Living Green

Although we are not an ecovillage, our values include environmentalism, sustainability, and self-sufficiency. Following are some of the "green" features at Wasatch Commons Cohousing.

Design and Construction

Units

• Passive solar: engineered overhangs, slab-on-grade heat sink, clerestory windows, glazing maximized on south-facing windows, etc.
• Structural insulated panel (SIP/R-Control Panel) construction
• Double-paned low-E casement and awning windows
• Extra ceiling (R-44) and wall (R-24) insulation
• Interior windows in clerestory stairwell for increased natural light and cross-ventilation, optional clerestory fans
• Natural stucco exterior
• Pale exterior wall and roof colors for sun/heat reflection
• Extensive common facilities allowing for smaller individual unit sizing

Site

• Clustered development and parking areas preserve green space, provide wildlife habitat, are pedestrian- and child-friendly, and mitigate urban heat by minimizing hardscape
• On-site collection of storm water allowing for groundwater recharge
• Grassy pavers to reduce heat gain from required drivable emergency access
• Preservation of existing trees
• Chemical, light and noise pollution control: no CCA-treated lumber, natural rodent and pest control, downward-directed hooded lampposts, quiet appliances, etc.

Wood from the Lucin Cutoff railroad trestle across the Great Salt Lake was used for beams on porches and inside the common house dining room.

Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle: Efficiency in Resource Use

Materials

• Porch beams and common house dining room use reclaimed wood from a former railway trestle that crossed the Great Salt Lake
• Grassy pavers of recycled plastic
• Recycled wood and plastic in decking on most units
• Playground structure and garden beds constructed of scrap lumber
• Scavenged waste materials for mulch and soil amendments
• Recycling included in waste pickup

Energy

• Solar panels more than offset common area electrical usage, plus provide charging for several electric cars
• Option for in-floor radiant heating combined within single domestic hot water appliance
• Climate-appropriate evaporative cooling rather than a.c.
• Gas appliances, front-loading washers, low-flush toilets
• Floodlight motion sensors
• Community clotheslines near common laundry

Water

• Climate-appropriate landscaping: xeriscaping, drip irrigation
• Traffic-tolerant low-water groundcovers
• Use of grass limited to where a high-traffic groundcover is required

Community-Based Sharing of Resources

• Common House: meeting rooms, guest rooms, laundry facilities including outdoor clothes line, kids room, library, sewing room, patios, barbecue, various other gathering and use spaces
• Workshop: exercise room; storage of work, landscaping, and garden tools, equipment and materials; bay for car repairs, build and/or repair projects
• Exercise and music room and equipment, outdoor and recreational equipment
• Shared child care and shut-in care
• Community vegetable and herb gardens and orchard
• Variously shared internet access
• Glass recycle center

Other Group and/or Individual Initiatives

• Car pooling
• Programmable thermostats
• Tree and vine plantings to shade stucco and/or roofing
• Various food and garden co-operatives
• Composting & rain collection barrels
• Use of wood composites and other alternative building materials (e.g., Trex, cork)

2010, minor edits 7/6/2018

formatting 5/29/2019