Zero Carbon House

Since we're spending the day locally at the solar homes tour, I thought I'd look at another part of the world, for a zero carbon house project in Sweden, a low energy demonstration project to show how renewable energy can create a unique living experience on a remote island in a severe climate the island of Unst*--see below). This approach proposes to also eliminate household carbon emissions that would normally result from heating and powering the home, running the family car and growing and transporting food. There's a great detailed diagram of the entire facility on the web site as well as pictures showing what looks like a pretty conventional house under construction.

There's a doubly-insulated greenhouse to provide suitable growing conditions for a range of fruit and vegetables grown in a hydroponics system. The availability of fresh affordable food is a major concern on Unst* and other remote islands in Scotland. I'm not sure about the need for the car on this remote island, but they've included one and a way to power it.

OK, geography lovers, I couldn't leave without finding out about *Unst.
According to Wikipedia, it's the northernmost of the inhabited British Isle and the third largest island of what makes up Scotland. It is about 46 square miles, has a tiny population, its own castle and was supposed to be the island used in the map drawing for Robert Louis Stevenson's book Treasure Island. Best of all, is the picture of what must be the world's most comfortable bus shelter, including a sofa, TV and a computer. (I guess one spends a lot of time waiting for the bus? Maybe that's why the zero carbon house project included a car!)

Posted in: electric cars,energy efficiency,Scotland,Unst,zero carbon,zero emissions