The reason why I am designing a “Green” building is because I think this will show other people that this is possible, and you and our planet can both benefit from conserving and recycling materials in the process of building a “Green” home.

Some features that I will be using in my “Green” home are: solar panels, a water collection system, wind turbines, an underground green house, and many windows because my home will be south facing. All these features have a purpose. To begin with, the solar panels collect the sunlight in the day and store the power in a battery so at night I can power my lighting and electric appliances. The wind turbines pretty much do the same thing; but they collect power for my home from the wind.

Next, the purpose of the water collection system is, that when it rains (or snows), the collection tubs along the sides of the exterior of the house trap the rain water. Once the precipitation subsides, the water flows down the pipes. The majority of the collected water goes into the house and gets filtered and heated by the solar energy. The rest of the water that’s left travels down another set of pipes that leads to the green house to water the plants.

Finally, the purpose of my green house is to be able to grow my own crops for consumption and be a fuel/energy source. Also, my green house will be made of all glass and recycled metals (for support). The all-glass design is a smart idea because it enables the sunlight to come straight in to help the plants grow, and warms the inside so in the winter the plants won’t die. Some materials I will be using to construct my home are, concrete, compacted straw, and recycled paper for insulation. I will have the warm water pipes running through the concrete walls to keep my home warm. I will be using mostly recycled materials in my home. The kitchen and bathroom tiles will be all recycled along with external wall coverings and flooring (such as recycled wood). To conclude, I am going to keep every thing else inside my home simple so it would have a small foot print.

Haley

Click here to see an animation of my house.