Comments on: Developer relies on human nature to hit net-zero

By: Joseph Purkey

Joseph Purkey — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 06:17:57 +0000

I like the idea of flexibility a personal energy monitoring. I would not, however, enjoy being guilted by my competitively energy conscious neighbors each time we met in the lobby. Some accountability can be a good thing, though, and I wish this project the best. I personally look forward to widely available real-time home energy monitoring tools so that many households can better be accountable to themselves.

By: a

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:48:35 +0000

i think in the discussion of monitoring energy usage we lose sight of the bigger picture. ecoFLATS will not deny its residents energy and the management won’t dictate the ways you can use your water – the building simply creates its own energy and provides incentives to tenants who consume that energy mindfully. there’s nothing extreme about it. it’s a small step in the right direction, a respectable effort of environmental stewardship.

By: j

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 20:37:32 +0000

I’m with Old Town on this. I get it, I’m not “forward thinking” about a society without children, laundry, or anything else that can’t be “greened up”. My fault.

Also, will the toilets be composters? Is there room for a garden, rain water cachement, or recycling/composting/garbage cans? Is energy the only concern here? And what will the proposed rent be? Really high or ridiculously high? WIll the food vouchers be for vegan only restaurants?

By: Jean Pierre

Jean Pierre — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:51:55 +0000

I think the comments reflect the issue we are trying to resolve. First you do not have to be in the green camp or the conservative camp to realize we can do better these days with energy consumption. Most use the old models because they are lend able. These apartments look and feel like a standard apartments but beat energy code by 63% before the renewables from the solar comes into play. We also conseve water consumption through low flow, and engage hydronics for heat. It is neither high tech nor granola, and is completely affordable, after all that is the point. We are looking at the larger population, first realizing there are more people alive today then have ever died, and resources can only continue to be less. We have redefined the design of a building and utilized standard skills to accomplish this on point. The bank has required us to build for standard costs so we can rent for the neighborhood that they exist in. It has been an enlightening process to study the math that goes into net Zero and the variable of the social participation in achieving this goal. If the goal is achieved socially the resources benefit and the tenants benefit and the robots are less necessary. Most importantly eco FLATS can benefit work force housing for a ranch in Texas because it is resourceful or a Green street in Eugene because people enjoy the small foot print.

By: Old Town

Old Town — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:36:46 +0000

Urban commune? Rewards for behavior modification? Isn’t anyone else shaking their head?

A Perspective

By: Joe Rhinewine

Joe Rhinewine — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:02:19 +0000

Nice article Dan. I am excited about net-zero technology and delighted that there are people willing to participate in this experiment.