• Our human poo and wee stays where we live in a sustainable house, doesn’t go into oceans where whales and fish live
Here is a fact sheet for students studying sustainable living.
It’s about water and energy. It has examples of animals, plants and Sydney’s Sustainable House with facts and graphs and images.
The dragon from Australia is AMAZING - its body is designed to harvest water and it drinks runoff from its body.
The author is Brianne Kendall. Brianne Kendall interns with Michael Mobbs at the Sustainable House. She is a US resident studying urban environmental science at Birmingham-Southern College in Alabama and hopes to use her strength in teaching to educate others in sustainable low-waste living . Along with her passion for sustainability and climate change action, she dreams of traveling the world in her tiny house on wheels and hopes to physically make her way to Australia one day!
Water Storage and Energy Generation in City Homes
by Brianne Kendall
A fact sheet for teachers and students studying sustainability in Australia.
Science Understanding
Imagine it is a hot dry summer day. Maybe you have been outside soaking up the sun or inside taking refuge in the air conditioning. The sun is beating down and you realise you are in need of some water. What do you normally do when you are hot?
Your family might decide to cool off with a trip to the ocean or the local swimming pool. Or maybe you eat a cold popsicle or drink litres of water. Perhaps you simply go inside and lay under a big fan. When it is hot and dry, we naturally cling to areas of shade and crave tall glasses of water. You might even realise that you sweat a lot more. Whether you think sweating is gross or not, it is a vital function of the human body, one that works as a cooling agent by pulling beads of heat from our skin and dissipating it into the air. Sweating is a neat adaptation that helps us stay cool during the summer months.
Now imagine that months have passed and it is the dead of winter, cold and windy. Have you ever noticed that you crave warmer richer food when it is cold outside? Your family might drink a lot more tea or eat mainly soup dishes. Why do you think you eat richer foods during the colder months?
Much like squirrels who store food for winter and bears who hibernate when it gets too cold, our bodies have evolved to store food and fat as usable energy during the winter. This energy is then expressed as heat, keeping our internal temperatures warm even when it is cold outside.
Our bodies have tons of uniquely important functions that not only help us survive but also live more comfortably. While our bodies do have these amazing survival adaptations, they are not quite as efficient as some of the adaptations of the plant and animal kingdoms. We will look specifically at water collection and energy production, two vital ingredients to life. Can you brainstorm some cool tools that plants or animals have to collect water or generate energy?
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We will look at the adaptations of two native Australian species – a thorny devil and a kangaroo paw.
• An Australian Thorny Devil
Thorny devils live in the Outback and are subject to months without rainfall, but they have an amazing adaptation that helps them drink water year-round. They drink water through their skin! Basically, there are grooves between the spikes on their body that collect water from the night-time dew that settles on plants and other animals. These grooves all lead to the thorny devil’s mouth and keeps them continuously hydrated. What an amazing way to collect water! For more examples of incredible desert adaptations, visit this BBC Earth article by Jane Palmer.
• An Australian Kangaroo Paw
Plants are arguably the best models of generating one’s own energy. Take the native kangaroo paw for example, who like other plants use photosynthesis to convert energy from the sun into usable food energy like sugars. This energy is then stored in the plants for use at a later date. The kangaroo paw might use only a little energy on cooler darker days, saving the majority of their energy for hot dry days that threaten to scorch them. Plants have other amazing adaptations and qualities, but it is important to grow native plants, because they are best suited to life in Australia. Make sure to check out this comprehensive list of native plants from the Australian government.
Now that we have looked at some cool plant and animal adaptations, how do you think humans might better adapt to collect water and generate energy?
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Science and Human Development
Here at the Sustainable House, we strive to showcase how easy it is to live sustainably, even in the city!
Michael Mobbs, creator of Sustainable House, who lived with his family of four ‘til 2000 when they grew up and left, without city water since 1996 and without mains electricity since 2015. That is roughly 24 years of living in a way that supports our beautiful planet.
• Sydney’s Sustainable House
So how did Michael and his family adapt to survive back in 1996?
