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The lessons that I learned from the computer model of our solar hot water system are as follows:
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Photovoltaic modules about to be installed on the MCNZH roof
Things are progressing nicely on the Mill Creek NetZero Home. The exterior is almost complete, not including the stucco that will be applied in the spring. Read the rest of this entry »
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James Howard Kunstler says that we need to start building spaces that are worth caring about and living in. When we put up cheap, ugly buildings, as we so often do in Edmonton, we make our communities and homes less worth respecting and cherishing. Reinforcing this idea is Susan Susanka, author of the much acclaimed book The Not So Big House, who says that “a house that favors quality of design over quantity of space satisfies people far more than…those characteristics in reverse.” Read the rest of this entry »
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We have trusses, and we’ll have a roof by tomorrow. Nick and Adam of Green Door Builders are doing a great job of framing the house. Peter is always amazed at how little waste they create. They’re only throwing out little toothpicks of plywood. On top of that they are dipping into a pile of reusable lumber that I set aside for them: Read the rest of this entry »
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I remember viewing a home on the ecosolar home tour a few years back that had just been expanded to 3000 ft.² plus a full basement. I walked away from that home shaking my head – can we really call 1000 ft.² of living space per person green?
The Mill Creek NetZero Home (MCNZH) is now fully framed, and it’s looking pretty big on the streetscape. We built a pretty big house, and I wanted to document some of the considerations that went into the decisions we made.
The official square footage of the MCNZH is 2280 ft.² With a full basement, that’s 3267 ft.² of living space. For four people, that’s definitely more space than we need. I am not a believer in the “techno-fix”. Technology will not save us from having to make changes to our lifestyle. We will have to considerably scale it down to start fixing the problems that we’ve caused.
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