Earthlight Magazine / Books / Home
Copyright © 1996 by Mark Winkler
All rights reserved. Inquiries should be addressed to
Twelve Star Publishing, P.O. Box 123, Jefferson, MD 21755
Earthlight Magazine / Books
/ Home
Copyright © 1996 by Mark Winkler
All rights reserved. Inquiries should be addressed to
Twelve Star Publishing, P.O. Box 123, Jefferson, MD 21755
Imagine a commercial building set in a landscape designed
to inspire with its variety and sense of place. As you explore
the grounds, the sounds of water flowing through a natural revitalizing
cycle surround you. Envision a building of sweeping beauty, positioned
to take advantage of the sun in all its seasonal phases. Picture
offices and a 5000 square foot showroom powered entirely by the
energy of the sun and wind. You're picturing the Solar Living
Center in Hopland, California.
The Solar Living Center (SLC) began as a shared vision among the
workers of Real Goods Trading Corporation of Ukiah, California,
and company founder and President, John Schaeffer. It was a vision
of an oasis where the company could demonstrate the culture and
technology of solar living. With that goal in mind, the SLC design
embodies the philosophy described in Real Goods' various catalogs
and publications. With the opening of the center in April 1996,
the vision is now a reality in Hopland, less than two hours north
of San Francisco, in California's wine country.
Real Goods selected Sim Van der Ryn of the Ecological Design Institute
of Sausalito, California, to design the building. His associate,
David Arkin, served as project architect, and Jeff Oldham of Real
Goods managed the building of the project. The result is a tall
and gracefully curving single story structure that captures the
varying angle of the sun so effectively that additional heat and
light are nearly unnecessary. Wood burning stoves provide backup
heating for the coldest winter mornings, and solar-powered fluorescent
lighting is available, but is rarely needed.
A combination of overhangs and manually controlled hemp awnings
keeps the sun out during the hot weather months. Solar-powered
evaporative coolers are in place as a backup air-conditioning
system, and are also used to flush the building with cool night
air, storing "coolth" in the six hundred tons of thermal
mass in the building's walls, columns, and floor. Even during
100 degree weather the showroom stays below 75 degrees with no
air conditioning!
The showroom is built entirely of recycled and sustainably harvested
materials, highlighted by full back and side walls constructed
of rice straw bales. Farmers usually dispose of rice straw by
burning it, a practice that contributes to the production of carbon
dioxide, the so-called "greenhouse gas" that is the
leading cause of global warming. By using this agricultural by-product
as a building material, everyone benefits. The farmers get paid
for their straw bales, no carbon dioxide is produced, and the
builder benefits from a low-cost, highly efficient building material
that minimizes energy consumption.
The Solar Living Center is powered by a large photovoltaic array
and wind generator. Water is extracted by solar pumping systems
at a rate of 35 gallons per minute from the aquifer just 20 feet
below the surface. This water sustains three ponds, a fountain,
a cool fog in the Agave Cooling Tower, and all irrigation needs
for an extensive system of gardens and plantings including a huge,
living sundial created from groves of Turkish poplar trees.
Real Good's Solar Living Center is a permanent model of restorative,
sustainable building practices, renewable energy systems and sustainable
agriculture. For anyone planning a vacation in California's wine
country, this is a stop you won't want to miss. For more information
on the Solar Living Center, or the many educational programs and
publications produced by Real Goods, call 1-800-762-7325.
Portions of this article previously appeared in Solar Today magazine
and are reprinted with the permission of Mark Winkler, Director
of the Solar Living Center in Hopland, California.
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