I think all of the people (on EcoGeek) who have commented about ZeroHouse, brought up some legitimate pro’s and con’s about the structure, but I think Scott Specht is right on track with his ideas! So much so, that I worry the buildings “aesthetics” will override the
practical benefits. I guess I’m just one of those who considers what something does, before what it looks like.

The idea of a self-sustaining human habitat, with zero imprint on the environment has, in my opinion, taken it’s grand old time getting here, but Specht, and others like him, get my standing ovation for their accomplishments.

From what I’ve read about ZeroHouse, the design can be modified to a certain extent, and one site has different exterior color schemes, including a (well-intentioned) computer-generated margarita lime green. The helical-anchor foundation system requiring no excavation is fantastic! The estimates that it can withstand 140 mph winds has yet to be tested in actuality, but one commenter from another site suggested uprights on the corners of the solar array if that’s the worry. If winds like that hit you, anything left standing is amazing. Building profile and prevailing winds should always be taken into consideration. Seeing as I’m talking function over form here, why not put the building on a circular “lazy-susan” type swivel track, with a wind generator to boot. More free energy?

One good point brought up here was the “totally automatic” nature of the building. It’s nice to have automatic things, but if my laptop crashes, I don’t want my living environment to stop functioning. I’m sure that a small, wall-mounted “brain” could be installed as primary or back up.

I believe ZeroHouse was (ideally) designed for latitudes 37 degrees north/ south. That covers a lot of ground, but I’d like to have one full-time at about 40 degrees latitude in Pennsylvania. I’m sure that could be solved as well. My only other concern is potable water, safe for drinking. The 2,700 gal. storage capacity is excellent, but unfortunately, the acidity of today’s’ “falling water” is off-the-chart low in ph. Has this been addressed?

The price for ZeroHouse…$$$$! No kidding! The first basic LED watches were about $500 smackers when they came out. (First seen on-screen in James Bond, Live & Let Die). Now they’re in the Dollar Store. Yes, the price will come down.

In closing, ZeroHouse is a 9 out of 10 in my book! If a prototype ever gets built in the NJ/NY/PA area, I’ll be the first one there, and promote it with the one I buy…when the price drops…(cough)…. a little. Now, if the nice folks on the local zoning board agree, hmmm…I’ll be all set. Bravo Scott!!

The concept seems like a neat idea minus the bogus over-sized screws for secure its base which i seriously doubt would be effective if a major devastating type of tornado or hurricane where to strike not to mention how more than likely the rest of the house may or may not be built to withstand such pressures or the key points where each section is adjoined yet even so i’m betting that the solar array doodad on the rooftop under such heavy forces would either be completely be ripped right off or serve as a freakin propeller sending mission control way out of kansas :)
Secondly any yo yo with a decent pc and some knowledge of 3d modeling/rendering and/or with decent house designing apps/skills can come up with a neat design perhaps as practical however if it is a design that is not easily affordable than common sense would dictate that it will cater predominantly to a select market because of its cost, thats where the problem is as most living quite comfortable lifestyles in expensive mansions i seriously doubt will trade in their chips to live in a bird cage by comparison so in essence it might serve or be bought as more of a curio or spare part time cabin then for its actual value as an eco friendly self sustaining or even off the grid type of unit and i don’t know about you but i’d rather have my product genuinely appreciated rather than just casually glanced at or purchased by some mummy .
Thirdly if a separate piece of block or heavy base were incorporated below the entire unit itself this would serve to securely bolt the unit aptly without having the need to worry about damaging any underlying ground as a heavy enough understructure or base thoroughly securing it would thus insure that not even a hurricane would initiate a mission control type liftoff of the unit while the base design itself could be useful and esthetically designed perhaps not only as a more secure base to hold the unit but also serve to rotate the entire suprastructure via its computer control console giving consumers the option to change their panoramic view of the outside (Oh boy i may have created a monster and watch the price really balloon now.. lol).
Last but not least if the price of the unit were significantly lower or at a fraction of the cost than that which is suggested for “Zerohouse” you’d have a viable unit and a strong market making a case for genuine eco friendly lifestyles as everyone from timbucktwo would praise its appeal making this offer seem more like an actual mansion and a steal of a deal because of the fact that it is well within reach and easier to achieve this truly appreciate rather than just as a birdcage to some well off mummy that already has it all or whom could use new toy for being away for a quick one from home.

NUFF Said.

Your right it is 2700 gallons, I made a typo. You also highlight the point that it is quite site specific.

@ WBrooke

Whilst I agree that it appears they are suggesting all water will be from precipitation the issue I have is with the location of the tank. From the cut-away view it appears as though the tank is above most of the horizontal surface area. This means water will have to be pumped up to the tank from these areas.

@ Androo,

I have no actual data that I can direct you to but i took this from what I have read and been told from environmental specialiasts.