INCREDIBLE GREEN HOME! (Cutting Edge Green Design)
A house made of straw? You bet! This OFF-THE-GRID, PASSIVE ENERGY home in Pittsboro, NC is one of the greenest houses in America. Watch as The Honest Carpenter follows Logan Parker through his construction marvel—discovering, along the way, all the ingenious engineering techniques that he used to build a house this green!
Logan Parker is the founder and owner of HEIRLOOM BUILDERS, a green construction company in the North Carolina piedmont, which focuses on sustainability, green home construction, custom cabinetry and even lumber milling.
Be sure to subscribe to Logan’s new YouTube channel! won’t find a better teacher than Logan Parker for everything relating to sustainability, energy efficiency, homesteading, green construction, organic farming, passive energy and solar energy, and green living techniques
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LOGAN’S GREEN HOME TOUR—9 THINGS TO KNOW:
1) Straw Bale Walls: The exterior walls of the house are made of 18 thick straw bales, stacked and notched between post-and-beam timber framing. These straw bales provide excellent insulation—up to R-40!
2) Clay Plaster Surfaces: The interior and exterior of the straw bale walls are covered with an earthen clay plaster containing clay, linseed oil, boiled wheat paste, and cow manure. The clay comes directly from the lot—it was dug up during site excavation, and broken down in mesh screens before mixing. A large work party of 40 troweled the clay plaster mixture onto the walls by hand. Later, the exterior surface was covered with a thin coating of lime for durability and water protection.
3) The House Has Serious Batteries: The house is powered by 8 deep cycle storage batteries in a 24 volt battery bank. Energy for these batteries is drawn from 8 photovoltaic solar panels on the roof. Solar energy alone creates enough electricity to power Logans efficient washing machine, LED lights, fans, and energy efficient refrigerator. Their stove is an italian made wood cookstove.
4) Solar Thermal Energy: On the other hand, heat for the house is drawn from 2 solar thermal panels on the roof. Sunlight passively superheats cylinders full of liquid in these solar thermal collectors. The hot liquid is pulled down into a drain back tank, then passed through a special water heater. The super-heated liquid also enters a closed loop in the concrete floor, creating radiant heat that keeps the house warm even in extremely cold winters.
5) Water Collection System: All of Logan's water comes from his roof. It is filtered through a biological sand filter. It contains only trace amounts of sodium and calcium--otherwise it is completely pure, and completely free.
6) The Cistern: Excess water from a surge tank moves to a cistern in the side yard. The cistern has two 5,000 gallon collection tanks, with one in active use. This is 10,000 gallons of potential water collection!
7) Lumber Mill: Logan mills his own lumber using a diesel sawmill. The lumber for his home (and others) comes from the lot where the house is situation. Logan dries framing lumber in the open air. He also dries trim lumber in his solar kiln, using the sun's rays to heat the kiln, and power a fan system that keeps moist air moving through his lumber stacks.
8) Crop Production: Logan produces up to 50% of everything his family consumes right there on his property! He has fruit trees, a bee hive, and even medicinal plants. Much of what else he needs can be bartered and traded for.
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(Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Apex, Cary, Wake Forest--North Carolina)Credit: The Honest Carpenter