San Francisco builder James Pope was compelled to develop a practical relief shelter following Hurricane Katrina, when thousands of trailers provided to victims by FEMA were found to emit formaldehyde fumes. Five years after setting up Green Horizon, the result is the QuickHab prefabricated home designed for simple and rapid transport and construction.

Pope has compared the QuickHab to LEGO due to the ease with which the standardized panels which comprise the house fit together. Being essentially a kit that fits inside a shipping container, once delivered to the disaster zone, it can be put together in mere hours to provide a temporary home for two people. For the medium to long term, the QuickHab is also designed for rapid disassembly and relocation. With the right foundations, Green Horizon says it can be deployed as permanent housing.

Though the QuickHab looks simple, functionally it offers more than mere shelter. Each unit is equipped with a water heater, shower, toilet and kitchenette. There are standardized connections for electricity, water and sewerage. It even comes with a lockable front door, which, despite the obvious practical advantages is a very human touch (imagine offering someone their own door key within hours of their losing their home).

It’s well and good to have connections for essential services, but with nothing to connect them to, a shower or electric hob is useless. The supply of clean drinking water after natural disasters such as hurricanes is one of the most critical short-term responses. It’s to this end that Green Horizon developed its Central Service Unit, which provides both power and clean water to disaster-hit communities.

Each CSU is equipped with a solar array with a capacity of 74 kW. This is complimented by a 12 kW back-up diesel generator and 5 kW hydrogen fuel cell, all of which are wired to the CSU’s 24 deep-cycle batteries. Its water filtration system can provide 19,000 US gallons (72,000 liters) of potable water per day, and it provides an additional 2000 US gallons (7600 liters) of gray-water via a separate system. The CSU can also provides communications, including Wi-Fi internet access, telephone and cable. Also designed for containerized shipping, a CSU, once assembled, can withstand 150-mph winds. The idea is that one CSU provides all incoming services to up to 20 QuickHab homes.

The final piece of the puzzle is Green Horizon’s SFH40. Perhaps best described as a larger, more adaptable version of the QuickHab, the SFH40 includes an air conditioning system, 30-US gallon (114-liter) hot water tank, heat pump, kitchen and bathroom. It can provide housing for up to six people.

Each CSU costs approximately US$200,000, and each QuickHab about $5,000. Green Horizon negotiated a $25 million deal with FEMA at the beginning of the year for the provision of rapid-response housing. In addition to disaster relief, Green Horizon is pitching its self-sustaining housing sytem at mining and fuel prospectors and the military.

http://www.gizmag.com/green-horizon-quickhab/22719/

www.smartplanet.com 

Solar powered disaster support modules can power a small community of survivors. (Image credit: Green Horizon)

Solar power technology could be a lifesaver in the aftermath of the next major disaster (or zombie apocalypse) and sustain life in remotes areas of the world thanks to the entrepreneurship of a California start-up.

After five years of R&D, San Francisco start-up Green Horizon has begun shipping a portable, self-sufficient emergency response system called the CSU (Central Service Unit). The CSU operates without any supporting infrastructure, providing communications, water, and power.

While the genesis of the CSU was disaster relief, the company believes there are also markets for NGOs, mining material exploration, fuel exploration, and military uses.

The CSU is built to ISO specifications for shipping on aircraft, railcars, and trucks, said Green Horizon CFO Bob Booth. It is designed to be set up within minutes, and will endure up to 150 mph winds once it’s leveled. Features include:

• A self-leveling equalization system that works within minutes
• Multiple power sources (5 KW solar, and a 12 KW back-up diesel generator)
• 74,000 watts of power on the inverter and solar system along
• A hydrogen fuel cell technology provides a further 5kW of charge power for the batteries
• Communications system has Wi-Fi, phone, and cable services.
• Power, communications and additional Green Horizon products can be monitored from remote locations
• CSU provides water, power, communications, security monitoring, and grey and brackish water systems
• 19,000 gallon a day water filtration system and a 2,000-gallon per day grey water system

Each CSU costs approximately US$200,000-$220,000. Green Horizon also builds modular housing; each CSU can support about 20 housing units. The homes are designed to be as eco-friendly as possible, and are mostly locally sourced, Booth said.

“When a disaster hits, people can only go without water for certain periods of time. We are trying to provide an environment for people to survive and start recovering. [CSU] will bridge the gap between the time it hit and emergency relief services arrive for support,” Booth said.

