USA’s First Fossil Fuel Free Community Housing Tract in Colorado
ByCreative Assistant
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For the first time in the United States a community is going to be created that will be totally independent of the power grid. Under the name Geos, Arvada Colorado will soon have 250 homes on 25 acres that will be energy independent. The homes will range from 850 to over 3500 square feet.
The homes are designed to supply 100% of the community`s energy needs. The houses are South-facing for maximum exposure to sunlight and the roofs of houses and garages are fitted with photovoltaic cells. The homes are staggered in a checkerboard pattern for optimum sunlight exposure. Doors and windows on colder North-facing walls are kept to a minimum. Specially designed awnings shield the windows from the hot sun in summer, while in winter the lower angle of the sun will allow sunlight to warm the interior.
While sunlight provides the bulk of the energy needs, geothermal energy supplements it on overcast days and at night. A few feet underground the earth`s temperature is fairly constant throughout the year. The community will take advantage of this fact to provide cooling in summer and warming in winter.
An energy-efficient home cannot exist if significant amounts of air are permitted to escape from it, as this will defeat efforts at heating in winter and cooling in summer. Most homes in the U.S. have 0.5 to 0.7 air changes per hour. This means that on average 50% to 70% of the air inside the home will have left it in one hour. In contrast, the Geos homes will have a low 0.1 air changes per hour, which makes heating and cooling much more effective.
The homes will also use heat recovery ventilation, further improving the performance of heating systems, allowing 75% of the heat from the air leaving the home to be applied to the fresh filtered air coming in. The first few homes are expected to be completed in 2009.
Other countries are also embarking on similar housing projects. In Okotoks, Alberta, Canada, a housing project collects heat from the sun in summer, via solar collectors on garage roofs. This heat is stored underground and provides heat throughout the winter season. Combined with energy efficient homes, 90% of the community`s energy needs are filled with this system. Similar projects are underway in India and Estonia.
Saving energy is a large part of creating a greener, more biofriendly environment. One company that is doing its part in contributing to this cause is Biofriendly Corporation, which has developed the Green Plus® liquid fuel catalyst that provides a cleaner, more linear fuel burn in internal combustion engines, resulting in fewer harmful emissions, increased torque and better fuel economy.
For more information about Green Plus visit the Biofriendly website at www.biofriendly.com.
Peter Verhoeff is a freelance writer who contributes articles on environmental issues for Biofriendly Corporation. More information about environmental issues can be found at http://www.biofriendly.com.
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