Green Housing Takes Root in Oregon

baldinux writes "I was reading an article in the Portland Tribune which showcased the City of Portland's noteworthy 'Rose House' (1.8mb PDF) project, part of the Office of Sustainable Development and Oregon Department of Energy's plan to encourage sustainable, energy-producing, environmentally-friendly housing for the future, a plan which is gaining national and international attention. The Rose House, at only 800 square feet (approx. 244 sq. meters), is equipped with solar panels and incorporates technologies that recapture lost heat and energy during normal appliance operation, such as ventilation. During peak hours -- when power is at highest demand -- the Rose House could produce surplus energy, feeding kilowatt hours back to the power grid, and `rolling back' the meter -- the power authority's way of purchasing the surplus energy and lessening the burden on comparatively 'dirty' power plants. The article suggests that homes like this could see net power bills as low as $0 per year. The environmental benefits of a lessened burden on centralized, often fossil fuel or nuclear, power generation plants would be considerable."

Comments

Re:Size matters!

[Analogy Man]

With a bigger house I can have more STUFF. Then of course I need a bigger SUV to haul my STUFF around. Then I stuff my ever expanding ass in my BIG chair and watch my BIG TV.

The American way...ain't it beautiful?

Re:800 SF?

[b-baggins]

The home is 800 SF for a reason. They likely made it that small in order to get it self-sufficient. Larger homes have greater radiating surfaces and a larger volume of air to heat and cool.

800 sf is a joke. How about a 2400 square foot home?

Typical environmentalism. Make everyone more miserable in order to "save the environment."

How about we just find ways to make energy so cheap and abundant that we can be as wasteful as nature in using it.