Cati+Alex+Peter

Zero Impact Home Hawaii, Kapalua latitude 21N 157W, longitude 20.9967° N, 156.6531° W

Why build "Zero" Impact Homes?
A zero impact home is a house that reduces environmental damage with little to no negative impact on nature. Reducing Fossil Fuels is good for the environment because they contain carbon dioxide which are released on usage into the air. They take millions of years to be replaced so the "balance" of CO2 is tipped toward more CO2 in the atmosphere which leads to global warming. There is a limited water source. People think that water supply is unlimited but eventually we will run out, that's why our water source is from a freshwater pond. We are getting our water from ponds and gutters/rain catchers. This helps plants because they will get water from the natural rain of Hawaii (a tropical and thunderstorm prone climate) and from the run off of rain. Run off can be a problem, however because it needs to go into the ground, so plants can continuing growing with the nutrients from soil. If there is too much, it can lead to flooding. We can use sun's energy for our house in terms of building solar panels on top of our house to absorb the sun's light and energy, and placing the rooms that require more light near the windows in the North to use as much natural sun light as possible. This will reduce the artificial lights in the house, leading to less electricity needed.

Site Considerations
The average temp in Hawaii 70 degrees to 84 degrees Fahrenheit, yearly temp. range 75 degrees Fahrenheit, hottest month is August with 93 degrees & coldest month is January with 52 degrees. The average rainfall is 1.5 inches and rainiest months are December and January. The driest months are June and July.


 * During Summer, sunrise is at NE 64 degrees, and sunset is at 296 degrees NW. For a Winter, sunrise is 115 degrees SE, and sunset is 245 degrees SW.
 * During the Summer, it is 87.9 degrees, and during Winter, it is 45.3 degrees.

Design Features
The exterior of our house is made from refurbished barn wood. This recycles the wood so we aren't cutting down extra trees.

All of the shower headsand toilets are low flow to reduce the amount of water wasted. They use the perfect amount of water, without wasting extra.

We have solar panels to reduce the amount or electricity we use, and we now get our energy from the sun. Solar panels absorb the light and transfer it into energy. We have a wall of windows to get natural light into the house rather than burn fossil fuel lighting the house during the day. Some windows are Low-E windows, which let in light but no heat.

When we do turn on the lights, we use eco friendly flouresant light bulbs. These light bulbs last longer than normal light bulbs so we won't be overusing energy. We have a home water filter so we can use our pond water not only to water plants but to drink from too. We also use the pond water to wash our clothes. We use a clothes line instead of a dryer which reducing energy drastically.

the first floor, upstairs floor plan, and the basement Front of house back of house side of house back of house