404 kWh per year or an average output of 46 watts
- WRE 060 (37,187 euro) : 485 kWh per year or an average output of 55.4 watts
- Passaat (9,239 euro) : 578 kWh per year or an average output of 66 watts
- Skystream (10,742 euro) : 2,109 kWh per year or an average power output of 240.7 watts
- Montana (18,508 euro) : 2,691 kWh per year or an average power output of 307 watts.

Keep in mind that these windmills would perform considerably worse in a built-up area.

47 windmills to power a household

An average Dutch household consumes 3,400 kWh/year. Listed below is the amount of windmills required, and their total cost, to power a Dutch household entirely using wind energy:

- Energy Ball : 47 windmills (202,288 euro)
- Ampair : 14 windmills (124,950 euro)
- Turby : 14 windmills (298,900 euro)
- Airdolphin :  9 windmills (157,932 euro)
- WRE 030 : 9 windmills (265,608 euro)
- WRE 060 : 7 windmills (260,309 euro)
- Passaat : 6 windmills (55,434 euro)
- Skystream : 2 windmills (21,484 euro)
- Montana : 2 windmills (37,016 euro)

Thanks Ben Connor Barrie

U of M Engineering Social Change

The University of Michigan has a nice short video of U of M Engineering students working on socially responisble projects.

Check Out: Engineering Social Change

Fiat USB Eco:Drive

Fiat announced their new eco:Drive system last fall at the Paris Motor Show. The eco:Drive system gives drivers feedback on how they drive and pointers on how they can improve their mileage.

The Toyota Prius has a similar system but it gives immediate feedback via an in-dash monitor.  My Prius driving friends say that the amazing mileage they get driving their Pria (Priuses?) is in part due to the “Prius Effect” which comes from immediate feedback on how their driving is effecting their mileage.

Fiat requires drivers to install a flash drive and then download data onto their home computers. The driver then uses Fiat software to analyze their driving data and make suggestions.

From The Auto Channel:

Claudio Annicchiarico, Head of Digital Fiat UK. “I think our eco:Drive technology shows Fiat’s commitment to customers goes that extra mile and provides them with cutting edge technology which can help save money and have a direct impact on emissions.

“eco:Drive is the very latest in digital integrated technology. It’s an easy-to-use computer application that connects your car to your PC. It’s the first time that an automotive brand has launched an interactive technology that helps its customers improve their style of driving in order to help preserve the environment.”

Which would be very cool except the Eco:Drive is behind Toyota and their system doesn’t give immediate feedback.

Photo: AutoBlogGreen