Electric Boats Go Pure Green With Solar Charging

Where to charge up your electric boat with renewable energy? When in the Netherlands, the destination of choice is the Electric Boathouse (Elektrobotenhuis) at It Butlan 9, Heeg, Friesland, which also functions as a showroom for such boats. You should have no trouble spotting it from a distance, as the monolithic black solar roof of the building—designed by Groosman Partners Architecten—doesn’t look much like its neighbors. ArchDaily reportsthat people in the neighborhood call it, “the red Lego blocks.” One neighbor went on to say, “It’s totally different than the standard industrial buildings you see here. It takes some getting used to, but it is special and nice. ”

Electric Boathouse, Netherlands

image via Groosman Partners

This special and nice building was designed with cradle-to-cradleprinciples in mind, which means that its was constructed for easy deconstruction and reuse, with a minimum of finishes and paints: e.g., wood is wood here, and brick is brick, both of which can easily be salvaged and reused when the building reaches the end of its natural life. In the meantime, the Electric Boathouse sucks up the sun via 72 solar panels fitted to its south-facing roof, which kick out around 11,072 kilowatt-hours each year, enough to completely recharge around 1,385 electric boats.

Electric Boathouse, Netherlands

image via Groosman Partners

The building also features a rainwater harvesting system, which makes use of rainwater to wash boats and flush toilets. Heating and cooling is handled via a ground-source heat pump.


[source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Earthtechling/~3/XgUKGvyKasY/]

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