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Green Building Products and Technologies at the Cobb Hill Co-Housing Project
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Green Building Products and Technologies at the Cobb Hill Co-Housing Project
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" Albee O'Hara are the designated contractors for all 14 buildings here, and I guess part of the requirement is that they are experienced building Green, right?"
" Right, Bob."
" How do you do. We love green building. "
" This is nice though. This is a very nice approach to this 1st building here with kind of a post and beam feeling. Now, what makes the green sustainable?"
" Well, all of the framing that you see on this outside porch is native hemlock. The trees are cut locally and sawed locally as well."
" And the siding?-The siding is eastern white pine that comes from a sustainable forestry operation."
" Okay. And the sustainability of a forestry operation like this, can you define that?"
" Well, that means that land will continue to be able to be forested for centuries and sustain that kind of harvest and sustain the people who are using that as a means of living."
" Well, could you say that it's selective harvesting as opposed to scraping it clear?"
" Right."
" Good. Well that's wonderful to know that it's happening right here in New England. Shall we go and take a look inside? Now is all the framing lumber that's used in here also sustainable?"
" Yes with the exception of these LVL's right here. It's all from certified forestry operations."
" Right in New England."
" Yes."
" So the 2 x 10's are certified? Even the OSB?"
" The OSB comes from the mill in Maine."
" Fabulous. Now, I see that you've got vinyl tubings throughout here that would imply radiant heat, right?"
" Yup. This is a cross linked polyethylene tubing that's used in the radiant heat in the floor, and we're also using it in the domestic hot water distribution."
" Okay. And then, do you have to insulate below that?"
" Underneath this radiant tubing will be a foil backed fiberglass back."
" Okay. And then, the regular drywall application."
" That's correct."
" Alright."
" Is this the utility room over here?"
" Yes, it is."
" So, you have all these tubes to circulate hot water, and what's the source of the heat?"
" The source of the heat is a large gasifying wood boiler that is in a remote building and comes through these tubes underground to each house."
" Okay. So that it's basically 1 giant furnace operation, but this is supplying air, right?"
" No, this is hot water."
" Oh, it is hot water."
" And its' coming through these tubes."
" Okay. And then what have you got over here?"
" This is a propane fire boiler that will be used as backup for the winter heating system as well as supplying the domestic hot water for the units. And then this is just a super insulated storage tank. It's a storage tank that's of a size that's large enough to use for the solar hot water as well."
" Excellent. And then 1 other thing that I've seen before, but many viewers haven't seen, what do you call these?"
" This is a GFX heat reclaimer, and this reclaims the heat from the drain water, which is then transferred to the feed water, which goes around in these copper tubes around the outside of the drain pipe."
" That's another wonderful savings heat."
