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Ecology
Water Use
New Mexico is situated just north of the Mexican border with Santa Fe nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of 7,000 feet. This high desert averages 13 inches of precipitation per year. With a total population of just over a million, New Mexico has sufficient water for its citizens, but the time to consider water conservation is now. The County of Santa Fe has already begun to conserve water for the future. County officials believe that any family can prosper on 1/4 of an acre-foot of water per year. That equals 223 gallons of water per day. For living a comfortable life within these water constraints, the County requires the following innovations:
- Water-Saving Toilets
- Water-Saving Showers
- Natural Landscaping and Drip Irrigation
Water-Saving Toilets
The average toilet uses approximately 4 gallons per flush. A family of three that uses the toilet 12 times per day expends 48 gallons. A water saving toilet uses approximately 1.5 gallons per flush, or 18 gallons per day for a savings of 30 gallons per day, or 7.5% of daily use.
Water-Saving Showers
The average shower runs at just under 5 gallons per minute. The average family of three, which showers for 30 to 40 minutes, uses 140 to 180 gallons per day. Showers are the greatest use of domestic water. A shower head using 2.5 gallons of water per minute reduces use by 75 to 100 gallons per day; this is a savings of up to 80 gallons per day, almost 30% of total use.
Natural Landscaping and Drip Irrigation
In many other places in the country, large, lush lawns cover great portions of residential areas. In this semiarid climate, large lawns are quite rare; in fact, homes on large lots are often surrounded by the junipers and piñon pines that have been there for hundreds of years. A large piñon may well be 300 years old, growing slowly in response to the climate. There are many advantages to natural landscaping. Besides the fact that natural landscaping uses no domestic water, you also never have to cut the lawn. Home owners choosing to plant shade and fruit trees need only use a minimal amount of water for them. Drip irrigation is the best way to water trees, shrubs, gardens, and lawns; this kind of system uses less than half the water used in conventional methods.
If we in New Mexico use our resources wisely, we can make the desert bloom for many generations to come.
Solar Heating and Cooling
Solar Heating
As early as the Romans and Anasazi Indians, man was aware that by orienting his home south, towards the sun, he could let the heat of the day in by opening animal-skin shutters and doors. By closing them, he could hold that heat in through the night. That is the basis of today's passive solar design.
With the advent of thermopane glass and modern insulating materials, the concept of the self-heating home was born.
Imagine a rock in a bottle. The sun passes through the bottle and heats the rock. Then, when the sun goes down, the rock gives off the heat it has stored, and the bottle traps that heat. This is how a passive solar home works.
There are three parts to a working solar system. First is the glass, to let in the radiant energy of the sun. Second is the thermal mass -- rock, concrete, or adobe -- to absorb the radiant energy of the sun and emit it as kinetic energy, or heat. Last is the insulation; thermopane glass, fiberglass, urethane foam, and blown cellulose are all materials that will resist the loss of heat from a home. Put these three elements together in the correct balance, and you have a home that can store heat through the night for as many as three days without the sun. Even a home with moderate solar attributes can significantly reduce heating costs.
There are three techniques used for heat collection:
1. Direct Gain, or the construction of a glass south wall that admits light directly into a room so the heat may be absorbed into the floor and walls. This is a very efficient system, but in the middle of winter, the rooms heated this way can be uncomfortably bright.
2. Greenhouses, or rooms dedicated to the admission and storage of heat. These rooms are often perfect for the propagation of plants and are generally vented to let the stored heat into the house.
3. Trombe wall, or a masonry wall sheeted on the south with thermopane glass. The sun passes through the glass and falls directly upon the storage wall. This heat is then admitted to the house by conduction, when heat radiates through the wall into the house, or by convection, when a vent is placed at the top and bottom of the mass wall.
Solar Cooling
As summer arrives, one notices a change in the angle of the sun. Through careful design of overhangs on the south side of a solar house, the rays of the sun can be excluded at any predetermined date. With the sun blocked, the thermal gain works the opposite of how it works in winter; rather that absorbing heat from sunlight, the house absorbs heat from the atmosphere, keeping the interior cool during the day. The heat absorbed by the outside walls is radiated into the house at night, keeping the house comfortable when temperatures outside are moderate.
Passive Solar Homes have evolved since their inception in the late 60s. Alan Hoffman has been in the for front of Passive Solar design working to make solar heating invisible and comfortable for the residents. In New Mexico cooling is even a greater problem than heating, so he has worked to perfect Passive Cooling.
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Last updated January 24,2004
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