Meltwater Project

I know I closed out my last post promising to have a discussion on various countertop materials but I ran into something extremely interesting at the Milwaukee NARI Home Improvement Show taking place this weekend at State Fair Park. It’s the Meltwater Project! While I’m not a big fan of the whole global warming theory, I do appreciate good stewardship when it comes to mother earth. While setting up our display,at the show, I was able to walkthrough this high-tech prototype of this “carbon neutral” home and spoke with Greg Adamec from Milwaukee Millwork. Greg serves as President of the Milwaukee NARI Foundation and is also on the show committee. Greg was instrumental in procuring The Meltwater Project’s show appearance. So what is it? Greg explained that Meltwater was designed and built for a world competition of “carbon neutral” homes, meaning that this structure sustains a living environment with little or no impact on the earth eco system. Greg explained that the solar collectors mounted to the roof not only produced enough electricity to sustain all the energy needs of the inhabitants, but surplus that could be sold back to the energy company. How cool is that? The roof is designed so that it directs rain water in to reservoirs that store it for later use in landscape watering and clothes washing. The home is heated and cooled through geo- thermal technology. As I walked through the home, Greg explained how all the materials used were “green friendly” like the bathroom floor and countertops that are made from recycled paper, the cabinets from a type of reed grass and wall treatments “wheat board”. Needless to say I was impressed.

Greg also told me that Meltwater took 20^th place in the world, impressive considering the scope of competition. Although it came with a price tag of over $400,000.00, I’m sure most of remember the cost of the first pocket calculator of digital watch. I can see a day when these “carbon neutral” homes are mainstream and affordable. To learn more about the Meltwater Project, go to www4.uwm.edu/uwm_sd09 or google meltwater project.—or google “meltwater project”  If you want to see it first hand, come to the Milwaukee NARI Home Improvement Show 10:00 – 9:00  Saturday 2/13 or Sunday 10:00 – 5:00 2/14