Utilities Systems[edit | edit source]
This section is dedicated to the discussion and planning of the utilities systems for the Open House. This is a more sophisticated area that has the problem of limited reliable open technology for the area of home power. While renewable energy has made great strides generally, certain renewable energy technologies have been problematic for open development because they tend to still rely on very sophisticated large scale production, as in the case of photovoltaics. But we do have some interesting opportunities to demonstrate the possibilities for the future even if what's at-hand may be a bit limited. For instance, while it's not practical to home-brew the creation of high-performance photovoltaics and we may have no choice but to rely on 'commodity' PV products as a compromise, we can actually demonstrate the nascent home-manufacture of cruder forms of these using organic dye sensitized PVs. This demonstration can be highly educational. We may also need to rely in greater proportion on solar-hybrid systems, wind turbines, and some more exotic technology which may be more temperamental or experimental but which are better suited to home fabrication. Wind turbines will be particularly convenient in this context and we anticipate the demonstration of a couple types of systems and their possible integration into the architecture itself.
Many utilities systems will overlap with systems developed for the Microfarm. In particular, we intend to demonstrate Living Machine systems for air purification and greywater handling which may be integrated with the Microfarm greenhouse or outdoor container gardening systems. Additionally, the home would make extensive use of active composting systems for the handling of organic waste from the microfarm and kitchen/food scraps. There is potential in this for the creation of a novel supplementary biogas power system using home-brew fuel cells. Another possibility is small scale methanol production.
Water is a critical problem for housing that may, of necessity, be grid independent or remote. The Microfarm will likely demand somewhat higher than usual water consumption for a small home and efficiency and recycling will be important. The Open House may depend on water delivery and supplemental water catchment systems, which requires bulky storage and creative approaches to keeping it less-than industrial looking.
Toilets and blackwater handling may also be challenging where no municipal sewer connection is possible. Conventional septic tank and drainage field approaches are exceptionally high-impact. Our low-impact requirement would favor alternative approaches, though options are few. In fat, there may only be two practical choices; composting toilets and incinerating toilets. The former is common for off-grid and tiny homes, but have limited capacity and can be inconvenient. Incinerating toilets, common for shipboard use, are much more convenient and easily mobile, but high in energy demand, usually requiring propane fuel.
