Michèle Le Saux
I am concerned about the environment and how we are living in it. I am learning how to reduce my carbon foot print by starting with my home. I am designing a new high performance home with little to no need of external energy.
Most of my career was spent in the space sector. I am systems engineer by training and experience. Buildings are systems and subsystems that all need to work together efficiently. We need to be designing and building systems with the following requirements:
- low impact on environment when building: carefully chosen building materials and mechanical systems which are as local as possible
- design with minimal waste: material waste, transportation waste, packaging waste, as well as products that use recycled materials or materials that are byproducts of other processes
- use materials that capture carbon like wood and wood fibres
- create a house that consumes only electricity and as little as possible
- generate electricity using renewable resources
- incorporate passive heating, cooling and lighting into the design (exposure, windows, geothermal,…)
- design for resilience. More extreme weather is coming due to climate change. The house built for sustainability and resilience will last the longest and have the lowest carbon footprint.
Giiwe 