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The Closed Loop Home
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This page is an outline of my ideas for a nearly disaster-proof, completely self-sustaining (closed loop) residence. Also included is an outline for what I dub "nanopower", which makes up part of the home's power system. This is rough draft, just to get it online. The Structure Power & Water Waste Into Power My goal is a residence that can be built easily, quickly and (when manufactured in bulk) cheaply just about anywhere. (A kit home.) Other considerations include:
I've been working through several designs, most of which feature monolithic spheres or egg shapes. As already existing monolithic domes have proven, hurricanes, tornadoes and even wildfires just go over and around curved shapes, leaving the structure intact. Since the sphere isn't connected to the ground and could "float" on liquified soil, damage from earthquakes would be little to none (unless, of course, the ground opened wide enough to swallow the house whole). In the event of flooding or a rise in sea level, the sphere would automatically disconnect from its base and float once the water reached its middle. (Yes, concrete can float.) Monolithic domes have 3 primary disadvantages:
The design's current incarnation uses a rainwater collection unit shaped like a hollowed out hill for the sphere to rest in. The base would be formed in such a way as to create the impervious portion of a "water farming" system, and would create a sort of artificial cave, trapping cooler air that could then be drawn up into the house for climate control as needed. A circular elevator shaft/stairwell (discussed further down on this page) would also serve as a sort of chimney, allowing hot air to escape through the roof. I'm looking at several different possible construction methods: 1. Automated whole house construction using contour crafting. This process is already used on a smaller scale for prototype creation. 2. A combination of techniques for prefab panel construction (SIP, ICF...) and Monolithic Dome construction. My goal is to be able to get all components to a site in a pickup truck, so that I can save as many surrounding trees as possible. I'm still trying to figure out how to coat the entire egg/sphere in one pass without larger equipment. For the exterior, I'd like to use shotcrete made of recycled aggregates and possibly fly ash, and then a coat of Grancrete. Xypex may also work. I'd replace the usual polyurethane insulation with Aerogel (if possible), which is a greener product. 3. A geodesic skeleton combined with panels and coatings. Concrete (portland cement) releases greenhouse gases and uses a great deal of energy during the manufacturing process. If recycled aggregates won't work, I'm looking into the numerous offshoots of cob, adobe, clay, plaster, lime and papercrete. As an added bonus, most of these methods are much less expensive than standard concrete. (Often free.) After fully drying, the Grancrete or Xypex should erase the future moisture concerns associated with these mixtures. A number of technologies are being developed that, separately, produce small amounts of green renewable energy, but that, combined, could potentially produce more power than currently available in residential off-the-grid systems. (Many of these same technologies could be used to propel vehicles without little loss of range or speed.) Our current grid-powered system (IE: our centrally-located power and water distribution network) has many downsides. For one, it poses a major security risk, since it's relatively easy to knock out power and water for huge numbers of people. For another, these systems are inherently inefficient. They require constant (and expensive) expansion, upgrade and maintenance of their delivery mechanisms. Huge amounts of electricity are lost as it's sent through mile after mile of power lines, transformers and substations. Centrally located waterworks, by their very nature, are unable to take advantage of economies of scale, unlike rainwater collection. Along with a built-in rainwater collection base, the home would have an external spiral staircase integrated into the monolithic form itself. It would have a railing which curves underneath to meet the external wall. Lattice-like steps would be placed slightly above the curved "floor" of the staircase. This would enable rain to flow through and be directed into the collection tank(s). The staircase would also act as a fire escape, as a porch outside some rooms and as a means to reach the VAWs (vertical axis wind turbines) for maintenance. It also improves this concept's practicality for use as apartment buildings, hotels, etc. Energy would be provided by what I term "nanopower" (because "micropower" has come to mean something else). This combines many small sources of energy, the total of which should easily power a home. Kinetic energy would be gathered from sources such as the wind vibrating windows and other structures, and people walking over floors, opening doors & windows, and turning handles, as well as from vehicles moving over the driveway. In fact, the act of flipping a lightswitch could generate some of the power necessary for the light itself, particularly if organic LED lighting and hybrid solar fiber optic lighting is used. Also see the Himawari and Parans fixtures, both of which use solar fiber optic lighting, and the BBC article on OLEDs, Natural Light To Reinvent Bulbs. For me, solar fiber optic lighting only makes sense if combined with a night-time lighting option, but the hybrid version above proves it can be done. Alternatively, Solatubes or the Sun Tunnel could be used for daylighting, along with numerous windows. Either way, daylighting is important for both the Ouroboros Home's inside garden, low energy use and the general wellbeing of its inhabitants. Energy could also be generated from differences in barometric pressure, temperature and the full light spectrum throughout the structure:
