Hybrid house 'harvests the elements'

By Clair Johnson of Montana Lee Newspapers
Monday, July 14, 2008 9:19 AM CDT

This energy efficient home in Paradise Valley built by Pouwel Gelderloos for him and his family uses the sun and wind to heat and cool the building. Huge rain gutters are also used to collect water which is filtered for use in the house. The house is also on the electrical grid and has a water well just in case it needs to use it. David Grubbs/The Billings Gazette Staff

BILLINGS — Pouwel Gelderloos' house in Emigrant is eco-friendly, but you're not going to find straw bales in the walls or composting toilets.

Solar panels and a small wind machine whirling in the front yard are the only obvious signs that this house is something different.

A closer look reveals a house that works with everything in nature.

The sun, the wind, the rain and snow and even the earth all heat, cool or hydrate the house in one way or another.

"Instead of just shelter, we can design a house to harvest the elements," Gelderloos said.

The result is a home in harmony with its environment without sacrificing the comforts of a modern lifestyle.

Gelderloos calls his house a "hybrid" house.

"We're completely off the grid, but we're tied to it," he said. The house is designed to operate independently but switch seamlessly to conventional electricity, propane gas and a well if needed.

"We wanted to do something that has curb appeal," he said.

As builders worked on the finishing touches, Gelderloos gave visitors a tour of the house he designed, built and lives in with his wife and three of his children.

The 3,000-square-foot structure is octagon-shaped with wings and is powered by a passive solar system and a wind generator. The house has a basement, main floor and upper floor and includes three bedrooms, two and one-half bathrooms, a dining room, laundry room and kitchen.

Gelderloos designed the south-facing house so that it catches all of the sun's rays as it moves across the sky. The north side is well insulated.

Solar panels and a wind machine generate up to seven kilowatts of electricity, which is stored in a bank of batteries in the basement. Conventional power from the grid charges the batteries only when needed. The system generates more power than needed for daily use, Gelderloos said.

An atrium that wraps around the front of the house helps store the heat in rock, sand, brick and concrete floors. Two large doors, which open into the atrium from the living room, allow Gelderloos to let warm air flow into the living areas or to keep the house cool on hot days. The atrium also doubles as a greenhouse, allowing Gelderloos and his family to grow plants and vegetables all year. Recycled "gray water" irrigates the plants and is filtered before being used to flush toilets.

A super-insulated roof, 14-inch-thick double exterior walls filled with insulation and energy-efficient windows also help in heating and cooling the house. There is an additional two-inch layer of insulation on the exterior of the house.

When temperatures fell below zero last winter, the house stayed at 70 degrees, he said.

In the cathedral-style living room is a tall wood fireplace designed to disperse heat throughout the house.

The house is cooled by a system that circulates air past underground rainwater collection tanks.

For water, the house uses rain and snow collected from the roof by large gutters. Gravel in the gutters filters out leaves and other debris before the precipitation flows through downspouts to a series of underground tanks that hold 10,000 gallons. The water gets filtered again to remove microbes.

Gelderloos uses another solar collector on the roof for his hot water system, which is backed up by a 98 percent efficient boiler.

"So far, I've wanted to conserve water more than anything," Gelderloos said.

"I'm not exactly a tree hugger," he said. Designing and building the hybrid house is "completely out of the box for me," he added.

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