Liz Conroy

Local musician Kate Morrissey - along with some solar-powered amplification - helped out with a recent festival at Jeff Gold’s Georgia Nature Center in Oconee County.

The sun shone brightly Oct. 22, the grand opening day for the Georgia Nature Center in Oconee County. Musicians on the stage had plenty of power from the solar-powered sound system throughout the afternoon. Distant sounds from hunting rifles were inaudible once the music began. Founder Jeff Gold looked pleased with the sunshine and the crowd. Hikers headed toward the forest trail to view Greenbrier Creek, waterfalls and the large organic garden. Other visitors strolled into the greenhouse just behind the stage.

Gold bought 144 acres of wetlands, meadows and forests - called Indigo Nature Preserve - near Farmington with earnings from websites he started in the 1990s. Initially, he just wanted to protect the land from the rapid, sprawling growth occurring throughout the county. Today, he sees the land and his private non-profit as an educational opportunity for school children and others to use as an outdoor classroom. He also offers indoor educational opportunities; inside the greenhouse, Gold propagates endangered carnivorous plants, including numerous pitcher plants and sundews.

Gold’s house - both inside and out - shows how one can go completely “off the grid” and still live in comfort. On the day of the grand opening, he led a group tour of this unique energy-efficient next-generation home. He opened the battery shed doors where solar energy is stored near the house and pointed to several huge batteries lined up on the floor. Their wires were attached to large solar panels carefully positioned outside to catch the sun’s rays. Outside, Gold pointed out large green tubes visible near the ground’s surface. This geothermal “earth tube system” helps keep the house cool, he said. “About 10 feet down, the earth stays cool - about 65 degrees. So with a fan in the house, it pulls air from those tubes and keeps the house at about 70 degrees in the summer,” he said. He added that the air comes in smelling a bit musty, so he plans to install a heat exchanger.

The bottom half of the house was built below-ground to also take advantage of cooler subsurface temperatures. The upper half of the house was constructed like a solarium with a glass ceiling and glass walls facing the forest and stream. “When the leaves are off the trees in winter, the warmth of the sun is stored as a thermal mass in the large [concrete] wall opposite the glass walls,” Gold explained. Gold designed the house to be modest, yet provide a sense of spaciousness. “When you’re inside, the place just feels limitless because of the glass windows and ceilings,” he said. He added that the Planning Commission in Oconee County was supportive of his plan. “Even the building inspector told me he studied alternative designs in school, but had never actually seen it in practice, so he was excited to see this house.”

Gold built much of the house himself, but did subcontract out certain parts of the work, including the woodwork, which was simple, yet elegant. The smooth, light tan floor was constructed entirely from bamboo in the upper half of the house. “Bamboo makes great flooring and is sustainably harvested. It’s an environmentally friendly wood to use,” he said.

In order to remain completely off the grid, Gold knew he’d have to use other forms of energy besides solar power. He listed the wind turbine, wood stove and tank of propane gas as other sources of energy for such uses as cooking and heating. Gold said he researched all of his kitchen appliances in order to purchase only the lowest energy users. For example, the Viking range includes an insulated oven, so the heat from baking never heats up the house. “I’ve become very judicious about turning lights off and using only very low energy appliances,” Gold said. “We do have to run a de-humidifier in the summer, and that has been our biggest energy user.”

For more information, visit www.naturecenter.com, email tours@naturecenter.com, or call 1-800-800-2SUN (reservations required).

Liz Conroy

mikeliz@mybluelight.com