“Beaver Pond House” – Designed by BRIBURN.
The four authors of “Pretty Good House”.
“Dragonfly House” – Designed by BRIBURN.
Photovoltaic panels in action.
How can you do something about climate change? Start where you live. Chris Briley is one of the principals at our Climate Positive partner, BRIBURN, and he has co-authored a book with three other Mainers (Dan Kolbert, Emily Mottram, and Michael Maines). Titled “Pretty Good House”. Here are some things that a low-carbon, PGH should be:
- Be as small as possible. Ideally with multi-family or multi-generational occupants.
- Be PV-ready or include photovoltaic panels. PV-ready means designed, built and sited in such a way that a reasonably-sized photovoltaic array can handle all of the home’s energy needs on an annual basis. (PV panels pay their carbon debt in 2-4 years.)
- Be simple and durable. Simple shapes are easier to air-seal and insulate, perform better in harsh weather, and require fewer materials and less maintenance than more complicated buildings. If you need to bring in a structural engineer, your design might be too complicated. Invest in the parts that are hard to change later.
