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Clear Glass House is Triple Zero Climate-Friendly

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Architectural firm Werner Sobek has set an exacting standard to define goals a building must reach to meet three environmental sustainability goals he calls Triple Zero®.

Combining and building on  LEED and Passivhaus standards; these go one further.  This model R128 was the first of seven homes in Germany and France designed to meet his exacting standards of energy efficiency.

These seven homes need zero energy, emit zero greenhouse gases when running and produce zero waste at the beginning and the end of their life – Triple Zero®:

1. Zero Energy
2. Zero Emission
3. Zero Waste

Energy:
The building requires no (ZERO) imported energy. All the energy the house needs is produced on-site; by solar panels on the roof, and by a geothermal ground heat exchange that penetrates the earth about seven feet beneath the building.

Buildings normally account for 35 percent of the world’s energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and 50 percent of the waste produced in North America and Europe. But not this one.

The triple glazing in the all glass exterior meets Passivhaus standards, reducing energy requirements by 60% or more, and the remaining energy needed is more than enough to meet the energy needs of the building for electricity, heating, cooling, and to heat water.

2. CO2 Emissions
As a result of the renewable energy from solar panels on the roof supplying 100% of the home’s electricity, it produces no (ZERO) CO2 emissions. But in addition, there is no fireplace or barbecue or gas furnace in the basement – no possible burning process is made available in the design.

3. Waste

Steel and glass are among the most recyclable materials possible. We are still recycling steel that was first smelted in the time of Julius Caesar.

No waste (ZERO) is produced at the end of the building’s life cycle when it is converted or deconstructed. All the component building elements are fully recyclable. Nothing needs to be burnt or sent to a disposal site. No contaminants or residual waste would damage the site if the plot of  land was returned to nature.

Images: Werner Sobek
Source: Scientific American
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