Casa Del Sol – Drought-Resistant Home of the Future

04 Sep Casa Del Sol – Drought-Resistant Home of the Future

Author: Darin Milanesio

The New York Times reported that Folsom, California has plans to build 10,200 new homes, even though the city manager is aware that Folsom Lake, the city’s sole source of water, is depleting to historically low levels as a result of California’s four-year drought.

The city manager, Evert W. Palmer, argues the city has enough water to handle a population increase up to 100,000 people by 2036, and that it would be “economic folly” not to try to maximize the city.

“That would create unnecessary economic hardships here to benefit others,” Mr. Palmer said. “And while I’m a citizen of the planet, I’m also paid to manage the home team.”

Many California towns face the same dilemma: they must continue to expand despite the risk of completely running out of water. We aim to provide a solution to this problem with our home, Casa del Sol. Inspired by the diurnal California poppy, Casa del Sol is drought-resistant. In Southern California, residential landscaping uses the largest percentage of household water. To mitigate this demand, Casa del Sol recycles its greywater and uses rainwater catchment tanks to sustain our xeriscaping. Casa del Sol also features an edible garden. The edible garden is located adjacent to the outdoor dining room and further accentuates the Southern California indoor-outdoor lifestyle. We designed the vertical hydroponic watering system to provide the edible plants with fresh water in a closed loop, further reducing water consumption. Traditional sprinkler systems often require more water because surface-level moisture evaporates in the heat; our hydroponic watering system helps us prevent this.

Aside from the edible garden, the greywater and rainwater catchment systems can sufficiently meet all of Casa del Sol’s landscape water needs. The greywater catchment tanks can hold 250 gallons of water. The tank’s drainage pipes rely on gravity to collect storm water and greywater from the house and also to disperse it appropriately for xeriscaping. The greywater is set on a bilge pump, timer and drip line mechanism to irrigate potted plants around the home, and is designed to take into account the greywater arrival scheduling and plant-watering demand. The pump is turned on after the first hot water draw from the shower so that a sufficient amount of water remains in the tank.

Imagine if the 10,200 new homes built in Folsom were designed with Casa del Sol’s drought-resistant features. The water savings would enormously benefit California, the communities would feel more reassured and city managers, like Evert W. Palmer, would no longer need to choose between managing “the home team” and being a “citizen of the planet.”