Eco Friendly Homes

You only have to watch any episode of Grand Designs on television to realise that architects, particularly at the more prestigious end of the spectrum are starting to take climate change more seriously. There is now a whole arsenal of eco friendly building materials available to choose from, in the battle to build eco friendly homes, from Wind Turbines, to solar panels, to high efficiency lighting, ultra efficient insulation, water conservation plumbing and much more.
A fabulous example of an eco friendly home would be the Zero home designed by architect Scott Sprecht, pictured below. The Zero home utilises large solar panel "sails" harnessing the sun's energy to generate electricity, which it stores in super efficient batteries. The power generated is conserved by many energy saving features such as super efficient LED lighting. A roof cistern collects rain water which operates the homes plumbing system. Any water used in house, flushing toilets etc runs down to a compost collector at the base of the home.
The impact of the zero home on its immediate environment is so minimal that you could literally pick it up and move it to a different location and it would continue to function perfectly with no need to disconnect and reconnect sewerage pipes, electricity cables etc.

The Zero Home

The new Zero House, designed by architect Scott Specht, is the ultimate green home - as close to being off grid as you can get whilst enjoying all the creature comforts.
High efficiency solar panels generate all the electricity you could need while highly efficient batteries store enough power to keep you running through a week of cloudy days.
A 2700 galon roof cistern is at the centre of an ingenious plumbing system that terminates in a compost container in the basement. Consequently, there is no need for sewerage pipes.
There is of course, super efficient LED lighting, with each bulb lasting for around 100,000 hours.
And lets face it, it looks very cool!
Picture Courtesy of what to watch.net - The Ultimate Green Home