Survivors endured days without clean drinking water in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and public debate arose around whether government’s response time was sufficient to provide relief when it was most needed.

Images of Katrina victims clinging to rooftops in desperate need of drinking water are burned into the national consciousness of the United States. Innovative uses of renewable energy could keep that memory from becoming a new reality.

A CSU (Image credit: Green Horizon)

by Energy Matters

The first days after a disaster are critical and if power and clean water are unavailable, it can seriously hamper rescue and cleanup efforts. 
   
The solar, fuel cell and generator powered Central Service Unit (CSU) and QuickHab are designed to provide first responders with all the basic services they require.
   
Manufactured by California-based Green Horizon Manufacturing LLC, the trailer-mounted CSU features eighteen 240 watt solar panels, a 5kW hydrogen fuel cell-based battery charging system and a 12kW generator. Energy is stored in a bank of 24 deep cycle batteries.
 
The CSU’s on-board filtration system is able to produce 19,000 gallons of potable water a day water and 2,000-gallons of waste water can be processed via its grey water system daily.

The unit also supplies wi-fi, internet, phone and cable connectivity.
 An automated self-levelling feature provides the unit with stability sufficient to withstand winds of 220 kilometres per hour.
  
The CSU was designed for use with up to ten of the company’s QuickHab shelters, which can be assembled quickly and easily for immediate use in a disaster situation. Each QuickHab provides accommodation for two people and is equipped with a shower, toilet, hot water service, kitchenette and standard RV hook ups for sewer, power and water.
  
Aside from disaster scenarios, the system could also be used in other situations where  a reliable energy and water filtration system in an off grid situation is required.
 
Green Horizon Manufacturing says it is in the opening stages of a potential five-year, $25 million contract with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to produce its housing systems for emergency first responders.

The company was established after James Pope, a San Francisco builder, learned of thousands of travel trailers provided to shelter the victims of Hurricane Katrina were found to emit excessive levels of toxic formaldehyde. The CSU and QuickHab units are comprised of low VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) or no-VOC materials.

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http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3191

Stockton firm plans trailers that set up fast in emergencies

STOCKTON – Tens of thousands of travel trailers provided to shelter the victims of Hurricane Katrina seemed only to compound the tragedy when many were found to emit excessive levels of toxic formaldehyde.

That failing prompted James Pope, a San Francisco builder and former wood-products manufacturer, to act.

Using a modular building system of his own design, Pope developed emergency-response housing that could fit into a shipping container, be easily transported where needed, then quickly deployed. As envisioned, each unit could provide its own power and clean water, sufficient to operate without external electric or sanitation services for up to two weeks.

That was the start of Green Horizon Manufacturing, which rolled out its prototype shelter at 2009 West Coast Green, an annual conference showcasing green innovation.

Today, that original vision has changed, and Pope plans to dismantle that first prototype.

But using the basic modular components, in particular lightweight wall sections of an aluminum frame and skin over a low-emissions form core, have been adapted to offer a wide variety of buildings that can be easily delivered and quickly erected and as easily removed or reconfigured.

“Our basic product is panels. It’s like a Lego system,” Pope explained.

The panels quickly hook together, edge to edge, with built-in cam locks or latches. Entire homes can be assembled in just minutes or a few hours with little more than a hex key.

The company, which has its manufacturing facility in space leased from the Port of Stockton, is now beginning to find its market, Pope said.

“The difficulty in being a relatively new idea and a new system … it’s next to impossible to get through all the processes,” he explained.

But now that the business is beginning to get some traction, Pope said, “It’s been exciting. We actually have real sales, and we have a real product we are selling.

Green Horizon is on the Federal Supply Schedule maintained by the General Services Administration, meaning it has been evaluated by the agency on price, performance, financial and technical capability and other regulatory compliance.

It is also with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, whose Joint Housing Solutions Group evaluates temporary housing for use in a disaster, looking at adaptability, livability, speed of deployment and cost.

Pope said Green Horizon is in the opening stages of a potential five-year, $25 million contract with FEMA to produce a system of housing for emergency first responders.

His approach involves a truck-trailer-sized central support unit that provides power, water and communications connections for up to 10 “quick hab” housing units, each sleeping two people and containing a small kitchen and bathroom unit.

