ToolBase E-News volume 141
In This Issue:
'AMPHIBIOUS HOUSES' PROPOSED TO HELP NEW ORLEANS WEATHER THE STORM:
Popular Science Magazine recently consulted experts to identify five innovative solutions that together could provide a category-5-strength hurricane defense for New Orleans. Among the top five is an idea for "amphibious houses," which have foundations that double as life rafts and lift homes to safety if other flood-control mechanisms fail. According to the article (Michael Behar; 02/06), a construction firm is currently completing a prototype neighborhood of 34 amphibious houses in the Dutch city of Maasbommel. Each home is bolted to a concrete foundation that functions both as basement and life raft. On dry land, the watertight foundation rests on a set of steel pillars. As floodwaters reach the base of the house, it begins to rise off the pillars, up to 18 feet if needed. Two taller mooring posts prevent the house from floating away, and flexible utility conduits preserve gas and plumbing hookups and electricity during a storm. To learn more about amphibious houses, as well as the other four "bold ideas," read the article.
CONSUMER 'FEAR FACTOR' CAN HELP SELL ADVANCED HOME TECHNOLOGY:
An educational seminar held during the International Builders' Show last month highlighted the benefits of emphasizing the negative when it comes to selling customers on advanced building technology. According to a recent article in Nation's Building News (02/06/06), Maureen McNulty, information and outreach coordinator for PATH, explained that that when pitching advanced technologies to homebuyers, builders should utilize the "fear factor;" instead of selling upgrades to buyers, builders should warn them about the risks of downgrading. For example, pitches can stress the significant increase in energy bills that can result from using lower-grade insulation, or the significant cost of repairing storm damage that can occur in homes that don't use technologies to mitigate wind and water damage. To learn more, read the article.
SURVEY SHOWS ENERGY EFFICIENCY TOPS BUILDERS' LISTS IN 2006:
According to a Lowe's corporate press release (01/12/06), its recent survey of home builders found that nine out of 10 builders surveyed will incorporate energy-saving products into new homes at all price levels this year, both to help sell the home and at the customer's request. Windows and insulation, followed by doors, water heaters, and furnaces, are the most commonly upgraded materials for energy savings, and about half of builders also use energy-saving lighting. In addition to energy upgrades, 57 percent of builders say they will be adding Smart Home technology in 2006, compared with 34 percent in 2005. Approximately 62 percent of builders say they include special wiring. To learn more results of the survey, read the release.
PAPER HOUSE MAY OFFER COST AND ENERGY SAVINGS:
According to a recent article in the Arizona Republic (Michael Clancy, 01/26/06), Tempe, Ariz. resident Barry Fuller is building a house out of paper. The house uses paper mixed with other materials to form building blocks, slabs and curbs that can be used the same way concrete is used. Fuller combines the paper in a homemade mixer with Portland cement and other materials, including sand and fly ash, which makes a slurry that he pours into forms. According to Fuller, the result is a lightweight building material that is easy to work with, reuses waste paper and provides greater insulation than concrete blocks. Fuller adds that the material can easily be made waterproof and fireproof, and is essentially as strong as concrete. He states that the house will be built at about half of the cost of standard wood frame or concrete block construction, and guesses that it will use 70 percent less electricity for heating and cooling.
MINNESOTA BUILDER TOUTS RADON-FREE CONSTRUCTION:
According to a recent article in Finance and Commerce of Minneapolis (Brian Johnson, 02/06/06), home builder College City Homes has taken the unusual step of talking openly about radon, a controversial topic in the building business, and has positioned itself as a builder of "safe and sound" homes that are radon-free. The builder is including anti-radon features in all of its new homes with basements, including active radon control systems that are designed to rid homes of the odorless, radioactive gas. The systems, which cost about $1,500 to install in a new home, include a PVC pipe that goes through the foundation and extends up through a wall and into the attic, where a low horsepower fan operates 24 hours a day to evacuate the gases. According to Robert Moffit, communications director for the American Lung Association's Health House program, most of Minnesota is a "fairly high risk zone" for radon because of its geography and residential building practices. To learn more about radon and College City Homes' radon-free practices, read the article.
NEW TECHNOLOGY COULD CREATE 'SOLAR BUILDINGS':
According to a recent article in the American-Statesman (Robert Elder, 01/23/06), the Austin, Tex.-based HelioVolt has developed a new process to build solar power into building materials. The thin-film photovoltaic products would allow any building material to generate solar energy, including metal roofs, skylights, exterior glass, and curtain walls. The company is building a prototype product, with the goal to literally create "solar buildings." The product bypasses silicon, the standard base material used in solar cells, in favor of a copper indium gallium selenide-based manufacturing process known as CIGS. HelioVolt places the chemicals on plates squeezes them together and rapidly heats the materials. The result is a platform technology that can be adapted to countless types of materials. Because it's high-volume manufacturing, the cost per unit will be well below that of traditional solar manufacturing, according to the company. To learn more about this technology, read the article.
HANG 10-WAVE TECHNOLOGY MAY PROVIDE CLEANER POWER SOURCE FOR HOMES:
According to a recent article in Popular Science (Gregory Mone, 02/06), big ocean swells could one day be as exciting to homeowners as they are to surfers, thanks to an innovative new device that harnesses the power of waves to produce inexpensive, clean electricity. A prototype of the device, pioneered by scientists at Energetech, a small alternative-energy company in Randwick, Australia, is being tested off the Australian coast, and the company hopes to build another one near Rhode Island by 2007. Moored several miles offshore, Energetech's 40-foot-tall rig relies on the up-and-down motion of waves to force air in and out of a chamber, turning a turbine that produces electricity. According to the company's president, a full-scale unit could power up to 5,000 homes; the output depends on the size and regularity of the swells. For more information about the technology, read the article.
CONFERENCE WILL ADDRESS INNOVATION IN THE FOREST SECTOR:
The Oregon Wood Innovation Center (OWIC), a joint initiative between the Oregon State University Extension Service and OSU's College of Forestry, and the Forest Products Management Development Institute (FPMDI) at the University of Minnesota are presenting the upcoming "Innovation in the Forest Sector Conference" in Orlando, Fla., on April 2-4, 2006. The conference will explore ways in which leading companies within the forest and paper industry are organizing and managing resources to create a climate of innovation for sustainable competitive advantage. Topics covered will include developing the ability to lead idea creation within an organization and recognizing common hurdles to creating and implementing innovations. To learn more, visit the conference website.
