Shovels turn at innovative house
Councilmen Michael DiVirgilio and Jeff Duclos, ‘Green Idea House’ occupants Carter, 9, Monica and Robert Fortunato, and Mayor Pete Tucker break ground. Photo
Officials from City Hall and representatives from Washington, Sacramento, energy utilities and environmental groups gathered on Tuesday to break ground for a Hermosa family’s innovative “Green Idea House,” which will be rebuilt to produce more energy than it uses.
Standing on a small, makeshift wooden stage in the driveway of the Prospect Avenue home that will undergo the transformation, Robert Fortunato thanked “partners” ranging from city council members and planning commissioners to reps of Southern California Edison, West Basin Municipal Water District, General Electric, P2S Engineering, and Hermosa environmental activist Dency Nelson.
“The heads, hearts and hands you’ve provided have been essential to this process, and we are humbled by your generosity,” Fortunato said, shortly after he, wife Monica and 9-year-old son Carter received certificates of appreciation from aides to Congresswoman Jane Harman, state Senator Ted Lieu and Assemblywoman Jenny Oropeza.
Fortunato praised Kent Peterson of P2S Engineering for taking on the house project after 15 other engineers “laughed at” the Hermosan for suggesting it. Fortunato also singled out Edison officials who spent two years cutting costs to make some of the house’s innovative measures more affordable for average homeowners.
A small table near Fortunato showed off items including a type of gypsum that will be used in the home’s drywall to “halve the energy used to heat and cool the home forever” following an initial $5,000 outlay, he said. He praised GE, one of the house’s sponsors, for trying using his home to try out the new gypsum method.
And Fortunato thanked city officials who waived building permit fees for the house, took the uncommon step of approving small wind turbines for Hermosa homes, and waived permit and plan-check fees for rooftop photovoltaic installations in town.
Mayor Pete Tucker predicted that the house will inspire other residents to make carbon-saving changes. Councilman Michael DiVirgilio, a strong proponent of green causes, called the house project “the tip of the spear” in a push to make Hermosa a “carbon-neutral city.”
The Fortunatos and others then turned ceremonial shovels to mark the reconstruction phase of the lengthy project.
Plans for the house include the use of materials that are as low in toxicity as possible and are produced with as small a carbon footprint as possible. Roof overhangs will be built to keep the sun off windows in the summer and let it in through the windows in the winter.
On groundbreaking day, visitors were shown how the stairwell’s “thermal mass,” along with the tendency of air to move up and down as it changes temperatures, will help heat and cool the two-story building. They saw how water will be recycled from the bathtub, showers and laundry to fill toilet tanks and water the plants.
Mayor Tucker looked out over the Fortunatos’ sponsors, consultants, supporters and well-wishers, and marveled at the ambitiousness of the project.
“They are really pushing the envelope,” he said. ER