to visit the Biosphere Environment Museum. Many of you may remember the huge geodesic dome there as the former pavilion of the United States, designed by the American inventor Richard Buckminster Fuller and built for the 1967 World Fair (Expo 67). The building originally formed an enclosed structure of steel and acrylic cells, 76 metres (250 ft) in diameter and 62 metres (200 ft) high. To me it was always the one structure I identified with Expo 67 as a kid.
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| back in 1967! |
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| Me in front of Dome, 2011 |
The Montreal Biosphère is now the only environment museum in North America. It promotes a number of green technologies: wind turbines, green roof systems, a geothermal system and solar panels. The last one was what brought us there on Saturday - to see the Ecoological House, an 800 square foot self-sufficient and ecological solar-powered house that
is extremely energy efficient. It was designed by 40 engineering students from the Université du Québec à Montréal, the École Polytechnique – Université de Montréal, and McGill University for an international competition, the 2007 Solar Decathlon, in Washington, D.C. We were shown around by two of the Museum's efficient personnel who had a very good grasp on the technology of solar power and other green solutions we were interested in that we can apply in the designing and building of our own house.
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| Marie and Eric, Ecoological House |
Electricity in this house is produced by thirty odd 205-W photovoltaic solar panels providing 8.2 kW. Solar technology has come a long way since 2007 and if they built this house today it would certainly take less panels to produce the same amount of electricity. At least that is what we hope, as the cost of thirty panels for any house would be astronomical! That particular house was powered by two systems: alternating current (AC) for general energy needs and direct current (DC) for the automation system and control panels. It also was equipped with two thermal solar panels on the roof, designed to heat air, water or coolant fluid, which then circulates in the radiant system through pipes and helps heat large surfaces such as floors. It used to be copper, but today the best type of piping is polyethylene tubing or PEX, as it doesn't become brittle over time and isn't affected by concrete. It is hidden under the finished floor and this heat produced is spread evenly throughout all the rooms, providing stable, ambient comfort. We have planned this type of hydronic radiant floor heating system for our house - kitchen and bathroom for sure! The advantage to this system is the thermal mass of the concrete evens out any temperature fluctuations and drafts that other heating systems produce, you can zone different rooms to reduce energy consumption, and it radiates stored heat back into the house at night. We took away alot of good information from our visit and encourage anyone in the area to check out the Ecoological House soon. It is only here until 2012. gws
