BrightBuilt Barn
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BrightBuilt Barn is a Net Zero, LEED Platinum home in Rockport, Maine, assembled in 2008 to demonstrate certain principles of sustainable building design and construction. It was named the Most Innovative Home Project of the Year by the U.S. Green Building Council,[1] and was featured in The New York Times,[2] and a short documentary film.[3] It is the subject of a 10-year retrospective review in the upcoming Northeast Sustainable Energy Association annual meeting in March 2018.[4]
The goals of the project were to demonstrate the principles of sustainable building for future structures and to bring together a critical mass of green designers and builders to help create an "ecosystem" of green building in Maine, modelled on the ecosystem of technology start-ups in Silicon Valley.
Features
1. Superinsulation – By insulating the structure beyond conventional norms, the energy demands for heating were reduced, allowing the structure to have no furnace and still be warm during the winters of Maine.
2. Solar powered – All energy for the Barn is produced by solar power. An array of photovoltaic solar panels on the south-facing roof creates electricity for lighting, the pump for the solar hot water system, and the backup heat pump. The solar panels create enough excess energy to power both the Barn and the conventional home that also sits on the property. A roof-mounted solar hot water system produces heat, backed by a high-efficiency heat pump.
3. LED lighting – The Barn used LED lighting to reduce the energy demand and material waste associated with incandescent bulbs.
4. Grid tied – Although it can exist off the electrical grid, the Barn is tied to the local grid. It feeds electricity into the grid on sunny days and draws electricity from the grid at night.[5][6]
References
- ^ Benfield, F. Kaid (2010-03-18). "Village Green: It's Time to Update What Constitutes a 'Green Building'". HuffPost. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
- ^ Kurutz, Steven (2009-01-15). "When Its Mood Is Green, So Are You". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
- ^ Pictures, Schierholt. "Green Synergy: The Story of Bright Built Barn". Schierholt Pictures. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
- ^ "The BrightBuilt Barn 10th Anniversary: Celebrating the Birth of Affordable, Off-Site-Built Net Zero and the Industry Change It Spawned | NESEA". nesea.org. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
- ^ Alter, Loyd. "BrightBuilt Home introduces line of healthy, net-zero designs". Tree Hugger. Retrieved July 3, 2013.
- ^ Blanco Mullins, Olivia. "A Bright Idea: BrightBuilt Barns". Ogden Publications Inc.
External links