This home doesn’t use energy. It creates it.
An Australian design company says it has built a prefabricated home that produces more energy than it uses.
ArchiBlox, an Australian design and building company, says it has created the world’s first prefabricated home that produces more energy than it uses.
Over the home’s estimated lifespan of 105 years, the Archi + Carbon Positive House is projected to have the same environmental benefits as planting roughly 6,095 trees, or taking about 267 cars off the road, according to Green Magazine.
Here’s a peek inside the ArchiBlox home:
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How does the home earn its ‘carbon positive’ title? Through a variety of ways.
Grassy plants cover the roof of the building, providing thermal insulation, while a wall dotted with edible herbs and vegetables can be slid back and forth to block the sun and cool the home. With one bedroom and one bathroom, the compact home was also constructed for “airtightness’’ to increase energy efficiency.
The home also does not use a traditional heating or cooling system. Instead, it has cooling tubes in the ground that circulate air around the home naturally. Solar panels are mounted to the roof to harness energy from the sun, and rainwater is captured and recycled using tanks. ArchiBlox also uses low-flow shower heads and dual-flush toilets.
In addition to these eco-friendly amenities, the house itself was constructed using “as many renewable and recycled products as possible,’’ according to ArchiBlox’s website.
A single-story prototype of the home has been installed in Melbourne’s City Square.
“Our homes are designed and built for longevity, minimal maintenance and for future generations to use,’’ ArchiBlox’s website states.
While residents of a prefab home without a heating system probably wouldn’t survive a New England winter, some of the ideas behind the ‘carbon positive’ home could be implemented locally. Boston-based architecture firm ZeroEnergy Design (ZED) builds homes that use “50% less energy than the building code requires’’ by implementing eco-friendly amenities like solar panels and large windows that allow sunlight in for heat.
If investing in green architecture is out of your price range, you could always start small by gardening, even in your apartment.
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