Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing - Omaha

March 29, 2007 by Jeff.

Neat blog from Fine Homebuilding magazine on building Green in Omaha. I was a charter subscriber to FHB, one of two magazines (the other being Journal of Light Construction) that bridges the gap between “fine architecture” and “getting it built”. FHB was one of the first to look at double and trombe walls, insulated foundation forms, air exchangers and many of the other advancements that have gone mainstream. FHB and JLC point out common problems and how to work around them.

Anyway, the PATH guys build Green and encounter all the problems of trying to avoid compromises. Nebraska is cold - definitely colder than California. This gotcha is often missed by pundits. In-line water heaters don’t have a large tank of hot water to prevent freeze-ups. This is good and bad - there are no standby losses going up the exhaust stack or out into the room. Unfortunately, in-line heaters freeze unless you install them in heated spaces. Take a look over Fernando Ruiz’s shoulder as he wrestles with going Green in Omaha.

http://forums.taunton.com/n/blogs/blog.aspx?webtag=fh-pathproject

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