The Greens

It took a little time, but finally we were able to hold a green building meeting specifically for our San Francisco Meetup group, Green Building. Nils Davis of Keeping the Lights On came and talked about the passive house conference.

Nils attended the 13th International Passive House Conference 2009 held last week in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. He reported that over a thousand people attended the conference, where they got the latest update on passive houses, buildings so energy-efficient that they don’t require a heating or cooling system.

A number of people new to the Green Building group showed up for the meeting (at Prana restaurant, part of Temple nightclub). We took suggestions for future venues. (If you have a suggestion, please contact us). We need someone from the group to step forward to be the point person for the group, someone who can be the host for future meetings, so if you live in San Francisco and can help us out, please volunteer!

Some members stayed after the meeting to tour Temple. From the left: (top) Nils Davis, 150 year-old Buddha statue, Rich Wingerter; (bottom) Florence, Alex, and Kathryn

One question that came up was whether to be a member of both the San Francisco and the South Bay Meetup groups. Events are placed on the calendars depending on whether we think that people in that area would be interested in the event. For many events we cross post them to both groups because we feel that the topic or speaker would be worth a little travel. Also, events in the middle of the peninsula are likely to be within easy travel for both groups. So, my advice is to join the group that centers on the place you are closest to. If you are closer to San Francisco than to Silicon Valley, then the Green Building group is a better bet. If you are near the Palo Alto-Santa Clara area, then the Green Making for the Silicon Valley Area is probably better.

Temple provided us with a tour of their facilities, which aim to be a totally green nightclub. From the vertical garden on the front wall to the green roof being installed, the owners are committed to building a sustainable operation. A new piezoelectric floor to be installed will capture the energy of dancers to create lighting. Most solid waste is diverted from landfill.

Nils provided a detailed update from the conference. Passive houses represent a huge step toward building zero-net energy houses, but making them widespread in the U.S. will need to overcome some barriers. Only about 20 to 30 passive houses have been built in the U.S., mostly in the mid-west. Nils said that he thinks cities need to provide incentives to builders and the concept of the passive house needs to be publicized. Then it is a matter of making the proper materials available, such as heat exchanging ventilators and high-performance windows and doors.

We plan to schedule Nils for a meeting in the South Bay so he can tell us more about the conference. Please look for the announcement on our Meetup group.

I want to thank everyone who came to the meeting for helping to make it a success!

–Rich Wingerter