‘Utah House’ uses less water, energy
If the energy crisis currently engulfing California comes to Utah, Leona Hawks is going to be a popular woman.
Hawks, a professor in the College of Family Life at Utah State University, is project director for the Utah House, a demonstration house showcasing energy and water efficiency, sustainability and healthy indoor environments, among other things.
She came up with the idea for the Utah House after visiting a demonstration house in Florida – the Florida House.
Hawks and Larry Hepworth, the project architect, gave an hour-long presentation on the Utah House Thursday at the Eccles Conference Center.
The Utah House will be located at the Utah Botanical Center in Kaysville. Construction will begin this spring and is expected to be completed by the fall.
The house will contain a number of energy-saving features, including passive-solar design, special insulation and construction techniques designed to minimize heat loss.
Hawks said the house will play a vital role in educating Utahns.
She said the reason more houses like the Utah House aren’t built simply because people aren’t fully aware of the possibility – and builders aren’t always willing to tell them and risk losing money.
“Sometimes builders just do cookie-cutter buildings, which are designed more to increase profits than anything else. I think most builders are aware of techniques to increase energy efficiency and sustainability, but consumers aren’t always aware, and they need to start demanding a certain standard from builders,” she said.
Hawks said one of the goals of the project was to reduce energy use in the house by 50 percent.
She said the Utah House will be owned by USU Extension.
In her presentation, Hawks outlined some of the other major goals of the project.
“Our mission is to demonstrate, educate and empower the public about new ways of building homes and creating landscapes that promote principles of sustainability, energy and water conservation,” Hawks said.
The Utah House also has solar panels in the roof, which Haws said will generate one-third of the total power for the house.
She said the house will include a “ground source pump,” which will circulate water from a 300-foot-deep well.
The water from the well will be used to either heat or cool the house, depending on the season.
Hawks stressed the importance of indoor air quality, especially in light of the fact that there has been an alarming rise in asthma among children around the country, which some people claim is related to poor indoor air.
She said to improve indoor air, it is important to avoid construction materials with high levels of toxicity, and also to create good air circulation in a house.
Anyone looking for more information, can contact Hawks by e-mail at leonah@ext.usu.edu.
Information is also available by calling Hepworth at Architectural Design West Inc. at 752-7031.