Pangea BiotectureOff-grid systemsWater · Power · Waste · ComfortSheet S-100

Every building is its own utility.

The systems are what go into the structural shell to make a building livable: water, power, wastewater treatment, heating and cooling. We design and build them to replace or back up conventional utilities, so the building is more secure, healthier and cheaper to run.

Talk to us about systems
WINTER SNOW WINTER SOLSTICE · 30° THERMAL MASS GREYWATERPLANTER BLACKWATER CELL CISTERN EARTH BERM SOLAR PV BATTERY ← SOUTH NORTH → COOLING TUBE · CLOSED COOL EARTH LOW SUN ENTERS · THERMAL MASS STORES HEAT
Section S-100. One building, four systems, one year at 36.4° N. Pick a system to see it on its own.
01The systems

Four systems, one building.

Use one, some or all of them, in a new building or added to one you already own.

  1. P-300

    Water

    Catch rain and snowmelt, store it in cisterns, filter it to drinking quality, and use each drop four times.

    Catch water
  2. E-200

    Electricity

    Sun (and wind, micro hydro or biodiesel) stored in batteries and delivered to ordinary outlets through a pre-packaged power system.

    Electricity
  3. W-400

    Wastewater

    A wetland-style treatment loop brought indoors: greywater is cleaned by planted cells inside the building, blackwater in a contained cell outside.

    Wastewater
  4. M-500

    Heating + cooling

    Comfortable temperatures all year from the sun and the earth, with no fossil fuels.

    Heating + cooling
02Water loop

Every gallon, used four times.

Clean, grey and black water each run on their own loop. Water caught from the sky is drunk and washed with, then waters food plants indoors, then flushes the toilet, then waters the landscape outside. Nothing leaves the site untreated.

P-300 Catch water   W-400 Wastewater

Schematic P-1: one gallon of water, used four times Rain and snowmelt run off the roof into a cistern, are filtered to drinking quality and used at the kitchen and bath. The greywater drains through a planted indoor treatment cell that grows food, is reused to flush the toilet, and the blackwater goes to a contained outdoor treatment cell that waters landscape plants. 01Roofrain + snowmelt 02Cisternstored in the berm 03Filterdrinking quality 04Kitchen + bathsinks, shower 05Greywater cellplanted, grows food 06Toiletflushed with greywater 07Blackwater cellcontained, outdoors 08Landscapetrees + shrubs USES PER GALLON 1 · DRINK, COOK, WASH 2 · WATER FOOD PLANTS 3 · FLUSH TOILET 4 · WATER LANDSCAPE
Schematic P-1. Clean, grey and black water each run on their own loop. The indoor planter cleans greywater while growing food; nothing leaves the site untreated.
03New or existing

Built in from the start, or added later.

Every system can run with an automated conventional backup: a grid tie or generator for power, a well or municipal inter-tie for water, conventional plumbing behind the treatment loop. You get independence without giving up a safety net.

Every system can also be added to an existing conventional building as a renovation. The most sustainable building is the one already standing, and a retrofit can take it most of the way to independent.

Renovations and retrofits →

Water4×uses for every gallon caught
Fuel0fossil fuel needed for heating and cooling
BackupAutoconventional backup on every system
04Why

Why build off-grid.

Off-grid is not a cure-all, and there are good choices to make wherever you live. These are the reasons our clients give most.

  1. 01Little or no utility bills

    Power, water and sewer are the biggest running costs of a home. Make your own and most of them go away.

  2. 02Security

    When the grid goes down, the building keeps its power, water and heat.

  3. 03Build where the site is best

    No utility lines to reach means the house can sit in the best spot on the land, however far from the road.

  4. 04Stewardship

    When you are responsible for your own resources, you see where they come from and how much you use.

  5. 05A smaller footprint

    Reusing greywater, heating with the sun and running on renewable power cut the building’s footprint at the source.

  6. 06Producers, not only consumers

    Greywater planters grow food indoors, all year, from water that would otherwise go down the drain.

  7. 07Any size, any style

    From a studio or ADU to a full family home, the same systems scale to the building.

  8. 08Comfort and health

    Steady temperatures, daylight and fresh air make these buildings comfortable to live in, physically and psychologically.

05 · Contact

Start with the site.

Tell us where it is and what you want the building to do. We design and build across the country and around the world.

Start a project
Call575-218-5583Emailinfo@pangeabuild.comMailPO Box 495, Taos, NM 87571