A Copper Alliance Member
Saving the Planet - One House at a Time
May 2, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Zero-Energy Cottage uses recyclable materials, solar power and innovative design to demonstrate self-sufficient living at the Sustainability Fair
WASHINGTON, D.C — Happiness is never having to pay
another energy bill, according to sponsors of a novel demonstration
home that opens to the public this Friday and Saturday on the Mall.
Combining energy-efficient construction design, techniques, materials
and products, the Zero-Energy Cottage sets an example of just how
self-sufficient a home can be. Its roof-mounted photoelectric solar
panels provide virtually all of the electricity and hot water its
occupants would need. Developed by an Atlanta-based builder, the
two-bedroom, 1,700 square-foot cottage is said to be up to 90 percent
more energy-efficient than an average home.
The demonstration home was disassembled and shipped from Atlanta
to Washington to take part in the first annual National Park Service
Sustainability Fair, which will be held May 3 and 4 on the National
Mall. The purpose of the Fair is to show how environmental and energy-efficient
"sustainable" practices, many of them developed and used
in our national park system, also can be put to good use in our
homes and communities.
One of the participating commercial sponsors, Copper Development
Association (CDA), provided all of the copper tubing for the home's
hot- and cold-water plumbing, for its solar water-heating system,
and for a geothermal heat pump that uses the temperature of the
earth itself as part of its heating and cooling system.
Copper is also used in the home's electric wiring and in its sophisticated
structured wiring communications system, which allows occupants
to network home computers, distribute audio and video throughout
and install home-automation features in the future.
The builder, Julius Poston of Certified Living Inc. in Woodstock,
GA, created both the Zero-Energy Cottage and a second, larger energy-efficient
demonstration home with grants from the U.S. Department of Energy's
Building America program, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency's Energy Star program. Other sponsors include
AOL Time Warner, the American Lung Association and the Captain Planet
Foundation, a non-profit environmental awareness organization founded
for children by media mogul Ted Turner.
According to CDA spokesman Ken Geremia, the association was asked
by Poston to support the project because copper materials are inherently
energy efficient and environmentally friendly.
"Copper is the most recycled and recyclable building material
you can use," says Geremia, "so sustainability demonstration
projects like this are a perfect fit for us. The fact that this
particular project is being done for such a good cause, on behalf
of both the National Park Service and the Captain Planet Foundation,
is a plus as far as CDA is concerned."
In tune with the project's earth-friendly goals, the Zero-Energy
Cottage takes advantage of the constant temperatures found underground
and the excellent heat transfer properties of copper tube to offset
typical home energy costs. Its direct-exchange geothermal heat pump
circulates refrigerant liquid through copper pipes buried beneath
the property, then uses the earth's relative warmth in winter, and
its cooler underground temperature in summer, to supplement the
home's own heating and cooling system.
The house, valued at $200,000, will return to Atlanta to be sold, with all proceeds to benefit the Captain Planet Foundation.
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