Planet Green
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Steve Thomas is the host of Planet Green's Renovation Nation, a program that focuses on making green renovations to homes across the country. In his regular column on PlanetGreen.com, Steve goes behind the scenes of the show and offers additional tips and insight on green renovation.
The Imuses are building a house that they hope to be the greenest house in America by scoring the most LEED points ever. It’s a modern house. It's not all that big, about 3,000 square feet under-roof. It's hot in Tuscon, and they have to have a pool. However, the pool is replenished through rainwater collection.
The whole house will be self-sufficient in terms of water. It will use the grey water for the landscape. The house will take all the rainwater it gets, about 11 inches per year, and save nearly 100% of it. The rainwater will get used for domestic purpose, drinking, toilets, showers, the pool and so on.
They are also using a system called autoclaved aerated concrete. (AAC) They take concrete and they whip it into a froth, like the foam at the top of your latte cup. It hardens into this frothy foam, then it's cut into blocks, stacked together and reinforced where necessary. It gives you a huge thermal mass and also a wall system that’s completely indestructible in terms of rot, mold, insect, etc. To put the finishing touches on this wall, all you have to do is plaster the inside and stucco the outside.
The Imuses are hoping to have this house insulated enough that it won't require air conditioning even in Tuscon's 115 degree heat. It's a really smart house.
Learn More about the Imus House on the Greenest House in America episode of Renovation Nation
More on Green Renovation:
11 High-Concept Ideas for Low-Tech Green Living
Convince Your Local Historic Commission to Go Green (Video)
Renovating a Historic Structure Comes with Constraints (Video)
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