Oberlin Alum Creates an Energy-Giving House

by JOESTINE CON-UI Powered by the Sun: "Trail Magic" house on E. College St. uses a variety of innovations to achieve energy neutrality and sustainability.

More often than not, homes reflect some aspect of their owners. So if an environmentalist like Carl McDaniel, OC ’64, moves in next door, you can bet his new house will be a 2,500-square foot, solar-powered and hyper-insulated eco-topia.

“Trail Magic,” as McDaniel and his wife Mary call the house, is climate-neutral and positive-energy building. In layman’s terms, its operation does not release greenhouse gases, and in fact produces more energy — all from sunshine — than it consumes.

The McDaniels had entertained the idea of building an energy-neutral home for years, and by chance discovered the perfect site a mile from downtown.

McDaniel spent over 30 years as a biology professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, teaching interdisciplinary environmental science courses.

Now back in Oberlin, McDaniel has become involved in environmental affairs at the College and currently serves as chair of EnviroAlums, an alumni group that champions Oberlin’s sustainability initiatives.

What makes the house energy-neutral? Over half of the energy is gained through passive design, meaning that the house runs without human or electronic help. In Trail Magic this includes the thick, insulated walls and the carefully-placed windows. For the McDaniels’ home, these windows are a crucial part of the design — three-quarters of them dot the south wall to maximize winter sun exposure, and strategic placement allows them to capture light throughout the day.

Solar panels and a solar water heater provide the remaining energy, along with a wood stove on very cold days. Other notable design features include an open-air stairway that allows the flow of light and fresh air and an outdoor pond for aquaculture and geothermal temperature regulation.

Thanks to these features, the home’s excess electricity is fed back into the grid, and the house actually earns money from the electric company.

But such features are only one part of creating an energy-positive house.

“The most important design decision anybody can make is sizing: make the building as small as possible,” McDaniel explains, noting a trade-off the couple weighed in building Trail Magic.

“Every time you make it bigger, you use more resources. You need more heat and have more to replace.”

The challenge lies in balancing the architectural, economic and environmental benefits of the design. For example, the numerous windows are aesthetically pleasing and allow natural light and heat to enter the house, but are also expensive. Similarly, decreasing room size reduces energy consumption and heat loss, but smaller spaces make the house ill equipped to entertain lots of people.

McDaniel feels, however, that the house limits extras, not necessities. “We in the U.S. are totally spoiled. We want whatever we want, whenever we want it. The post-carbon world isn’t going to work that way,” he said. “Behavior is important. What we have are a lot of bad habits that result in a lot of waste.”

The McDaniels’ low-impact lifestyle compounds the benefits of Trail Magic’s passive design. They consciously use little electricity or hot water and encourage guests to do the same. Personal choice, McDaniel emphasizes, has been of prime importance in achieving climate neutrality in their home.

McDaniel stressed that the most important factors in creating an energy-positive home — passive design and eco-conscious decision-making — are things that almost anyone can replicate. He maintained that these techniques are economically feasible and should be incorporated into standard building practices; Trail Magic cost the same to build as a traditional quality home in the area, yet is expected to have a quarter of the lifetime ecological footprint.

Though not all households have their own forest to supply wood for construction or the funds for expensive metal roofing, the basic design concepts can be applied to new and existing homes: Take advantage of natural light and heat. Insulate. And once you move in, reduce consumption.

“We’re messengers. Messengers aren’t important; people usually shoot the messenger,” McDaniel said, chuckling. “We built this because we wanted to say, we can do it. Some people say we need coal. And I say, look what we did here: we used sunshine, we didn’t use fossil fuels.”

Added McDaniel, “The College can do this. They squandered a decade on achieving climate neutrality.”

During his home’s first year of operation, McDaniel has, indeed, played the role of the messenger: Trail Magic is not just a residence, but also an educational site. Students and building professionals alike have visited to study the house. It is also one of the stops on the upcoming Ohio Solar Tour, an event designed to promote energy conservation in residential homes.

While the McDaniels are pleased with the operational success of their endeavor, they are clearly living their dream as well. The name Trail Magic refers to the generosity and transformative experience hikers experience on the Appalachian Trail.

“Trail Magic is where you don’t know how you’re going to do, but you have a goal,” explained McDaniel. “You have a dream, and you live that dream every day.”

Trail Magic, located at 495 East College St., will have an open house on Oct. 4, from noon to 4 p.m.