Imagine living in a home powered by solar panels, photovoltaic cells and micro-wind turbines. There would be no thermostat or electrical wiring and coffee would be made from purified rainwater. With new and expanding ideas of ways to reduce the carbon footprint, green-living lifestyles are becoming more accessible to the average person.
Project Eco-House is a consolidation of the “Growing Renewable Energy and Efficiency Nexus,” or GREEN. The proposal would allow students to completely design an area home with eco-friendly renovations. At the beginning of fall 2010 semester, students enrolled in Family and Consumer Science 4800 were assigned to design a proposal that would demonstrate a fully functioning energy efficient home.
With collective efforts from the city of Bowling Green and the University, a pending $200,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency would make the Eco-House a reality.
“The administration and the community of Bowling Green have an initiative to remodel a residential home owned by the University,” said Joy Potthoff, professor of interior design and director of project Eco-House. “The home would have to include green sustainability and have full accessible features.”
One of the houses being evaluated is located on the corner of Wooster Street and South College Drive, next to the University Popular Culture building. The idea for project Eco-House started in 2002 after students and faculty members wanted to brainstorm ways to reduce the community’s carbon footprint.
“About eight years ago, a special committee was formed by the provost to come up with a report on how we could sustain a more resourceful community,” said University environmental studies professor and co-creator of project Eco-House, Gary Silverman. “We thought it would be a good idea to use the Eco-House to showcase all the green initiatives the University is taking on campus.”
According to a 2009 document from the Environmental Information Administration, homes consume 40 percent of all energy used in the U. S. and 72 percent of all electricity generated. More than 136 million tons of demolition debris is generated in the U.S., accumulating 40 percent of total waste sent to landfills each year.
In the past decade, research on environmental sustainability has grown tremendously. New renewable energy sources that were once too costly for the average homeowner are now more practical than ever.
“We’re trying to research the techniques available in 2010 and that’s what project Eco-House is going to help us do,” Silverman said. “For example, when wind powered turbines took off five years ago we only knew how to obtain it on a large-scale level. Now we have the equipment to construct things like micro-wind turbines.”
Silverman said micro-wind turbines use a wind-fueling generator to produce electrical power. They are also designed as a heat exchanger to utilize wasted heat. With renovations to the ice arena and four new buildings being constructed on campus, plans to effectively sustain the environment are proving to be a major factor for incoming students.
“We’re seeing a growing number of high school students basing their college decision on the resourcefulness of the campus,” said Nick Hennessy, University sustainability coordinator. “The University is trying to use the Eco-House as a model for potential students and community members to show the steps we’re taking in a greener direction.”
About 67 percent of incoming high school students responding to a recent Princeton University study indicated a university’s sustainability initiatives were important or very important in their decision of where to attend college.
On Oct. 20, student proposals for the Eco-House project will be announced at the “Perspectives on Sustainability Conference.” The all-day event will welcome surrounding universities from the Northwest, Ohio area.
“The purpose of the seminar is to hear what other colleges in the area are doing to better sustain their campus,” Potthoff said. “It’s a chance for people to share ideas so we can learn and grow together. The Eco-House is an effort on a lot of people’s part. This whole idea of reducing our carbon footprint to better the earth has an impact on everyone.”