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The Closed Loop Home
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This page is an outline of my ideas for a nearly disaster-proof, completely self-sustaining (closed loop) residence. Also included are my thoughts on the power and water systems, and other components, like heating, cooling, refrigeration and even appropriate furniture. This is rough draft, just to get it online. The Structure Power & Water Waste Into Power My goals are a residence:
Several of the goals above relate to my desire to be able to build a home with very minimal impact on the rest of the property's environment. For example, if large vehicles were needed to move the pre-assembled components, trees would have to be cut, which is particularly undesirable in the marginal environments where this home would do the most good. The last goal relates to the effects of architecture, lighting, air quality and other factors on the subconscious of the residents. I want the indoor atmosphere to simultaneously relax and invigorate the mind and body. I've been working through several designs, most of which feature monolithic spheres or egg shapes. As already existing monolithic domes have proven, hurricanes, tornadoes and even fires just go over and around solid, curved shapes, leaving the structure intact. Since the sphere isn't connected to the ground and could "float" on liquified soil, damage from earthquakes would be little to none (unless, of course, the ground opened wide enough to swallow the house whole). In the event of flooding or a rise in sea level, the house would automatically disconnect from its base and float once the water reached its middle. (Yes, concrete can float.) Internal water storage would be placed to create ballast, which could be discharged if necessary. The house would have a built-in retractable anchor. The external staircase (more on this later) would provide boat mooring. Keeping a folding kayak or inflatable life raft on hand would be recommended for residents of coastal areas. Each floor has doors so that occupants can step out onto balconies connected to the external staircase. These would also act as escape hatches. Windows and doors seal when closed to keep out wind, water, fire and particulates. The external staircase acts as a fire escape. Standard monolithic domes (half or 3/4 spheres) have several disadvantages:
The design's current incarnation uses a rainwater collection unit shaped like a hollowed out hill for the sphere to rest in. The base would be formed in such a way as to create the impervious portion of a "water farming" system, and would create a sort of artificial cave between it and the home, trapping cooler air that could then be drawn up into the house for climate control as needed. A circular elevator shaft/stairwell (discussed further down on this page) would also serve as a sort of chimney, allowing hot air to escape through the roof. Of course, the design of the base, and
airtightness of the elevator shaft could be easily changed to meet the
challenges of very cold environments. I'm looking at several different possible construction methods: 1. Automated whole house construction using contour crafting. This process is already used on a smaller scale for prototype creation. 2. A combination of techniques for prefab panel construction (SIP, ICF...) and Monolithic Dome construction. I'm still trying to figure out how to coat the entire egg/sphere in one pass without larger equipment. For the exterior, I'd like to use shotcrete made of recycled aggregates and possibly fly ash, and then a coat of Grancrete. Xypex may also work. A stucco sprayer might work better than a shotcrete sprayer with the external materials. I'd replace the usual polyurethane insulation with Aerogel (if possible), which is a greener product. 3. A geodesic skeleton (based on a Bucky egg or the more supportive stratodesic egg, perhaps), combined with prefabricated panels and coatings. Concrete (portland cement) releases greenhouse gases and uses a great deal of energy during the manufacturing process. If recycled aggregates won't work, I'm looking into the numerous offshoots of cob, adobe, clay, plaster and lime. As an added bonus, most of these methods are much less expensive than standard concrete (often free), and can use differing local resources site to site. After fully drying, the Grancrete or Xypex should tightly seal the structure and end future moisture concerns associated with these mixtures. (On the other hand, there are benefits to homes, like those made of adobe, whose walls can breathe.) The driveway would be earth-based bricks that allow water to filter back into the ground, laid down with the innovative Tiger-Stone machine. And their holes would be small enough that high heels wouldn't get caught in them! ;) (Wouldn't this be a wonderful way to get from the driveway to the front door?) A number of technologies are being developed that, separately, produce small