What does it mean to be green? This is a question that is becoming more and more relevant in all of our lives. This past Saturday I had the pleasure of attending a tour sponsored by the US Green Building Council at The Green Idea House in Hermosa Beach.

The Green Idea House currently under construction and it is being built as a net-zero house meaning that the house will harvest more energy than it uses.

First of all, I attended the 4th tour of the day and it was packed (apparently each tour was packed throughout the day). This is indicative of the kind of interest and enthusiasm that’s out there in general for improving our environment by improving our building methods.

What I loved most about the tour was the host, Robert Fortunato. Robert is the owner of the house and he and his wife are building it as their long-term family residence. Robert’s motivation to build a net-zero house comes from his sincere desire to do his part to improve the planet and lower the toxicity levels in his own environment. He is going about this construction with a keen eye on affordability. If there is a system that is exorbitantly expensive he is not using it, nor will he take it in the form of donation. His aim to de-mystify green and show people how they can implement these strategies and systems in there own lives.

Some of the systems in the house seemed incredibly simple. For example the house has a five- foot overhang that shades the building in the summer and heats the building in the winter. He determined how large of an overhang his building would need to advantageously harvest the sun with a free 3d modeling program on Google called SketchUp.

Some of the systems were more complicated and almost space-aged. For example, he has a system to capture shower drain water and recover it for the heating system. And there is an experimental drywall product being used that is supposed to trap heat energy in high purity paraffin wax balls that are imbedded in the material. When the temperature in the room dips below 73 degrees the wax melts and the walls the give stored heat back. Wow! I’ve heard of a smart home before, but never a smart wall.

The home is not yet completed and the true test of these systems will be to see how well they work when they are in full use with a family living in the house. Nonetheless, I truly admire the intentions and the dedication of the Fortunato family. If we are going to improve our world there have to be pioneers who are willing to go out on a limb and try new things so that we may all benefit from their experiences.

Who else out there is trying out new systems and new products with the intention of creating a healthier more sustainable environment?  Please share your ideas and leave your comments below.