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Shift into Green
by Emily Landes
Gas prices may be running about two dollars a gallon but, if the vendors at last year’s West Coast Green Building Conference are to be believed, there’s another liquid that’s soon going to be even more precious: water. From rain harvesting systems to all-natural pools, cutting edge technologies for H2O were certainly a focus at the conference.
Many of these products would be useful for green-minded property owners also hoping to save some green as utility prices rise. Heliocol has been selling solar pool heating systems for 30 years, but reps say business has really picked up as more people are jumping on the green bandwagon. Last year alone, over a million square feet were installed in California. The system uses the pool’s existing pump to direct water through a series of solar collectors. The water is heated by the sun and then returned to the pool. The company does an economic analysis for each job, but estimates that, in general, an apartment complex pool’s installation would run about $10,000, with a payback period of only four to five years. The system is under warranty for 12 years and generally has a 20-year life.
Other products were designed to cut down on overall water use, particularly for water-sucking lawns. Forever Lawn was hawking a more realistic Astroturf-type product made partially from recycled materials with a backing based in soybean oil; it has different lengths of “grass” in all different colors and has turf especially designed for playground areas and for dog runs. In fact, the company’s K-9 Grass, which has built-in antimicrobial technology to combat odors and discoloration, is used by San Francisco Animal Care and Control as well as the Saratoga Creek Dog Park in San José.
If fake grass won’t cut it with your tenants, other companies presented whole new species of grass that are designed to save water. UC Verde buffalo grass reduces runoff and surface temperatures, allows for greater water filtration and purification, and decreases allergy-related pollens, all while saving up to one million gallons of water per acre annually (compared to standard grasses). The secret is the buffalo grass’s root system, which extends several feet into the ground. Unfortunately, this soft, bright green leaf, created by the University of California and released in 2003, can’t handle humidity well, so it is best used in primarily hot and dry locations.
While UC Verde is a relatively recent invention, there were water saving creations at the conference so new they are still in the prototype stage. The Aquaduct is a mobile water filtration system that was created as part of the Innovate or Die Contest, a Google-sponsored competition where contestants had to create a way to help the earth through “pedal power.” A group of Menlo Park inventors won the $5,000 grand prize for the Aquaduct, a three-wheeled bike that sanitizes and transports water simultaneously.
Dare Greatly
The Aquaduct was part of the Innovation Pipeline, a section of the trade show floor dedicated to beta or new-to-market items. Launched this year, the pipeline was a signature, curated exhibit appropriate for a conference whose theme was “Dare Greatly.” Other pipeline products included the Solo Lounge Table, which uses silicon cells embedded in glass to collect solar energy and power electronic devices plugged into it. With built-in speakers and LED lighting, the Solo is marketed to high-end resorts whose clients might want to soak in the rays while staying on top of email and the latest YouTube sensation.
Even more luxurious was the Magnetic Air Car, a sports car with a magnetic motor that drives an on-board air compressor. According to company reps, the air is compressed at “mach-one force airflow,” which is then channeled, modulated and converted to torque that propels the car.
This car is completely fuelless, aside from a silicon salt battery that can charge completely within an hour. The 95% recyclable battery can also be used in a temperature range from -40 degrees Celsius to 50 degrees Celsius. Sadly for car enthusiasts, the car is not even in the prototype stage yet. But, the company plans to build its first at Club Auto Sport in San José soon, and hopes to have it ready for production by 2010.
Other technologies were more grounded in helping solve day-to-day problems. Adura Technologies in San Francisco retrofits existing buildings with its high tech lighting system that allows people to control the lighting in their own personal space. Each fixture has a microprocessor in it and can be linked to a cell phone or PDA so the light can easily be switched on and off. The company, founded in 2005, is targeting office buildings to start since that is often the site of light-related conflicts. “Imagine a situation where one lady wears glasses and hates glare. She sits next to a woman who likes it bright,” hypothesizes Senior Engineer Alex Do. “Now they’re both happy.”
