Published: August 01, 2008 03:30 pm            

‘Green’ house calls Marion County home

The environment and energy conservation have seen more ink in the press lately. More people are showing concern for the future of the planet, but for Central College Professor Russ Benedict, the environment has been on his mind for about 30 years.

Benedict is the caretaker for Central’s field station and a professor at the college. He holds bachelor’s, master’s and a Ph.D., all in biology, from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This fall will mark the beginning of his seventh year with Central, though he is taking a year off for sabbatical.

“It’s not like you’re goofing off or relaxing,” Benedict says about his sabbatical. He will be writing papers, researching prairie grass and more. The point of a sabbatical is for one to work and grow as a teacher. He will work on his papers inside his new home.

It was five years ago when Benedict knew he wanted to build a new house. He had different goals in mind for his new construction, including the use of it as an educational tool, it would be nice looking and it would only have a minimal impact on the environment.

Before he began to work on the house, he attended workshops about building beautiful homes that were gentle on the environment. He spent two days at a conference in Wisconsin regarding renewable energy.

“That was really cool,” he said. The crowd at this conference surprised him. People from all walks of life, including the Amish, bikers and businessmen, were all there to learn about what they can do for the Earth.

When it was time for the house to be built, he had five principles he wanted construction to follow. The first step was to avoid destroying valuable habitat.

“So many folks who move out of town do exactly that,” he said. Benedict’s home is adjacent to the Central field station, off S-71 northwest of Knoxville. His house stands in what used to be a hay pasture, as he did not want to knock down any trees.

The second step was making sure the home was energy efficient. Benedict took several steps to achieve this. Not only will energy efficiency save him money, but the production of energy can also damage the environment.

“There are so many other pollutants that come from the production of energy,” he said. Millions of small steps can be taken that would make an “enormous” impact on pollution reduction, he added. The environmental problems began with small actions by people. The small steps add up and lead to bigger problems.

“That’s exactly how we’ll solve them,” Benedict said.

The overall design of the house is one step. All the windows face south to bring in more sunlight in the winter and less in the summer. Inside, the floors are concrete with tile, which absorbs heat in the winter.

The eaves are long enough to block sunlight in the summer, when the sun is higher. The house is shaded most of the day.

Between the extra thick, 2x6 walls, is room for a lot of insulation. Benedict’s insulation is made from scraps from the blue jean industry. The scraps come in rolls like fiberglass insulation. It takes less energy to produce than fiberglass insulation and it is making use of leftovers that would have gone to a landfill. Benedict got the insulation from Green Building Supply in Fairfield, which offered him many ideas.

Other energy-saving methods Benedict employed include the use of compact fluorescent light bulbs, Energy Star appliances and power strips. Benedict says that appliances can use energy when not in use. Plugging them into power strips and turning the strips off, can reduce the “phantom” consumption of energy. According to Benedict, 6 percent of all of the energy used in the United States is wasted through idle appliances and electronics. He suggests looking around your own home to see what can be plugged into power strips that can be turned off.

The third broad step he wanted to achieve with the house is using recycled materials. Many people know about the importance of recycling, but there needs to be a market for these materials once recycled.

“The other side is just as important,” Benedict says.

His counter tops are Paperstone, made from recycled paper and plant oils. Benedict says it has a nice look and a nice feel.

Cabinets in his kitchen are made from wheatboard, made from the crop. His roof is made of steel, which is made of at least 25 percent recycled material.

“Not only does a steel roof last forever, when it does die, you can recycle it again,” he said. The tile of his floor is porcelain, which does not have a significant environmental impact in production. It requires heat to bake. He has also used cork for some of his counter tops.

Cork ties into his fourth broad principle, which was to use rapidly renewable materials. In the case of cork, it is made from the bark of a tree, which can be replaced every four to five years. The stair treads in Benedict’s home are made of bamboo, which can also be harvested within five years.

Outside the home, the concrete poured for his garage is made with 25 percent fly ash, which is waste material from coal burning power plants. Sometimes the use of these new “green” materials can worry contractors.

“We’ve had to push quite a bit,” Benedict said. He said builders can be skeptical, but they are willing to try new things.

The final broad principle Benedict followed when building his home involved avoiding the use of products that cause other environmental damage.

The lumber used in making his interior doors, his garage and deck was Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified. To receive FSC certification, the wood had to be grown in an environmentally sustainable manner. This is defined by a loggers pledge not to log any old growth forests, leaving a buffer strip of trees around waterways and limiting how much clear cutting can be done.

Benedict says the FSC certified lumber in his home is the real showcase and he would have liked to use it for the entire home. It is widely used in Minnesota, Wisconsin and the West Coast. Some state governments require the use of FSC lumber, but Benedict could not find a local source for it.

The siding of the house is made from plant fibers, which has a longer life span and is less harmful to the environment than vinyl.

“A lot of nasty chemicals are released during (vinyl’s) production,” Benedict said. Forms of plastic were used instead of PVC for most of the pipes as well.

Benedict spent 10-15 percent more on the construction of his home by using these “green” materials. It would have been more if he had been able to acquire all of the “green” products he wanted.

However, he reduced the impact his home will have on the environment and he is recovering the extra monetary expense quickly. If he stays in the home for many years, as he is planning, he will actually make money off of it. He will spend 40-50 percent less on energy at the new house, compared to his old one.

The steel roof cost double that of a shingled roof, but its life is much longer than shingles’. They have to be replaced every 10-15 years.

“We’ll be living in this house another 20-25 years,” Benedict said.

His next project is a solar system, which will be used to produce most, if not all, of the energy used in the home. It will cost between $20,000-$30,000 at this time, but as research progresses, the price could go down. Within 10 years, it might be more commonplace.

Benedict has not ruled out installing a wind energy system, though it could interfere with another of his passions, bats. He has always been interested in bats and has spent a lot of time studying them. Bats and wind turbines do not go well together, he said.

Benedict has already opened the doors of his home to high school teachers for education purposes. He is glad to share his ideas and ways to improve the environment with anyone who is seriously interested. If you would like to speak to him about making your home or new construction more environmentally friendly, e-mail benedictr@central.edu or call 641-628-5173.

        

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