The prototype central unit features a tilting outside wall of solar panels, a diesel generator and a hydrogen fuel cell, all feeding a bed of 24 batteries, to provide electric power. Onboard filtration and reverse-osmosis systems allow it to take water from a pond, lake or bay to supply its users. And a telescoping satellite antenna and security camera, provide telephone and cable connections.

“It’s kind of fun,” Pope said as he recalled designing the whole thing in his head before sitting down at a drawing board.

“It’s every kid’s dream to be able to play with this kind of stuff and make it work,” he said with a grin.

The central unit prototype is due for final FEMA testing in March.

Green Horizon technology has some exotic applications, such as use in military training facilities, where buildings and walls can be easily rearranged to keep trainees guessing what they will find around the next corner or even if there is a corner.

There are more mundane uses as well.

“One of the biggest areas we hope will be is offices and break rooms in factories,” Pope said.

But here again, the ability to quickly move or alter the building space is a big selling point.

Pope said one of his small, simple buildings might cost $4,000 to $5,000. Larger modular homes, suitable for housing disaster victim families for 18 to 36 months, might go for $42,000 to $100,000, depending on how they are equipped.

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In the midst of the tragedy that unfolded after Hurricane Katrina hit land Aug. 29, 2005, a disaster relief organization was born that has evolved into an environmentally friendly and globally reaching housing and commercial facility company with a manufacturing center at the Port of Stockton.

“An entire house can be bought for less than $12,000 and erected in less than four hours,” said James Pope, president and chief executive officer of Green Horizon Manufacturing LLC.

The company uses a patented panel system to create a variety of products, from guard towers and specialty military products to responder camps for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and single-family homes for underprivileged people in struggling countries.

State and local governments, FEMA, the military, and law enforcement agencies are all regular customers of Green Horizon Manufacturing LLC. The firm recently helped Electric Vehicle International set up the panels for offices in the Stockton electric truck manufacturer’s facility.

The company’s residential structures, composed of almost entirely recyclable materials, employ a power system of solar panels, rechargeable batteries, and clean-burning propane. The units are entirely self-sufficient and require no connection to water or utilities.

The company defined its focus in a marketing brochure: “Imagine an environmentally responsible home that can fit inside a shipping container, be transported anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice, and remain completely self-sufficient without the need for any external infrastructure.”

In addition to its distinctive panel construction and compactable design, Green Horizon Manufacturing LLC’s creations also boast the lowest volatile organic compound, or VOC, emissions of any product of its type.

“In order to get a FEMA contract, we had to meet the extremely high standards of formaldehyde VOC content,” said Pope. “They are requiring 16 parts per billion of VOC content in the products. Our products have been made to 5 parts per billion. Put that in perspective – a coffeemaker puts out 27 parts per billion, so our entire house puts out 5 parts per billion.”

The standard single-family home model is a 510-square-foot unit designed to accommodate up to six people. It includes smoke detectors, a heating and cooling system, hardwood floors, a refrigerator, sink, and microwave, among other amenities.

The two-bedroom, one-bath layout also comes equipped with enough food, water, bedding, and personal hygiene supplies for approximately a week.

Four years ago, the San Francisco-based business expanded its reach to Rough and Ready Island at the Port of Stockton by moving into an 80,000-square-foot manufacturing facility.

Green Horizons officials have applied for LEED Platinum and Energy Star certifications for the manufacturing facility, and they take pride in that the facility was built with some of the same environmentally friendly practices that the company’s products embody.

The manufacturing hub is situated at the center of four major freeways, two transcontinental railroads, and a regional airport, and officials plan to take full advantage of the Port expansion that includes barge service to the Port of Oakland. This location, as well as an additional 360,000 square feet under contract, guarantees that the company can build and store a large inventory, which can be shipped all over the country and around the world.

“We just signed agreements with the country of Malaysia, the country of Indonesia, and the country of Singapore,” Pope said. “We will be traveling to Malaysia on April 9 and 10. I will be giving a speech to the Malaysian people, and the prime minister will be at the ceremony signing between our company and the country of Malaysia.”

Pope is excited about the rapid overseas expansion of his company and the possibility of helping the plight of countless people around the world – a principle that has been at the core of Green Horizon Manufacturing LLC since its inception.

“Every day is way over my pay grade,” he said of the joy he feels working at Green Horizon.

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