Cryptomaniac
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« on: September 16, 2007, 05:46:00 PM » |
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So, as a member of IEEE for some 8 years now, I found this article and thought it was something worth sharing: It may be a first: an office building with a net electricity use of zero or less, that burns no fossil fuels for heating and produces no greenhouse gas, and that makes the people working there at least as comfortable as those in conventionally heated and cooled buildings.While there have been buildings created that use zero electricity from the grid and produce no CO 2, this has apparently never before been done with an office building. So it begs the question - if this sort of thing works, should the government be attempting to entice other builders to follow suit. It may be some time before it becomes a break-even investment, but would some sort of tax benefits be in order to help push companies in a similar direction? |
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« Last Edit: September 16, 2007, 05:49:42 PM by Cryptomaniac »
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chovy
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« Reply #1 on: September 16, 2007, 10:36:58 PM » |
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Sure...why not?
I'm all in favor of providing tax breaks to companies that provide (or work towards) zero-emissions, electric outlets for vehicular charging...and tax breaks for both employers and employees who engauge in regular telcommuting practices (once a week at least).
It will be great -- imagine if everyone who could work from home, actually did work from home at least one day a week. That would make a difference in the traffic congestion just about anywhere.
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neorealist
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« Reply #2 on: September 17, 2007, 12:00:54 AM » |
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I'm not an activist when it comes to the environment but I'm all for it too.
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The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone to blame it on. - Robert Bloch
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chovy
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« Reply #3 on: September 17, 2007, 01:09:08 AM » |
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Me neither...cleaning up the beach to prove to myself I care about the environment isn't *really* going to help anyone.
Driving to work only 2 days a week -- now that is a start -- of a revolution.
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Patton
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« Reply #4 on: September 17, 2007, 11:08:49 AM » |
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Some of us will NEVER be able to work from home.
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Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best; it removes all that is base. All men are afraid in battle. The coward is the one who lets his fear overcome his sense of duty. Duty is the essence of manhood
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chovy
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« Reply #5 on: September 17, 2007, 11:39:01 AM » |
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Some of us will NEVER be able to work from home.
Sure, that will always be the case. But those of us who can would have an impact if they did. |
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Abraxas
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« Reply #6 on: September 17, 2007, 12:00:52 PM » |
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I'm all for this. Even in the maritime buisness there are ways to reduce fuel consumption, including the instilation of sails or even a "kite" like object that is attached to the hull. It saves fuel when moving at low speeds or maneuvering in port.
Of course these attachments are expensive and simply not whorth the effort to many companies. I would be all for government incentives to those that invest and use these energy saving methods.
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chovy
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« Reply #7 on: September 17, 2007, 12:37:23 PM » |
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Just about every industry has some steps they could take to reduce their footprint.
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daedalus 2.0
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« Reply #8 on: September 17, 2007, 06:18:47 PM » |
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I am only tangentially aware of the Green movement in Architecture even though I have a Bachelors in Environmental Planning, Public Policy and Law, and a Masters in Architecture. I have been involved in High-End Residential for most of my career and unfortunately the majority of clients couldn't give a rats ass about saving energy. In fact, given the choice they would rather pay extra for a hideous, endangered, high-energy content stone from Botswana than a beautiful, local stone, or wood, etc... One client did, however, look into Geothermal, but the life cycle cost didn't make sense. By the time it would start to save money it would have aged to a point of needing to be replaced. The client decided against it, even though he could have reduced his carbon foot print. His house, btw, was his summer home on Long Island. His new $16M, 13,000 SF summer home (which, if I may say so myself, is stunning.  ) |
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chovy
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« Reply #9 on: September 17, 2007, 06:31:46 PM » |
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@daedalus -- true, that is why economic insentive needs to make it worthwhile for the client. I would love to retrofit my home with solar panels, but at $20,000 why bother?
Of course if people do buy it, then the price goes down, but it will be awhile before it is affordable to the masses. Corporations on the other hand, who can afford a few extra dollars will help their footprint, save money in the long run, and also stimulate R&D into making these things more efficient.
The last issue of Wired magazine (and several issues before that) have had nice full-spread articles about the latest and greatest in eco-building. Most of these houses are being built for the rich, but that's where it starts, imo.
Another idea I had while looking at the parking lot in my office bldg. was all the cars that are just sitting there for 8-10 hours a day reflecting sunlight. There was an article on slashdot awhile back about someone who created a paintable photocell that could be used on cars to generate solar power.
