Lawmaker moves into solar-powered house for one week - Sen. Frank Wagner, (R)

[Kadie]

Lawmaker moves into solar-powered house
By MATT REED, Associated Press Writer
3 minutes ago


RICHMOND, Va. - Senator Frank Wagner is staying warm at his temporary address, even in below-freezing weather and without a traditional power supply or fireplace.

The Virginia Beach Republican, a proponent of alternative energy sources, is living for a week outside the Science Museum of Virginia in a solar-powered house designed and built by Virginia Tech students. He moved in Wednesday.

Using a remote control and a computer, Wagner is testing whether the award-winning home can generate enough electricity from the sun to run everyday home appliances, and still have enough left over to send to Richmond's power grid or charge an electric car.

"The house is designed to be self-sufficient, but there's a lot of things that could be adapted into existing houses today," he said Friday, after spending his second almost glitch-free night in the 800 square-foot home.

The house is warmed by heat that comes up through the floor, and has a rainwater harvesting system and automated mood lighting. It also features a wide-screen television and kitchen appliances chosen for their energy efficiency.

more...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070126/ap_on_sc/solar_house_5

[ourbluenation]

1. props for him

:)

[northofdenali]

2. Good for him. A repub that hasn't gone completely over

to the Dark Side.

I'd LOVE to be able to design/build my new cabin (a few years down the road still) using solar, but it's not totally practical here. Not enough sun in the winter. I'm open to all suggestions, though - will hopefully build near enough to a creek to generate some hydropower, too.

[Kadie]

3. Have you seen the show 'Life with Ed' on HGTV?

This is becoming one of my favorite shows. Ed Begley, Jr. is totally green and it drives his wife crazy. The last episode I watched they were getting new counter tops and they used a recycled product. Very interesting.





About the Show
TV and movie actor Ed Begley, perhaps the greenest man in Tinsel Town, rides his electric car to the Academy Awards and powers his home with the sun and his stationary bike. But Living with Ed and his environmentalist passion isn't always a walk in the park for wife, Rachelle. This first-of-its-kind reality green show chronicles life with an earth-friendly fanatic with humor and heart. Check out this fresh unscripted docu-soap about the lifestyle of a diehard activist who puts his money and his time where his mouth is 24/7. Definitely not recycled TV.

Watch Living with Ed Sundays 10pm e/p.



http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/pac_ctnt_988/text/0,,HGTV_22056_56190,00.html

[sandnsea]

4. I don't get rainwater harvesting

Rainwater replenishes the ground water, so I'm not quite sure why it would be wise to interrupt that natural cycle. Otherwise, good for Wagner. There is so much that we could be doing if we'd focus as much on the solutions as the problem.

[noamnety]

5. Grey water/rain water reduces the use of treated water

You have to look at the entire system, not just the rain water itself. If you don't use the rain water, the alternative isn't using no water at all.

If you use 40 gallons of treated water for a 12 minute shower instead of rain water, you've still caused 40 gallons of water to be removed from the ground water supply - but this time you've used resources to put it through a treatment plant, get pumped with chemicals, and you've used the energy to pump it the distance from the treatment plant to your house.

That's a larger disruption of the natural cycle.

[sandnsea]

6. Aaah, treated water

Okay, I get it. I was looking for the payoff. Not putting treated water back in the system.

If water wasn't treated, I think it better to let it go into the aquifer. IIRC, once an aquifer dries up you can't get it back. It's a pretty dangerous thing to play around with. It might be good to cycle it through your house and your own cleaning system to keep the groundwater percolating.