On Jan 31, 2011, Katywil hosted a field trip of 36 ninth graders from Four Rivers Charter School in Greenfield, MA. The group was met by Bill, Ed & Emma at 8:45 am, and after a short intro by Bill, split up into three groups of 12. Each group then followed a map to direct them to the three tour sites:
Bill’s house: Here the kids saw a biomass (wood-burning) boiler that heats a 600-gallon water tank. The hot water is then pumped through the 1972 house’s hot-water baseboard heating system. Two advantages of this ScanTech boiler are that it absorbs much more heat from the burning wood than a traditional wood stove and that it re-burns the smoke before it goes up the chimney, so its effluent is nearly particulate free.
At Kate & Jim’s house, heated by a ground-source heat pump (GSHP–sometimes called geothermal), the discussion was led by Sam Johnston of TerraClime. The Terraclime system uses much less energy than other GSHP systems because it pumps a ‘green’ refrigerant through much shorter tubes inserted into the ground. Most GSHPs pump glycol through 500- to 1000-foot tubes instead of Terraclime’s 100-foot tubes.
Emma Stamas began the tour of their house by showing students the foot-thick walls, explaining super-insulation and triple-glazed windows, and radiant-floor heat. Ed & Emma’s house uses a solar-thermal heating system, which employs roof-top panels and evacuated tubes to heat water, which is then pumped through the radiant floor to heat the house.
Laura Stamas, the Four Rivers teacher who organized the tour had prepared her students well. They arrived knowing all about alternative energy systems, from photovoltaics to ocean-wave power generation.
They also came prepared with questions for Bill about Katywil that were well thought out and required Bill to ponder a bit before responding. One student asked Bill what differences there were between his original vision and Katywil now. Bill responded, saying that there were three things he really wanted initially that have not transpired because of cost or state code: grass roofs, composting toilets, and permeable-surface roads. Another asked Bill why he chose Colrain for the ecovillage. Bill said, “Well, I came to Colrain because of its beauty and stayed because of its people”.