In the near-decade since the Great Recession decimated operation and maintenance budgets, water and wastewater utilities have been on a mission to become zero net energy (ZNE). It’s easy to see why energy-intensive facilities would want to produce as much energy as they consume, but why would an electric utility encourage customers to use less product?
“One of our goals is educating customers about making smart energy choices,” says Suzette Bienvenue. She’s education specialist at the Sacramento Municipality Utility District (SMUD) in California’s capital, the state’s second-largest community-owned electric utility. “This is a vehicle to present topics we’d like them to consider, like using energy-efficient appliances and green building techniques, and gives them a better idea of what these products offer.”
She’s referring to the utility’s inaugural Tiny House competition, a two-year public outreach program that ended on Oct. 15. Modeled after the U.S. Energy Department’s Solar Decathlon, the utility launched the competition in 2014 to promote energy awareness and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Architecture, and Math) development in young adults. She estimates the program cost at least $125,000, much of which was offset by sponsors. The awards were funded entirely by the sponsors.
A team of 28 Santa Clara University architecture, engineering, and communications students received a $10,000 grand prize for their 238-square-foot design for Operation Freedom Paws, a non-profit organization that prepares veterans to train their own service dogs. “rEvolve”’s murphy bed saves space for the full-size kitchen’s sitting area with foldout table. The 35-square-foot “wet” bathroom is a fully tiled shower room without the curtain and has a dry-flush toilet that gathers waste in a disposable cartridge.
The Competition
Armed with a stipend ranging from $3,000 to $8,000 and a mentor, teams from nine California colleges and universities (see sidebar for list) designed and built a home capable of producing at least as much electricity as it consumes. The concept is called energy neutrality.
Their work was judged on:
- Architecture. Creativity is crucial in designing a living space ranging from 100 square feet to 400 square feet.
- Communication. How well the process of designing and building the home was documented and shared.
- Energy-efficiency. Each home was required to be zero net energy, meaning it produces as much electricity as it uses during a year.
- Home life. Provide a safe and functional living space, meeting the needs of the targeted client and the final environment of the house.
Each house had to be able to produce enough hot water for two showers a day and pass a boiling water test to make sure they could cook a meal. Teams that used the most energy-efficient appliances received higher scores.
All designs are solar-powered and feature self-sufficient toilets (compostable, chemical, and flash-and-burn). A few have rain collection systems that feed a greywater tank used for watering a garden.
SMUD isn’t sure it’ll hold another competition, but as the photos show it unleashed a tsunami of creativity. Click here to view the rest of the winners.
