First Commissioned Home Rainwater System in Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI, May 03, 2017 --(PR.com)-- Urban Energy Works announces the commissioning of its first rainwater recycling system at the 801 Wildt St. townhomes. The system will save its homeowners an average of $2,200 per year, replacing city water for toilets, laundry and irrigation with roof-collected rainwater. Those uses add up to over 100,000 gallons a year. Water management was wholly integrated into its design, including roof materials (metal and glass), integrated low-maintenance filtration systems and underground tanks totaling 3000 gallons.

The rainwater recycling system adds to the other environmental achievements of the homes. Large raingardens capture the site’s storm runoff, including its own driveway as well as discharge from its uphill neighbor’s roof. One foot thick, R-60 insulated walls, as well as 14kW of solar photovoltaic panels per home allow more annual energy to be generated than consumed. This means that home energy bills only contain the minimum “connection” fee and no consumption fee.

Other design features of the homes include sound isolation that virtually eliminates noise from a train that runs 50 feet from the property, and predominant use of sustainable materials.

Urban Energy Works (UEW) is an architectural design studio, founded in 2010 by UM Alumni. With offices in Ann Arbor, MI and Athens, Greece, UEW focuses on integrating design with client’s economic, sustainability and other complex needs, whether residential or commercial scale.