amounts of green renewable energy. Combined, these could potentially produce more power than currently available in residential off-the-grid systems. (Many of these same technologies could be used to propel vehicles.) Our current grid-powered system (IE: our centrally-located power and water distribution network) has many downsides. For one, it poses a major security risk, since it's relatively easy to knock out power and water for huge numbers of people. For another, these systems are inherently inefficient. They require constant (and expensive) expansion, upgrade and maintenance of their delivery mechanisms. Huge amounts of electricity are lost as it's sent through mile after mile of power lines, transformers and substations. Centrally located waterworks, by their very nature, are unable to take advantage of economies of scale, unlike rainwater collection. Along with a built-in rainwater collection base, the home would have an external spiral staircase integrated into the monolithic form itself. It would have a railing curving underneath to meet the external wall. Perforated steps would be placed slightly above the curved "floor" of the staircase. This would enable rain and rainwater runoff from the external wall of the house to flow through and be directed into the collection tank. The staircase would also act as a fire escape. Additionally, it could be used to reach the VAWTs (vertical axis wind turbines) for maintenance. Lastly, it improves this concept's practicality for use as apartment buildings, hotels, etc. Circular porches would surround the building at each floor, being perforated by the external staircase. These would provide more rainwater collection surface and tie into the collection apparatus. Energy would be provided by many different sources. Kinetic energy would be gathered from sources such as the wind vibrating windows and other structures, and people walking over floors, opening doors & windows, flipping lightswitches and turning handles, as well as from vehicles moving over the driveway. In fact, the act of flipping a lightswitch could generate some of the power necessary for the light itself, particularly if organic LED lighting and hybrid solar fiber optic lighting is used. Also see the Himawari and Parans fixtures, both of which use solar fiber optic lighting, and the OLED article, 'Natural Light To Reinvent Bulbs'. Alternatively, Solatubes or the Sun Tunnel could be used for daylighting, along with numerous windows. Either way, daylighting is important for both the home's inside garden, low energy use and the general wellbeing of its inhabitants. Energy could also be generated from differences in barometric pressure, temperature and light:
TPL μPower EnerPak VAWTs would be incorporated into the railing surrounding a gazebo-like structure on the top of the sphere, as well as the center of the gazebo roof. I prefer vertical axis over horizontal axis because they pose no threat to birds, move more slowly (are safer), are silent, are often smaller, don't need to be placed as high, and can be more visually appealing: PacWind (not as pretty as the others below, but better for residential use) Windows would actually be transparent solar panels. In fact, the entire structure might be covered with paint that incorporates solar nanocells:
Schott Building Integrated Photovoltaics with ASI Glass The incoming sunlight could also power hydrogen fuel creation. All power generated that isn't immediately used would be stored in a lithium-ion battery bank. Because there are instability (explosion) concerns about mixing hydrogen fuel cells with lithium ion battery storage, I'd want to use something like Saphion technology. This is something that most people are uncomfortable thinking about, but the truth is that what comes out of us contains many valuable constituents. I've already discussed collecting and reusing the moisture in the air that comes from exhalation and sweat. But the bathroom could be a powerful tool in making this house self-sustaining. The bathroom would contain a source separation toilet. The toilet would be powered by the waste itself. There are several ways that this might be done: 1. A microbial fuel cell:
Pollution Eating & Power Generating Bacteria 2. A urine-activated battery, such as... The NoPoPo (No Pollution Power) Battery 3. Hydrogen. Human waste contains all the necessary ingredients to create hydrogen. This could power a fuel cell whose output would be combined with the other nanopower sources: Urine Turned Into Hydrogen Fuel (Imagine a world where businesses want you to use their restrooms, and keep them clean and well-stocked for that very reason!) The constituents of the waste would be sorted out for various uses. (One method might involve VAPRRS technology. Another, which also separates out methane for potential power use, is the SOURCE pilot project.) Biogas might power a refrigeration unit, air conditioner, stove or on-demand water heater. Or the ammonia from urine might power a solar absorption A/C unit or refrigerator:
