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This is part of a series of video blog posts about green architecture and construction leading up to Greenbuild, the U.S. Green Building Council's annual conference. Planet Green is a Silver sponsor of this year's event, which will be held in Boston November 19-21.
Welcome to my new office—the Gottfried Lifepod. This was a joint venture between Envision Solar and my team. We greatly improved the base steel structure with eight solar panels on the roof and figured out how to make it into a super comfortable home office.
The Gottfried Lifepod will have eight 170-Watt solar panel modules on the metal roof. That will produce enough energy to cut the electricity bill for the entire house and office by about half. We're installing another eight solar panels on the southwest side of the house's roof, getting us to a zero-energy level; one of my major project goals! The solar modules themselves are mounted on to steel panels. Steel is a great product for this application. The panels are made from scrap cars whose recycled content is above 70 percent.
I'll be closing my downtown Oakland office, which is about 500 square-feet, and moving into this 120-square-foot Lifepod. So not only is it green because the square footage is less, it will also be day-lit and I'll get rid of my commute—while also saving $1,500 a month! The floor is a concrete with a 50 percent fly-ash passive-solar floor. Fly ash is a byproduct of burning coal in a power plant, and it usually goes to the landfill. By using it in the concrete, we're reducing landfill waste, and making concrete that produces half the amount of greenhouse gasses, because we are using half the amount of Portland cement. We added a brown tint to the concrete, making the finish very attractive. The Lifepod also has blow-in cellulose insulation and efficient Marvin windows and entry door. The lighting is by compact fluorescents and a desktop LED.
As technology improves over time, we'll continue to improve the systems and materials in the Gottfried Lifepod. Soon we'll have concrete with no carbon, or negative carbon. We'll be able to use that instead of any Portland cement. We'll have more efficient windows, better insulation products, even new solar technology to showcase that's more efficient and cheaper, too.
I'll keep pulling the stuff out of the lab and into the structures, so the Gottfried Lifepod is representative of the green life we all need to create and that integration of work and home, so it's all about quality of life.
David Gottfried started Regenerative Ventures and its consulting arm, WorldBuild in 1995, after founding the U.S. Green Building Council in 1993. He is the author of Greed to Green, and is internationally acknowledged as one of the foremost founders of the global green building movement.
Read more in this series:
USGBC Founder David Gottfried's LEED Home Renovation: Intro (Video)
David Gottfried's Home Renovation: Success Is Based on Teamwork (Video)
David Gottfried: Walkable Neighborhoods Are a Greener Choice (Video)
David Gottfried Home Renovation: A Family Affair (Video)
David Gottfried: Green Renovation and Historic Choices (Video)
Home Renovation: David Gottfried on Green Framing (Video)
Kitchen Design: David Gottfried's LEED Home Renovation
Building an Efficient Bathroom (Video)
Green Home Renovation: In the Yard (Video)
LEED Home Renovation: Solar Realization (Video)
Green Home Renovation: Water Strategy (Video)
Green Home Renovation: Ponder the Growth of the Green Movement (Video)
Read more about green building:
How to Go Green: Home Renovation
Learning about Labels: Energy Star vs EPEAT
Know Your Green Home Technologies: Radiant Heat
Green Glossary: Sick Building Syndrome
Keep Your Home Green and Dry: 5 Easy Waterproofing Tips
Know Your Green Building Materials: 3 Cutting Edge Insulations
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