Amy Greenfield + Mitra Muehlman
Mitra Muehlman’s interest in building deepened during his studies at Maharishi University of Management’s Sustainable Living program. For his senior project, Mitra designed and began construction on his own 700 sq ft. timber frame home, based on principles he learned while earning his degree. Mitra is seeing his project through to completion, using clean, solar energy as his electrical source. Troy Van Beek, of Ideal Energy just completed installing a 1.8 KW photovoltaic array on Mitra’s house, helping the home achieve off-grid status.

Amy Greenfield is an Eco Architectural Designer at Ideal Energy. Her designs use up to 90% less energy compared to average Midwest construction. She has designed and built nearly 20 homes in Southeast Iowa, several of which are completely off-grid for electricity, sewer treatment, and water. Amy joined the Ideal Energy team in 2009 to offer expertise in high performance construction and construction management. Amy’s formal education includes a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from Maharishi University of Management, and Passive House Design at Parson’s New School.

AG: Fairfield is a relatively small rural community, as a younger member of the community, what has driven your decision to stay here and build a home?

MM: More than anything I think it’s just that, the community. While I was designing and constructing the home I had dozens of friends offer to help, which made me so much more excited to actually go through with the project. I’m really excited to have a place that I can call home in my hometown.

AG: I would certainly agree that the enthusiasm is part of what makes Fairfield such a great place to live, and really allows young community members to be involved in projects that might be more challenging to accomplish in a bigger city. You and I have both had the opportunity to be involved in building projects at a younger age, which I think is an accomplishment that has a lot to do with the support of the community at large.
So lets talk about your project. A fundamental element in sustainable design that has really caught my attention in the past few years is working with a smaller square footage in the overall house design. You’ve really minimized the size of your house at just 700 sq ft, what was your idea behind creating a smaller living space?

MM: I got my bachelors in sustainable living here at MUM, and smaller design is one thing that they emphasized. Though they usually focused on it from the standpoint of creating a less damaging impact on nature by using no more resources than were necessary. But what really stuck with me was that if I kept the place small, I could build something much nicer, for a lower price. Instead of having an extra bedroom I could put in beautiful bamboo floors and a tiled shower. I walk inside now and think, “This is my mansion.” I really enjoy the comfort of a smaller living space.

AG: Was there a pivotal moment that inspired you to build a home? And is there a particular design feature that stands out the most for you?

MM: The moment that I always say inspired me to build was when I visited Robert Laporte and his company ‘EcoNest’ in New Mexico on a 6 week road trip I took with the SL department at MUM. His homes are jaw dropping, timber framed, straw/clay structures. I traveled back to New Mexico to take his month long natural building intensive. I started with the goal to make exactly what he had, but had to scale back at every step. I decided to make life a little easier on myself, being a first time builder.
The best feature of the place is the timber frame. I’m really glad I kept the timber frame aspect from the original idea. The whole house is built around the timbers so they are the real inspiration for every other design decision. Other design features include wood stove and in-floor radiant heat, ceiling fan and possible window AC unit for cooling, blown in cellulose insulation, and of course, the house if off-grid for electrical use with the solar array. I don’t have a permanent generator as back-up yet, but eventually will. The overall site design also includes constructed wetlands for all wastewater.

AG: It’s pretty exciting for us (Ideal Energy) to be involved with creating an off-grid home. Renewable energy can be a solution for individuals in rural areas where electricity is not immediately available, or at a greater expense to run utility grid electrical lines into the building. I know this is an issue you dealt with during your construction project. Would you describe the cost difference between connecting to the grid versus the renewable system you chose for your home?

MM: I have been very interested in solar energy since a science fair project I did in 8th on PV cells. In the field of sustainability, nothing is cooler than creating clean, renewable electricity. But still I had to research all available paths, which meant talking to Alliant Energy. They gave me an estimate for over $30,000 to hook me up to their grid, not to mention the monthly electric bills I would be signing up for. Solar was about 1/3 that price, plus the 30% government renewable energy tax credit, making it the crystal clear choice. People talk about decade long returns on renewables, in this case, it basically paid itself off the first day. And now, it is without a doubt the coolest part of my home!

AG: Designing and building your own home is quite an undertaking. Any experiences you’d like to share from the process? Do you think you’d do it again?

MM: It’s been full time job. Someone asked me a similar question a while ago and I told them it has been the most challenging, frustrating, stressful, fun, rewarding, and educational endeavor I could imagine for myself. So yeah, I think that if the opportunity comes up, I would do it again. I’m extremely happy with the way it has turned out but I know I could make something twice as great next time.

Keep your wind turbine generating power and profits

Ideal team members Mark Stimson & Troy Van Beek have been busy recommissioning a Whisper 500 wind turbine. The turbine has been powering two homes for about 10 years in rural Southeast Iowa. It’s in good condition, and with a few repairs and modifications the output and life-cycle of the turbine will be increased. If you’re a turbine owner, it’s important to maximize the life-cycle of your system by performing regular maintenance. Check out the details of our restoration process below.

Diagnostics

Over time, wind shear can cause damage to wind turbines including:

Additionally, in some turbines, shock absorbers are use to feather the tail out of the wind–another area in the unit that takes heavy stress. Performing a yearly inspection reduces overall downtime and increases productivity, keeping the turbine spinning when it’s needed the most. To assess this Whisper 500, Troy and Mark first disassemble the unit and stripped off the old paint. Then they performed an inspection to identify missing or loose hardware, stress cracks, dents and corrosion. Since structural integrity is paramount, previous repairs are also checked and any problems resolved prior to reapplying paint.

Recomissioning

Troy and Mark focused on repairing fractured blades with fiberglass patches and repainting the unit with multiple coats of ultra-rugged, aircraft enamel with extreme durability. This painting system ensures protection against harsh environmental conditions including UV rays and airborne pollution. Additionally, bearings were upgraded before the turbine was reassembled. Since this is an off-grid system, Troy and Mark also upgraded the battery bank and wiring to increase the overall efficiency of the system.

After the repairs were completed, the turbine was commissioned again and tests run to verify the output of the system, ensuring optimal performance.

Check out the photo journal from the project below.