So far, 50,000 sq. ft. of commercial space has been outfitted in the Bay Area, including UC-Berkeley, which spends $20 million a year in energy costs. That may seem like a lot, but it’s not difficult to do when hard-to-access library lights are kept on 24 hours a day. After installing the Adura system in Doe and Moffitt libraries, those lights can be turned off for an estimated energy savings of roughly $14,000 a year. Since the microprocessor only works in fluorescent fixtures at the moment, it’s not ideal for residential use, but Do says the company could head that direction in the future.
Luckily, many companies did showcase innovations specifically designed for residential use. Nyloboard released what it called a “new generation of building products” at the conference. The company’s flagship product is a no-formaldahyde, no-VOC material made out of recycled carpet scraps. It is designed to replace wood-based building products and can be molded or embossed to look like a variety of materials, including wood and tile. It won’t rot, it repels mold and stucco bonds to it; so it can actually be used to create whatever the builder envisions.
John Tikalsky created the material and was so excited by its potential that he got his wife and daughter to jump on board as well. The family business was attracting a lot of attention at the convention, even though Nyloboard is three times the cost of plywood. But with Nyloboard, explained Marketing and Sales Director Danny DeVito, builders don’t need any drywall or moisture barrier, which helps to bring the overall building cost down. Plus, plywood can’t mimic the look of stone or mosaic tiles, and it certainly isn’t infinitely customizable. “We’re not selling a product,” he explained. “It’s about creating a whole new level within the industry.”
Shaking Up the System
Many of the speakers at the conference also spoke of shaking up existing paradigms. In addition to Vice President Al Gore and California Attorney General Jerry Brown, many other green luminaries spoke at the event about what they see as the future of greening not just buildings, but the world. One of the most interesting of the dozens of lectures going on throughout the three-day event was a discussion among a panel of green experts: Randy Hayes, climate policy officer with the World Future Council; Hunter Lovins, founder and president of the Natural Capitalism Group and the winner of the 2008 Sustainability Pioneer of the Year Award; Sarah Susanka, author of The Not So Big House series and The Not So Big Life; David Johnston, president of What’s Working; and Allison Arieff, editor at large for Sunset Magazine and “By Design” columnist for the New York Times.
The two writers, Arieff and Susanka, both said that what started as personal interests of their own have become a part of a whole green movement. Arieff said that when she started Dwell in 2000, there was only one page on sustainable building. But now, she says, the floodgates are open and more and more people are realizing that sustainability means affordability. Susanka added that, in her experience, sustainability also means community. The Brit moved to L.A. as a teenager, and couldn’t believe not only how large American homes were, but how removed they were from their neighbors and from a real town center. She released the first Not So Big House book ten years ago and said the idea immediately caught on. But even she had no idea how big green would become. “Ten years ago, it was just an inkling of an idea,” she recalls. “Right now, it’s a whole generation of people who want to know what to do and how to make their houses green.”
Lovins added that there is also a great desire to learn how to green businesses and spoke about how she has dedicated herself to the combination of entrepreneurship and environmentalism. She firmly believes that every job in the economy can and should be a green job and says she’s been roaming the planet trying to implement her style of green business. She’s also a professor at the Presidio School of Management, teaching students who are getting their MBAs in sustainability, and thus passing down what she’s learned to the next generation. “I think this is the most important, exciting thing any one of us can be doing,” she said of her green education work.
Johnston also trains people on the latest in green technologies, specifically builders, who he says are increasingly interested in ditching the old inefficient habits and jumping on the sustainability bandwagon. “Green is the buzzword,” he crowed. “We have done it.” With the old paradigm falling away, Johnston believes we are in a prime moment in history to really reset people’s expectations toward being environmentally responsible. “We’re starting to grasp as a culture that there’s something going on in the planet and we’re the cause of it,” he relayed.
Hayes agreed and added that the recent increase in hurricanes, tidal waves and other natural disasters are unignorable signs that the earth is in a “spastic” state. He felt confident these phenomena would lead even the most complacent among us to become more aware of how our actions affect the planet and, eventually, call for change. “We’re catching the beginnings of a tidal wave,” he posited. “It’s a revolution.”
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the SFAA or the SF Apartment Magazine. Emily Landes is the managing editor of SF Apartment Magazine. Copyright © 2009 by Black Point Press. All rights reserved.