In an era of global warming, declining potable water and rising housing prices, how do you build a house that has all the amenities but leaves a small carbon footprint?
Four Bay Area teams are racing the clock to answer the question, part of a regional competition that is asking the next generation of architects, builders and urban planners to design a net-zero tiny house that, at minimum, produces all the energy it will use.
The teams — all students from local universities and community colleges — have been working for two years on their projects and will showcase their creations to the public starting Oct. 15 at a competition organized by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, a nonprofit community-owned electric utility.
“Right now, the energy environment is changing is so fast, customers are having a hard time evaluating what makes sense,” said Jacobe Caditz, a supervisor at the Energy Education and Technology Center at SMUD. “Tiny houses are really popular and incorporate a lot of these new energy-efficient strategies, so it’s easy for people to see it all in one place and get excited about them.”
Each of the homes is as different as the students building them but must be under 400 square feet and be built to RV industry standards, meaning they will be on wheels and transportable.
UC Berkeley’s entry features a 170-square-foot home with a radiant floor that moves heat using water and a battery and hot water tank that both store energy generated by rooftop solar panels. To warm the house, a heat pump compresses outside air using carbon dioxide as a refrigerant instead of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are much stronger greenhouse gases. Planter boxes attached on the side of the home serve as a biofiltration system for grey water, allowing for reuse of shower and sink outflow.
“It often feels like sustainability and affordability are at odds with each other, which is something we’re trying to change,” said Laney Siegner, a student in the Energy and Resources Group at UC Berkeley and one of about 17 students participating in the project.
Over at Santa Clara University, students have been equally busy designing and building the rEvolve House, a 238-square-foot dwelling that will be mounted on a 40-foot circle that will move as the sun moves across the sky.
“Whoever lives there will wake up facing the east and go to bed facing the west, which follows the sun and increases the efficiency of the solar panels,” said JJ Galvin, a senior mechanical engineering student at Santa Clara University. “Nothing like this has been done before.”
The rEvolve is being built with structural insulated panels, which have a type of foam inside, and contains a small bathroom with a dry flush toilet in which waste is collected in vacuum-sealed bags.
San Jose City College’s entry is a home that allows wall panels to fold down with the touch of a cellphone to create an additional 150 square feet of space and features a home-automation system that can be controlled via smartphone. Laney Community College in Oakland is also participating, as are six other teams from around the state.
The competition, which will award prizes in four categories, was created as a way to tap into the tiny house craze that has swept the nation, evidenced by blogs, reality shows, online groups and an annual jamboree that attracts thousands of people. Despite the outpouring of interest, cities have been slow to adapt their codes to allow these Lilliputian dwellings, creating a patchwork system that can quickly become a massive headache for anyone looking for a spot to park the houses.
But many enthusiasts remain undeterred and see small living as a way to reduce housing costs, use less energy and spend more time traveling or just being out and about in the community.
“This is the perfect solution for people who like to travel, empty-nesters and young people just starting out their lives,” Galvin said.
IF YOU GO
Teams participating in SMUD’s Tiny House Competition will lead public tours on Saturday, Oct. 15 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at Cosumnes River College, 8401 Center Parkway in Sacramento.