04 design
solar cooling
Emily Cummins is 21 years old and a budding entrepreneur, who has already won numerous awards for her designs and inventions. Her latest creation is a portable solar-powered refrigerator based on the principles of evaporation and uses a combination of conduction and convection. It requires no electricity and can be made from materials such as cardboard, sand and recycled metal. After research showed that a refrigerator is the one appliance people did not want to do without, she decided to develop a sustainable prototype. She spent five months in Africa testing her refrigerator, which is ideal for developing nations and communities where energy and resources are limited. Emily is now in the process of designing a second generation refrigerator that will be more efficient and cool to constant temperatures lower than 6°C. www.emilycummins.co.uk
build green
interview with andy horn of eCo desiGn arChiTeCTs
what is a green building? There are many shades of green, which depend on the client, architect and builder?s commitment to green as well as their budget and time constraints. Green building is not a style, trend or a vernacular and neither is it new. It is a climactically, geographically and culturally appropriate way of building, combining the best of old and new technology. At its core is respect and caring for the earth. when renovating a home to include green features, would you start with a grey water system in your bathroom, and then move to solar panelling? All depends on your particular context, budget and what you are seeking to achieve, so there is no easy answer. Firstly do an energy, water and waste audit
sunshine in a bucket
Recent load shedding forced most South Africans to focus on the need to save energy and consider alternative sources. Although new technology has driven the development of many products, sometimes the simplest ideas lead to innovative, low-cost solutions. Inspired by the age-old tradition of collecting potable water at wells with buckets, Italian designer Stefano Merlo?s Energy Bucket collects sunshine. Photo- voltaic panels collect energy during the day and to power LEDs encased in the bucket?s housing; perfect for providing light, atmosphere and a talking point at alfresco dining after dark. Unfortunately, it is still a prototype, but Stefano invites anyone interested in developing it to contact him via his website www.stefanomerlo.com
biofires
BioFires are a revolutionary concept in home décor, elegantly designed to bring the element of fire into modern living. Place your BioFire in the bedroom or bathroom for a warm, romantic feel; on the dining table as a centrepiece or on the patio to take the chill out of cool evenings. BioFires produces a clean burning and warm fire for your home using an environmentally-friendly liquid BioFuel made from sugarcane. Life in Balance readers will get a 10% discount on any BioFires ordered by using the voucher code ?balance? when ordering online. Visit www.biofires.co.za or call 021 852 8514
We have 2 biofires kits up for grabs!
question: What is biofuel made from? email your answer, name & surname to nicky@lifeinbalance.co.za with ?Biofires giveaway? in the subject line. so as to better understand what the biggest culprits are. Then look at what things are likely to need maintenance over the years and plan accordingly. A great start to water and energy saving would be to change that rain showerhead for a good quality water efficient one (some actually give really good showers!). Retro-fit your toilet with a multi-flushing device or divert your rainwater to your swimming pool. Change things gradually as maintenance is needed in any case. For example, when repairing floors or repainting walls, switch to non-toxic paints and eco friendly finishes. When changing a light bulb, fit a low energy type, etc. The main consumer of electricity in any house is typically the geyser. So start with a geyser blanket and a timer. Solar water heating panels are more costly and generally take about five to seven years to pay off. So before making the leap to solar heating check what kind of geyser you have first. If it?s getting old, then rather wait until its time to replace it, when your household insurance will pay for a replacement. Many geysers are
through a glass less darkly
The use of glass for architectural purposes such as keeping out the elements or allowing light into buildings dates to around 29BC and is now indispensable in various applications, including its original purpose. Unfortunately, unlike glass jars and bottles, the chemical composition of architectural glass prohibits recycling by standard methods, viz. melting and reforming. Some is ground up to form aggregate for roads or pathways, but as this has not been widely embraced in South Africa, most is still destined for landfill sites. Stepping up to the mark, we find C. E. Designs and Westcoast Glass that have come up with another solution. They save as much as possible by cutting and reworking glass off-cuts and waste into something smaller, decorative and most importantly useful. The result is a range of unique and attractive products including tile splash backs in kitchens, edge trimming for swimming pools, glass coasters and glass or mirror mosaic tiles. For more information contact Geoff at 021 556 4934 or email geopol@telkomsa.net
mulberry stars
Sky lanterns originated during the Three Kingdoms Period (220AD-280AD). The Ancient Chinese released lit paper lanterns into the sky as military communication. Today The Chinese and Taiwanese release them during the Sky-Lantern Festival to bestow wishes upon themselves, friends and relatives. Their wishes are written on the outside of the paper lanterns. These lanterns are taking the world by storm and Lanterns 4 Africa in Gauteng offer gorgeous ones made of bio-degradable mulberry paper. Standing 80cm tall, they take less than a minute to fill not compatible with solar heating panels as they only have two inlet points for the pipe work. A solar geyser needs four pipe work inlets. So if you are buying a new geyser be sure to get one that is compatible with solar water heating panels and that it is positioned in a configuration that will most suit a future installation. Grey water is more complicated. The solutions are very specific to the size and layout of the house and garden as well as its up with air before they can be released into the night sky. Reaching heights of up to 500m and taking between two and five minutes before they burn out and gently return to the earth, they?ll enchant guests at any event. Visit www.skylanterns.co.za or call 012 207 1884 slope and soil type. If you are happy to simply water your garden with simple sub-surface soak pit systems, then that can be constructed very inexpensively. If you want to be able to use the grey water in a drip irrigation system or to flush your toilets and do your laundry with, you would probably end up spending a large amount on filters and pumps. what are your biggest challenges as a green architect? To get clients and builders to go all the way. andy?s vision for the future To work in multi-disciplinary design teams that help transform our existing and newly built environment into more integrated settlements and eco villages that reinforce the cohesion of community and combine all life support systems of clean energy, water, food, air and soil. For full version of the green building manifesto visit www.ecodesignarchitects.co.za or email: info@ecodesignarchitects.co.za