Unfortunately, they do not have the ability to store water in special grooves or generate their own energy by standing in the sun, but they have used commonly available products and materials that can do that. They use rain water tanks to collect anywhere from 10,000 litres or more of water throughout the year, and they have over 20 solar panels and batteries that can store 3.5kW of power. That is a lot of water and energy!
Did you know that residential houses with four people in Sydney use upwards of 1000L of water a day?
If four people live there the Sustainable House uses only 350L a day, and this is through simple, ordinary appliances and storage of water, and recycling used (‘waste”) water for toilet flushing and clothes washing. It’s all ‘legal’ and anyone can do this anywhere (though Michael - a former lawyer - tells me this news comes as a shock to many hydraulic engineers and plumbers who, he say, seem to live and work on urban myths rather than knowledge, and practical application, of the law).
While Michael does collect seemingly every drop of rainfall in his water tanks, he does not use it all for himself and his family.
They wash clothes every day, take showers, rinse dishes, and drink lots of water (here is a glass of their clean clear drinking water!), but they do so with a clear understanding that water is a valuable resource that cannot be wasted. The Sustainable House is also outfitted with appliances that utilise fewer litres of water per year.
But what does Michael do with the remaining water in his storage tanks? He waters his garden, runs his washing machine, flushes his toilets, and maintains a beautiful, simple wetland in his backyard. He even uses the water from the shower, toilet, and washing machine as recycled water that is stored, treated, and later used to water his plants, flush the toilet and to wash clothes.
The rain water is used for cooking, showers, baths, hot water. Tests show it is cleaner than town water.
Michael’s house stores the water they use in a 3,000 litre tank, where it is treated and ready to use a second time! How do you feel about washing clothes or flushing toilets with this recycled water? Look at a photo Michael took last week, below.
• Recycled water - this water was produced from a 3,000 litre tank which contains toilet flushed water, dish washing water, shower water, kitchen and bathroom sink water and clothes washing water
It is actually much cleaner than you think! Tests show it has no viruses or pathogens.
Recent intern Nada compared the average water usage in litres per day between a regular Sydney household and the Sustainable House. Look at the difference!
Here you can see the exact route that Michael’s water takes from rainfall to drinkable water.
Rain hits the roof, runs down the drain pipes, is cleaned with a mesh ball, pumped into a sump that pulls fine sediment out, and then stored in his massive tank. Any overflow water drains into his wetland!
• How rainwater is harvested, stored and used in the house, then re-used to flush the toilet and wash clothes
This is how the ‘wasted’ water re-used?
• How the ‘wasted’ water is re-used to flush the toilet, wash clothes
The Sustainable House not only uses rain water storage but also captures energy from the sun! The heat and energy emitted from the sun runs Earth’s processes every day. It grows rain forests, affects weather patterns, provides us with Vitamin D, and, if trees are there to attract the energy, it even makes the rain fall.
Michael decided that if the sun can do all these amazing things, then why not harness its energy to use at home?
• The two solar hot water panels and the several (blue) solar electricity panels
His 20 carefully placed solar panels can generate 3.5kW of power every day. That is enough power to turn on the lights, heat water for cooking, pump water through the shower or toilet, and have some energy left over!
Note:
You may purchase copies of the book with these photos and data, Sustainable House 2 Ed 2010 here.
Tours of the house may be booked, and enquiries made, here.
All of this energy is easy to source, cheaper to use than being attached to main electrical systems, and much safer for the environment. Solar energy is a form of renewable energy, meaning that we will always have power as long as the sun continues to shine. Most of the electricity in the world comes from coal and other elements found beneath the earth. While coal does generate a lot of electricity, it will eventually run out and we will have no more power. Why not get our electricity from the sun that always shines?
• Solar battery stores the sun’s energy for the household
Having a solar battery helps the Sustainable House store excess energy for later use!
• How the sun’s energy becomes electricity
In the model of the Sustainable House at the top of this article you can even see Michael’s family standing on the front steps! If you cannot tour the house in person, please visit the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences to view the model in the EcoLogic Exhibition.
Science Inquiry Skills
Ok, so we have talked about animal and plant adaptations as well as the amazing techniques used at the Sustainable House, but how can you see the effects of rain collection and solar energy in your daily life? Below are two experiments you can try either as a class or at home to showcase and utilize rain and sunshine. The first experiment involves homemade rain collection jars and the second experiment takes a look at what materials are best for absorbing solar energy.