TPL μPower EnerPak Small vertical axis wind turbines would be incorporated into the railing surrounding a gazebo-like structure on the top of the sphere, as well as the center of the gazebo roof. I prefer vertical axis over horizontal axis because they pose no threat to birds, move more slowly (are safer), are silent, are often smaller, don't need to be placed as high, and can be more visually appealing: PacWind (not as pretty as the others below, but better for residential use) Windows would actually be transparent solar panels. In fact, the entire structure might be covered with paint that incorporates solar nanocells:
Schott Building Integrated Photovoltaics with ASI Glass The incoming sunlight could also power hydrogen fuel creation. All power generated that isn't immediately used would be stored in a lithium-ion battery bank. Because there are instability (explosion) concerns about mixing hydrogen fuel cells with lithium ion battery storage, I'd want to use something like Saphion technology. This is something that most people are uncomfortable thinking about, but the truth is that what comes out of us contains many valuable constituents. The bathroom would contain a source separation toilet. The toilet would be powered by the waste itself. There are several ways that this might be done: 1. A microbial fuel cell:
Pollution Eating & Power Generating Bacteria 2. A urine-activated battery, such as... The NoPoPo (No Pollution Power) Battery 3. Human waste contains all the necessary ingredients to create hydrogen. This could power a fuel cell whose output would be combined with the other nanopower sources: Urine Turned Into Hydrogen Fuel (Imagine a world where businesses want you to use their restrooms!) The constituents of the waste would be sorted out for various uses. (One method might involve VAPRRS technology.) Biogas might power a refrigeration unit, air conditioner, stove or on-demand water heater... The ammonia from urine might power a solar absorption A/C unit or refrigerator:
Cooling With Solar Heat (great overview!) Michel Pons is one of the world's foremost researchers into this topic. His website provides much technical insight into how solar absorption works. The original Icy Ball patent, with diagrams! - The Icy Ball was an ammonia absorption refrigerator widely used before more modern refrigerants were developed. It used fire as the heat source, but a small-scale version of a solar furnace, Stirling engine (like SES's), or other solar concentrator (like Pyron's) could be used. Alternatively, water-to-hydrogen electrolysis (Brown's Gas) technology like Aquygen, Watertorch or Hypower Fuel could be used. Note that I have some skepticism regarding Brown's Gas, but the technology does seem to be moving forward, particularly in terms of power efficiency in the gas creation process. Moving on, human urine contains ingredients to make excellent fertilizer. Each floor of the sphere would utilize the outward curve of the inner wall as garden bed space, possibly using a Living Machine graywater treatment system. The garden bed would be interspersed with window seats for enjoying the garden and the view. Any excess liquid (unlikely) could be purified to create drinking water (relief agencies and NASA already do this), any excess oxygen could be released into the interior air, and excess solids could be used as powdered fertilizer after dewatering and sterilization. The waste could be sterilized via a solar method (a different design is here). Another option is simply composting the waste. This process is covered quite well in 'The Humanure Handbook'. The entire book is available for free online in 6 languages. Because the sphere is freestanding with no ground contact, a geothermal heat pump (which is a popular green heating method) would be difficult to implement. Because monolithic structures are so airtight, burning up precious interior oxygen with a fireplace wouldn't be pragmatic. Instead, various solar powered applications might be used for heating:
The Solar Wall Or more "standard" super-efficient heaters could be used. (Of course, with the home's insulation, passive solar orientation, air tightness and internal air circulation cell, heating and cooling needs should be very minimal.):
FreeHeat Besides the A/C and refrigeration options mentioned previously, other approaches might include: SolCool central AC / heater Since stairs aren't handicapped accessible, and take up valuable space, a wheelchair-accessible pnuematic vacuum elevator in the center of the home would be the primary means of getting from floor to floor. This model will show you the basic design. A narrow spiral staircase might be built around the elevator shaft for use in emergencies and to enable airflow from floor to floor for the thermal cell/chimney affect. In addition, each floor would have a Portal Ladder with swivel hooks. I chose this ladder because it folds down to a compact size, is lightweight, heavy duty and can be used as either a ground ladder or a hook ladder for use from an upper window. The main floor would include an inner circular wall made of cast earth, sections of which might be a living wall, punctuated by archway openings into the center area. Many people think that a circular home couldn't possibly be comfortable or user-friendly. To counter this, and to help readers better envision my full concept, I've included some of the interior's details below. There would be little need for worrying about custom cabinets and other storage units, since ample storage would be moulded into the walls themselves. Even the inside doors would have shelving. Because flat wall space will be limited, and in keeping with my goals of space efficiency, the kitchen would be circular and/or capable of rotating or folding out:
Compact Concepts kitchen Similarly, the living room (the section of the main floor inside the cast earth wall) would need seating that is circular and faces both inwards and outwards. Some ideas:
Davison Highley double-sided circular couches Or, one could create a circular sofa with back sections that can be flipped either way so that people can sit facing inwards or outwards. This provides maximum flexibility with minimum space requirements. I have nearly endless detail about interior, exterior and yard ideas, but I'm sure I've worn you out already! ;) Many of the nanopower ideas could also be used in vehicles, an "imagineering" project I hope to tackle on this site in the future. |
Some of my (very amateur) attempts to visualize the closed loop home & it's components:
^ Revised, more stable shape ^
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