Home Architecture Talk
Who is the better enviornmentalist?
Designed by an architecture professor at a leading national university. This house incorporates every "green" feature current home construction can provide. The house is 4,000 square feet ( 4 bedrooms ) and is nestled on a high prairie in the American southwest. A central closet in the house holds geothermal heat-pumps drawing ground water through pipes sunk 300 feet into the ground. The water (usually 67 degrees F. ) heats the house in the winter and cools it in the summer. The system uses no fossil fuels such as oil or natural gas and it consumes one-quarter electricity required for a conventional heating/cooling system. Rainwater from the roof is collected and funneled into a 25,000 gallon underground cistern. Wastewater from showers, sinks and toilets goes into underground purifying tanks and then into the cistern. The collected water then irrigates the land surrounding the house. The collected water then irrigates the land surrounding the house. Surrounding flowers and shrubs native to the area enable the property to blend into the surrounding rural landscape. This is house #1 A 20 room mansion ( not including 8 bathrooms ) heated by natural gas. Add on a pool ( and a pool house) and a separate guest house, all heated by gas. In one month this residence consumes more energy than the average American household does in a year. The average bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2400. In natural gas alone, this property consumes more than 20 times the national average for an American home. This house is not situated in a Northern or Midwestern "snow belt" area. It's in the South. This is house #2 So who is the better enviornmentalist?
Public Comments
- Probably the one who does everything he can to educate the world about environmental issues, rather than the one who uses his position to cut back environmental regulation and lessens restrictions on corporations. Oh, did you want an answer based on an incomplete question? I assumed you just accidentally left out the whole story.
- I'll go with house #1
- Those heat pumps have been around for a number of years and can also be used if you have a good source of water. I'm trying to remember how many gpm you need and for the life of me, I can't. I really like features like this and would love to see more of them incorporated into the design of new homes. We simply must look for alternatives and this one is great! :)
- House #1 House number 2 sounds alot like Al Gores House. I read the his electricity bill is $2,500 an month. Its an Inconvenient electricity bill!