Cooling With Solar Heat (great overview!) Michel Pons is one of the world's foremost researchers into this topic. His website provides much technical insight into how solar absorption works. The original Icy Ball patent, with diagrams! - The Icy Ball was an ammonia absorption refrigerator widely used before more modern refrigerants were developed. It used fire as the heat source, but a small-scale version of a solar furnace, Stirling engine (like SES's), or other solar concentrator (like Pyron's on a smaller scale) could be used. Moving on, human urine contains ingredients to make excellent fertilizer. After removing impurities, both the water and phospates would be used to grow food. Each floor of the sphere would utilize the outward curve of the inner wall as garden bed space (much like those found in Earthships), possibly using a Living Machine graywater treatment system. The garden bed would be interspersed with window seats for enjoying the garden and the view. Any excess water (unlikely) could be further purified to create drinking water (relief agencies and NASA already do this), and any excess oxygen could be released into the interior air. Excess solids could be used as powdered fertilizer after dewatering and sterilization. The waste could be sterilized via a solar method (a different design is here). Another option is simply composting the waste. This process is covered quite well in 'The Humanure Handbook'. The entire book is available for free online in 6 languages. With the home's insulation, passive solar orientation (due to its shape), air tightness and internal air circulation cell, heating and cooling needs should be very minimal. Still, they should be planned for to enable the home's use in all climates. Because the sphere is freestanding, a geothermal heat pump (which is a popular green heating method) would be difficult to implement. And because monolithic structures are so airtight, burning up precious interior oxygen with a fireplace wouldn't be pratical. Instead, various solar powered applications might be used for heating:
The Solar Wall Or super-efficient heaters could be used:
FreeHeat Besides the A/C and refrigeration options mentioned previously, other approaches might include: SolCool central AC / heater Since stairs aren't handicapped accessible, and take up valuable space, a wheelchair-accessible pnuematic vacuum elevator in the center of the home would be the primary means of getting from floor to floor. This model will show you the basic design, which is cylindrical. (NOTE: The current pnuematic elevator models are quite loud, and only one company makes them. I'd like to see some competition to bring down the noise and their already-low energy use.) A narrow spiral staircase might be built around the elevator shaft for use in emergencies and to enable airflow from floor to floor for the thermal cell/chimney affect. The stairs would be closed, with non-skid strips, making them safer to use. Another option would be to make this a spiral ramp, rather than staircase, or to have some non-electric way to make the stairs fold down flat to create a ramp, if necessary. Lastly, as an alternative to centrally located stairs, the home could use wall stairs for emergencies to maximize space. However, this may not work with the wall curvature. The main floor would include a smaller inner circular wall made of cast earth, punctuated by archway openings into the center area. This would lead into the living room, at the center of which would be the elevator. Many people think that a circular home couldn't possibly be comfortable or user-friendly. To counter this, and to help readers better envision my full concept, I've included some of the interior's details below. There would be little need for worrying about custom cabinets and other storage units, since ample storage would be moulded into the walls themselves. Even the inside doors would have shelving. Because flat wall space would be limited, and in keeping with my goals of space efficiency, the kitchen would be circular and/or capable of rotating or folding out:
Compact Concepts kitchen Similarly, the living room would need seating that is circular and preferably, faces both inwards and outwards. Some ideas:
Davison Highley double-sided circular couches Or, one could create a circular sofa with back sections that can be flipped either way so that people can sit facing inwards or outwards. This provides maximum flexibility with minimum space requirements. I have nearly endless detail about interior, exterior and yard ideas, but I'm sure I've worn you out already!
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Some of my (very amateur) attempts to visualize the the sphere and egg-shaped closed loop homes & their components. Not everything is shown (for example, the eternal staircase that wraps around the structure):
^ Revised, more stable shape ^
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