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Cryptomaniac
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« Reply #10 on: September 17, 2007, 06:46:40 PM » |
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I think that this article shows that times are slowly changing. The man in charge of this apparently made the decision to do so in 2005. People of course had heard of global warming at that point, but I don't think it was the political hot-button issue that it is today.
So this is forward-thinking and if succesful, a very clear victory for those of us who think we should think greener. As Chovy said, the only way to kick-start this sort of movement is to offer some economic incentive. That can be done through tax-breaks it seems. I think this is necessary until it becomes a break-even investment. At that point, it will likely become the popular choice and in the future actually become a money-saver.
At any rate, I think it is very encouraging.
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Gojira
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« Reply #11 on: September 17, 2007, 06:59:24 PM » |
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This is all just the beginning of our next age in capitalism...Natural Capitalism. Reusable resource allocation and conservaiton, bio-mimicry and efficient flows of production all are the next step in transforming our society from the post-industrial waste producing machine into a harmonizing economic force that works with the eco-sphere, not against it. Finally, thanks to great advances in science and technology, this has become economically feasible... Linky: http://www.natcap.org/These smart buildings are the first step. |
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Our democracy has created an environment of indecision at times of impending crisis.
If life is easy for you, then you aint livin.
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daedalus 2.0
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« Reply #12 on: September 17, 2007, 07:05:38 PM » |
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@daedalus -- true, that is why economic insentive needs to make it worthwhile for the client. I would love to retrofit my home with solar panels, but at $20,000 why bother?
Of course if people do buy it, then the price goes down, but it will be awhile before it is affordable to the masses. Corporations on the other hand, who can afford a few extra dollars will help their footprint, save money in the long run, and also stimulate R&D into making these things more efficient.
The last issue of Wired magazine (and several issues before that) have had nice full-spread articles about the latest and greatest in eco-building. Most of these houses are being built for the rich, but that's where it starts, imo.
Another idea I had while looking at the parking lot in my office bldg. was all the cars that are just sitting there for 8-10 hours a day reflecting sunlight. There was an article on slashdot awhile back about someone who created a paintable photocell that could be used on cars to generate solar power.
What's od is that solar cells have been around for a long time. I don't understand why the price hasn't dropped. An aside on the parking lot (not saying you work at a Mall, just the Parking Lot comment made me remember :-) ). A friend used to design parking lots for Malls (got his Landscape Architect Masters at Cornell - the irony). He said they designed to fill no more than 20% spaces on normal weekends so that when people drive by and see the lot "empty" they subconsciously think that the mall is empty and they can run in and run out. It's a way to attract buyers. He used to tell me that he found solace in the little "tree islands" he was able to sparsly populate the vast sea of asphalt. |
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\\\\"SUCK IT, JESUS!\\\\" Kathy Griffin
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God burns Anne Frank for eternity, and it\'s Just.\"Anon
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Cryptomaniac
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« Reply #13 on: September 17, 2007, 07:10:54 PM » |
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This is all just the beginning of our next age in capitalism...Natural Capitalism. Reusable resource allocation and conservaiton, bio-mimicry and efficient flows of production all are the next step in transforming our society from the post-industrial waste producing machine into a harmonizing economic force that works with the eco-sphere, not against it. Finally, thanks to great advances in science and technology, this has become economically feasible... Linky: http://www.natcap.org/These smart buildings are the first step. Seems like an interesting read - I just might check this out! |
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Major Zee Lee
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« Reply #14 on: September 18, 2007, 02:28:21 AM » |
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(...)
What's od is that solar cells have been around for a long time. I don't understand why the price hasn't dropped.
It has dropped, largely as a function of production. But production still is too small due to demand still too small. Something is wrong in a technolgoy that, 30 years after hitting the market, still can grow 24% in a year. Solar cells need a huge, massive project that boosts them. Not such project is in screen, and selling their product in 4 sqqare meter packages barely is a business. The fact is, iy's a good technology for houses, but it won't work in apartment buildings until proficency grows. An apartments building only haves so much roof surface and solar energy is so cattered and solar cells are so few efficent that there's no way to supply more than common areas. Meanwhile, there's some promising alternate energies with outputs that are plain frightening. What they call "blue energy" (reverse electrodyalisis with ion-selective membranes) produces about 1 megawatt per cubic meter of salt water per second... |
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