Last summer, the Metropolitan Builders Association (www.mbaonline.org), a not-for-profit trade association in Wisconsin, contracted with Herr Environmental (www.herrenvironmental.com) of Delafield, Wisc. to install a rainwater system in the Association’s Trend Home in Waukesha. The environmentally mindful Trend Home is a specially designed house that incorporates sustainable technologies that are assumed to be common in the year 2020.
The Trend Home’s rainwater system is designed to capture rainwater from the roof and provide water for the lawn sprinkling system. The roof has a potential to generate more than 30,000 gallons of water during any year of average rainfall.
The Trend Home showcases numerous "Green" solutions and meets 10 critical elements of energy efficiency:
1. Green Built Home Certification
2. Wisconsin Energy Star Homes Certification with emerging technologies like solar-power
3. Water sense – including fixtures and landscaping
4. Grey water re-use
5. Universal design
6. Smart Home features
7. Higher indoor air quality
8. Permeable pavement
9. Emphasis on recycling and recycled materials
10. Affordable, smaller size construction
The Trend Home features a number of "Green" rainwater products installed by Herr Environmental. The products include a Goulds Pumps (www.goulds.com) Model 1SC submersible water pump. Designed to capture rainwater from the roof and provide water for the lawn sprinkling system, the Trend Home’s roof has the potential to generate over 30,000 gallons of water during any year of average rainfall.
In addition to the Goulds Model 1SC pump, the Trend Home’s Rainwater system also uses an Goulds variable speed drive pump controller, and a Goulds HydroPro V6P pressure tank. "Our company has used Goulds Pumps exclusively for many years," said Todd Stair, Vice President of Herr Environmental, Inc. "Now with the new rainwater systems, the line of Goulds products we are using is expanding."
Following six weeks of public tours, the Trend Home is currently for sale. Once sold, $200,000 will be donated to LaCasa de Esperenza (www.lacasadeesperanza.org), an organization that will train low-income workers in the construction industry. The remainder of the money will go to the Wisconsin Builders Association Foundation’s scholarship fund to attract students to a career in the trades.
The Trend Home features permeable pavement and other water science technologies that will preserve water resources. The home was constructed using structured insulated panels, a tempered passive solar orientation, solar electrical generation, solar hot water heating, Energy Star appliances, computer-operated mechanicals, special windows and other building components.
At the heart of the rainwater system is the Goulds Pumps Model 1SC submersible water pump which features:
• Corrosion-resistant case made of nontoxic, nonleaching materials
• Impeller made of FDA-compliant, glass-filled Noryl, which is corrosion- and abrasion-resistant
• Mechanical seal with silicon/carbide sealing faces and stainless steel metal components running in a protected oil chamber
• Stainless steel pump shaft and motor shell.
• 1-1/4" NPT vertical discharge connection and detachable suction strainer for easy cleanout
Crews install a rainwater catch system for the Trend Home. This will collect and store an estimated 40,000 gallons of water a year from the home’s roof and reuse it for landscape irrigation.
Photo courtesy of Billy Seidel Photography
