House of the Future Flexes in its Off-Grid Glory
It’s the self-sustaining home of the future, on steroids. And all along you thought going green was for design challenged weenies?
The zeroHouse by Scott Specht is futuristic architecture that laughs in the face of ‘the man.’ This setup is made to work completely off the grid. It generates all of it’s own power by means of high-efficiency solar panels. When skies are looking gray, fully charged onboard batteries fuel it continuously for up to a week.
Rainwater is collected in a 2700 gallon reservoir and all plumbing is gravity-fed for extra efficiency. Water that’s being flushed is converted into dry compost underneath to be removed only twice each year.
All functions are controlled automatically by software that can be loaded on a simple laptop. It’s fully customizable from a weekend wonderland to a full-time pleasure palace.
Pleasure is right. Each house is outfitted with a living room, kitchen, full bath and two bedrooms. Furniture from couches in the living room to lounge chairs on the covered deck comes built-in. Thermal resistant materials are enhanced by a full climate control system.
You’re not going to be able to pick one up on the cheap just yet. On the flip side, at least now you don’t have to be a Middle Eastern sheikh to own a home with zero emissions.
[zeroHouse] via [Yanko Design]
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Jamie Fashar said
am November 17 2007 @ 7:21 am
Even though it looks great and everything Im not so sure that its as useful as it claims. You can put it just about anywhere but who needs a house that you can throw in the woods? Is it even liveable during the year?
Jerad Kaliher said
am November 17 2007 @ 12:25 pm
@Jamie Fashar, this house can be plopped anywhere on Earth. That means that remote locations that otherwise would difficult to build on now have the chance of sustaining human life. I’m not sure if your insinuating that it’s a bad thing to be invading the last few shangri-las, but if you are I can see your point.
I see this structure as being used in rural communities near big cities. There is a lot of space, for instance, in Montana and even the deserts of California. And yes, it is livable for a full time yearly stay.
Neece said
am November 18 2007 @ 1:38 am
I was totally in love until I read that the furniture is all built in. I don’t think I’d like that. But besides that, this house is awesome. I think I’d also add some wind power.
Jerad Kaliher said
am November 18 2007 @ 1:45 am
@Neece, it was a put off for me too. However, the nice part is that they are willing to design the furniture to your specs. This, of course, is going to cost quite a bit. Which brings up the question of how much this marvel would cost?
With all the computer power I need I’m sure I wouldn’t mind a little wind turbine as well.
Andy Bailey said
am November 18 2007 @ 2:04 am
I would love to have a house on the hill like this, I’d have to move to the country first though. London doesn’t have the space for these
Jerad Kaliher said
am November 18 2007 @ 8:44 am
@Andy Bailey, yeah, these are made specifically to go Thoreau a la Walden on us. Countryside, oceanside, forests, they are all on the agenda.
As nice as it would be to be able to plop down just about anywhere, I have to say that I’d miss the city. This type of home would have to be a vacation home for me. That way I could get back to the hustle and bustle of life.
Environmentalman said
am November 18 2007 @ 9:52 pm
Great but what is the cost for such a house?
Jerad Kaliher said
am November 18 2007 @ 10:25 pm
@Environmentalman, unfortunately when tech is this new the costs tend to be very high. This architect has not revealed how much each home will ultimately cost. But just like anything, mass production should lower those margins significantly at some point in the future.
Diane at carbon tiptoes said
am November 19 2007 @ 7:10 am
It looks absolutely amazing. I’m surprised that the UK government doesn’t make more of building regulations to ensure that every new home comes with some renewable energy and rain water management systems.
Jerad Kaliher said
am November 19 2007 @ 11:54 am
@Diane, as costs go down we might see building materials and green friendly energy production built into every day homes. The main problem has been design, cost and effectiveness. No one wants an eyesore. I think that is slowly evolving now.
Alain Saffel said
am November 20 2007 @ 10:10 am
This house would be easy to build using existing materials. Looking at the design, it would appear that the architect has designed it to be able to use shipping containers. You can buy 8′ x 20′ used containers for around $2,000 to $2,500 Cdn. 8′ x 40′ containers might run around $3,000 – $4,000 Cdn used.
Shipping containers, of which we have a glut, are an ideal method to construct houses. They can be constructed remotely and dropped onto the site, reducing cost. They are cheap. They are very strong. They are almost like building with Lego.
SunMar (http://www.sun-mar.com/) has composting toilets that use no water. They don’t cost that much and you’d only need some peat moss. Reusing grey water is definitely environmentally friendly, and you could use it to water your garden or lawn.
If you stick to available materials, the costs on this house would not be high. The most expensive part would be the solar panels. You can reduce the heating load by superinsulating and using passive solar. Superinsulation also reduces the need for air conditioning.
Built in furniture would be nice, but wouldn’t it be more environmentally friendly to use the furniture you already have?
Do a search on the web and see what’s being done with shipping containers. They could easily be used to construct large apartment buildings. With a little creativity and paint, they can be made to look good too.
Jerad Kaliher said
am November 20 2007 @ 11:42 pm
@Alain Saffel, you are right, the building materials are meant to be fairly cheap. Thank you for the contribution in how much the containers would be.
It was the technology that I was worried about causing a fuss in the price. Solar panels, the water and waste systems might be a little costly. Although with the advances in solar I have high hopes for more cost effective measures.
Xstamper said
am December 27 2007 @ 10:48 am
I like the zero emission house. There are a few things we can adjust to our own house and home building ideas, that do no cost a fortune…
Jerad Kaliher said
am December 27 2007 @ 12:07 pm
@Xstamper, sure, we can adjust our own living patterns to consume less. The idea of this house just takes that one step further.
Inhabitat » PREFAB FRIDAY: ZeroHouse Shows Nothing is Everything said
am March 28 2008 @ 1:48 am
[...] + ZeroHouse Via BustaChange [...]
Jimmy bobalong said
am March 28 2008 @ 7:13 am
lovely house. i would simply adore to live in a house like this. Please take me here. The lush green grass, the beautiful blue skies. perfect. I LOVE IT
Jerad Kaliher said
am March 28 2008 @ 2:33 pm
@Jimmy bobalong, I’m with you!
GeoIsla » ZeroHouse Shows Nothing is Everything said
am March 28 2008 @ 9:28 pm
[...] + ZeroHouse Via Inhabitat, BustaChange [...]
House of the Future Flexes Its Off-Grid Muscle | Nathan Thoms dot com said
am March 29 2008 @ 7:06 am
[...] Read the rest of the article at Bust a Change. [...]
architecture - said
am April 1 2008 @ 9:56 pm
[...] for whom affordability wasn’t an issue. Specht Harpman ZeroHouse Von hier und hier und hier und aber auch und vor allem von hier. Und von da auch noch, aber das wissen Sie ja [...]
bobling said
am April 7 2008 @ 9:06 pm
ZOmg! i want one! noW!!
Hank said
am April 18 2008 @ 3:14 pm
Though it may be environmentally friendly in function, It doesn’t look like the sort of structure that could stand up to the environment. I live in Oklahoma, where we frequently experience winds so strong that you don’t want a house with so many small extremities that arent very aerodynamic, and I would hate to think what an earthquake would do to building with such a high center-of gravity, and minimal ground coverage.
Jerad Kaliher said
am April 18 2008 @ 3:49 pm
@Hank, good point. I really wonder what type of functional testing these design projects actually go through.
ZeroHouse: จุดประกายไอเดียร์เชิงอนุรักษ์ | Enthesia : A Place for Living Ideas said
am January 3 2009 @ 1:52 am
[...] ZeroHouse Bust a chang [...]