Experiment 1 – Rain Collection
Things you will need
3 water jugs of the same size (this could be 3 empty milk cartons)
Permanent marker
Ruler
Procedure
• Mark each empty jug with 4-litre marks that are uniform between each jug. These marks will only represent litres, as the jug might not actually hold 4 litres.
• Place one jug in an open space, one in a covered space, and one directly under a drainage spout or some place that has rushing water when it rains.
• Hypothesise which jug will collect the most water. Make sure to explain why you believe this.
• Leave the jugs outside for at least one week and document how many liters of water are collected each day and in total by the end of the week. If necessary, empty full jugs into a bigger container, but keep all collected water.
• Create a model of your experiment. This includes a diagram or image of the marked jug, a table or graph of water collection (both daily and in total), and a written explanation of what is happening in the experiment.
• Share your results! Make sure to include your hypothesis, your procedure, your results, how the results agree or disagree with your hypothesis, and how you might improve the experiment to get more precise results.
Reflection
Take time to reflect on how the experiment affected you. Was it easy to collect water? Maybe it was a dry week, so how would you ensure that you already had water stored away? What should you do with the collected water? Please do not throw your collected water out. You can use it to water a garden, rinse dishes, water pets, or even rinse your feet off when you get home from the beach!
Experiment 2 – Solar Energy
Things you will need
• Glass of water
• Rock or pile of rocks
• Piece of metal
• Thermometer
Procedure
• Hypothesise which of these items (water, rock, or metal) will absorb the most heat from the sun. Make sure to explain why you think this will happen.
• Set these objects outside in the same place at the same time every day for a week. Only leave them outside for thirty minutes to an hour, any longer could make the items too hot to handle.
• Take each object’s temperature before setting them outside and after they have been sitting in the sun. Make sure to indicate clearly which substance had which temperatures.
• Create a model of your experiment. This includes a diagram or image of your materials, a table or graph of your daily temperatures for each object, and a written explanation of what is happening in the experiment.
• Share your results! Make sure to include your hypothesis, your procedure, your results, how the results agree or disagree with your hypothesis, and how you might improve the experiment to get more precise results.
Reflection
Take time to reflect on how the experiment affected you.
Were you surprised by which substance absorbed the most heat? How do your results translate to solar panels? While you may not have access to solar panels, how could use energy from the sun in your daily life? Maybe you can set a jug of tea to steep outside or hang your clothes on a line to dry.
There are so many ways to use the energy and heat from the sun!
HSIE Science and Technology - school curriculum
GE2-1 examines features and characteristics of places and environments
ST2-4SW investigates their questions and predictions by analysing collected data, suggesting explanations for their findings, and communicating and reflecting on the processes undertaken
GE2-2 describes the ways people, places and environments interact
ST2-5WT applies a design process and uses a range of tools, equipment, materials and techniques to produce solutions that address specific design criteria
GE2-3 examines differing perceptions about the management of places and environments
ST2-6PW identifies ways heat is produced and that heat moves from one object to another
GE2-4 acquires and communicates geographical information using geographical tools for inquiry
ST2-14BE describes how people interact within built environments and the factors considered in their design and construction
Above are the curriculum requirements that are met by this Fact Sheet for the Sustainable House for students ages 10-11.
This guide is broken into three sections.
• “Science Understanding” works through GE2-1,GE2-2, and GE2-4 by looking at the way humans, animals, and plants respond and adapt to environmental stressors.
• “Science and Human Development” responds to GE2-3, ST2-6PW, and ST2-14BE by studying the technology implemented at the Sustainable House to work with and use natural resources.
• “Science Inquiry” delves into ST2-4SW and ST2-5WT by encouraging students to hypothesise, experiment, collect data, and share information with their classmates.
*Brianne Kendall interns with Michael Mobbs at the Sydney’s Sustainable House. She is a US resident studying urban environmental science at Birmingham-Southern College in Alabama and hopes to use her strength in teaching to educate others in sustainable low-waste living . Along with her passion for sustainability and climate change action, she dreams of traveling the world in her tiny house on wheels and hopes to physically make her way to Australia one day!