Editorial

Home design offers recycling of 'free' energy

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Reduce, recycle, reuse is the mantra of the "green" movement currently in vogue, but it should be nothing new to those of us who lived through the Depression or grew up with those who did.

McCook has a good recycling system in place, and we encourage everyone to take advantage of the chance to remove recyclable materials from the trash -- for which we otherwise have to pay to have shipped to an Ogallala landfill -- and return it to be used in manufacturing new products.

McCook's recycling center is a busy place, but there's always more room for recovered paper, glass, plastic and metal.

We've noticed television commercials and news stories touting the recovery of methane gas from old landfills, and wonder whether there's any potential for McCook's old landfill, just east of Walmart and north and west of the recycling center.

Solar, wind and other alternative energies have gone in and out of fashion depending on the price of oil, but the use of recycled energy is a relatively new concept that is gaining favor in European housing.

Called "passive houses," the homes are small -- about 500 square feet per person -- tightly sealed and highly insulated. Most of the heating comes from sunlight streaming through complex triple-glazed windows, and little heat escapes through special doors with elaborate seals.

A small heat source is used when needed, but most of the energy comes from a foam-insulated cooler that exchanges heat between outgoing warm, stagnant indoor air and incoming filtered fresh air, which prevents mold and other drawbacks previous sealed home designs have suffered.

Not many have been built in the United States, where lack of special components drive up the cost. But the European Parliament is proposing that new housing meet passive-house standards by 2011.

To be effective, the homes need a south-facing wall, and it's not clear how well they work in warmer climates.

But when it comes to new construction, recycling free energy through passive house construction may be the wave of the future.

For more information, search "passive house" on the Internet or visit http://www.passivehouse.us/passive House/PHIUSHome.html

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