How much water will your garden need this year? This handy guide from Urban Farmer Store (a Bay Area HOG distributor) breaks down the equation for you. Their sample features a 10×10 veggie garden watered with drip irrigation in zone 1. Click here or on the image below to start calculating!
And for the next question: why not install a HOG system to irrigate your garden with captured rainwater!? We’re giving out virtual good citizen awards for conserving water with a drought on…
2013 in Review
Thank you for helping make 2013 an eventful and productive year for us at Rainwater HOG! From magazine-worthy green home renovations to a clever green roof irrigation system for a home in the Chicago suburbs, and from a school garden in New Jersey to our inclusion in TEAM ASUNM’s SHADE Home design at the Solar Decathlon 2013, we’ve had an exciting year!
“The Rainwater HOG makes it easy to commit to a lifestyle of rationalized use and conservation. The system boasts negligible costs, simple technology, and immediate results.“
-Beverly Maloney-Fischback, CEO, Founder and Publisher of Organic Spa Magazine
The HOGs are a great product and a very clever design. With only a narrow gap along the side of my house which would have otherwise been unable, the installation of the tanks there has been of real benefit. The post-sale care and service of the HOG team has been fantastic and I could not be happier with this product.
– Ian Goff, homeowner Sydney, Australia
I was looking for a system that would be able to sit as flat against the wall as possible, which could easily form and array and where the integrity of the connectors was paramount.
– Michael Ruehle, GREENHeart Builders, Inc. on why he chose HOG tanks for the Brietzke install
“This is an awesome addition to our school garden!”
– Jack Griffith, Egg Harbor City Community School (EHCCS) principal, on two Rainwater HOG tanks for the edible school garden.
A Novel Collection System in Maui: From Air Conditioner Drip to Garden Water
Warren Jessop of Maui Catchment Service has designed and installed a HOG water catchment system for air conditioning condensation – a use that demonstrates the multi-functional adaptability of the tanks.
“If you have plants around the building, why not water them with the AC condensate?” asks Jessop, who was looking to move water from a potential problem spot to “where it could do some good” hydrating thirsty plants with his pressurized (non-gravitational) HOG install.
Jessop’s client, Volcano Maui Group, LLC owns a three-level commercial office building in Lahaina, Maui. A basement-level private parking lot is available for tenants. The condensation generated by building’s AC systems (12 in total) is collected and discharged via one main pipe into in a rain drainage sump located below the basement parking lot, where the presence of the water presents various maintenance issues.
The solution? Plumb the AC collection pipe to a four-HOG system, and use a pump to redistribute the water via pipes and drip irrigation to the yellow hibiscus, red ginger, multi-colored crotons, night-blooming jasmine and other plants growing outside in the gardens of the exterior parking lots.
The catchment system is installed around a central elevator shaft, the location of which made the narrow HOG tanks the best choice for the job. This HOG installation collects water for distribution without restricting driver access or maneuverability in the underground parking lot.
“Rainwater HOG [tanks] make it easier to catch the water without taking up a lot of space,” says Warren Jessop, who sees the HOG air conditioning catchment system as a replicable model for other commercial buildings.
The ‘primary port’ tank (shown above) serves as the collection point from which the air conditioning water is dispersed across the four-unit system, as well as the distribution point from which the water is pumped out.
“The tanks are drip free,” reports Jessop, who installed a 5′ tall 3/4″ PVC pipe inside the ‘primary port’ tank which sends out the water with the help of a pump. It is accessed via a piggy-back float switch in the tank that sends irrigation water out automatically once the reservoir reaches a certain level. Pipes along the ceiling lead the water to a drip-irrigation system for the outdoor vegetation.
Transforming unwanted air-conditioning waste into water-savings is just one out-of-the-box (or maybe we should say, around-the-box) way that HOGs, with the guidance of an educated systems-installer, can save the day.
Maui Catchment sourced the four HOG tanks from Green Builders Depot.
Water-centric Green Design News
After a historic dry stretch here in California, the skies are full of sweet, sweet rain. Almost as full as our October/November newsletter, brimming with two months worth of water news! We check in with some familiar folks: following Team ASUNM to Irvine, California as they compete in the Solar Decathlon, and visiting a GREENheart Building installation in the Chicago suburbs that showcases the versatility of our HOG tanks in the hands of an experienced builder.
Two separate reports highlight water’s value and risks to the U.S. water system from aging infrastructure to water-guzzling energy production methods. We’re back to the world of whimsy, and clever design with Lampbrella, featured in this month’s B.U.G. Design section. Come on and dive in, the water’s fine!
GREENheart Buildings Inc. Designs a Water Capture System for a Residential Green Roof
What happens when homeowners want to feed a green-roof with harvested rainwater, but their downspouts and gutters head straight down to the ground? Well, the Alexander/Fuoss family called in Michael Ruehle of GREENheart Buildings Inc. to design an ingenious (and partially hidden) HOG system to capture rainwater and pump it back up to the rooftop garden. Take a photo tour with us!
Eight HOG tanks have been installed at the Alexander/Fuoss residence in the suburbs of Chicago. The front of the house, though, shows no sign of the owners’ water-wise installation.
It’s only at the back of the house, behind the garage, that we see the first array of four HOGs that will be used for soaker hose irrigation of the garden. The mounting bar has been extended should the family decide to add two more HOG tanks to this modular unit.
The backyard garden, with newly planted vegetation, holds secrets of its own. Four tanks are installed underneath the deck. Captured rainwater heads north with an assist from a gravity feed pump to water the green roof above.
The HOG tanks are under the deck and stairs. Concealed behind the green plant at right is a clear hose with a screen insert that allows the owner to see the water level in the HOGs.
GREENheart Buildings has made a complicated solution look simple. We’re especially impressed with the installation that feeds this rooftop garden. Water is captured from about 1/4 of the total roof area, fed to four concealed HOG tanks under the deck, and pumped back up to irrigate the three garden areas on the roof.
Highlights, for us, from the Alexander/Fuoss residential install include:
1)This ingenious install of HOG tanks includes two separate modular set-ups for one home. One system is installed horizontally, the other vertically – a nice display of what is one Rainwater HOG’s primary strengths in the rainwater tank market, a solid, elegant design that allows for multi-purpose, modular installs in tight space.
2) Basic common sense features for increased ease of use for the owners, like a manual timer pump and the screen insert for checking HOG water levels. It’s this kind of attention to detail that distinguishes a high-level installation.
For example, on his choice of pumps, Michael Ruehle explains, “A simple manual timer was chosen to allow the owner to set the pump to run for 5 to 10 minutes when the green roof actually needed irrigation, and then shut off. The owner checks the water level before running it. An automatic scheduled timer was ruled out because a) the plants might not need watering and b) it would be difficult to ensure that the pump wouldn’t run when the HOGs are dry.”
image via Amy Vaughn/U.S. Department of Energy
TEAM ASUNM Brings their SHADE Home to the Solar Decathlon 2013
After scoring high marks at The Solar Decathlon 2013 (and receiving 6th place in engineering), the takeaway for Team ASUNM is, not unexpectedly, increased confidence in their green building skills and knowledge. Through designing and building their net zero-energy home SHADE, the students of Arizona State University and the University of New Mexico have a hard-won knowledge and appreciation of innovative building techniques to prepare them for careers as green building professionals.
Thanks for taking HOG along for the ride, Team ASUNM!
After the Solar Decathlon, SHADE will travel to Albuquerque and Santa Fe, where it will be showcased at the New Mexico state capitol for six months. It will then return to Phoenix, Arizona, where it will stay for three years as a part of the city’s Phoenix Renews development plan. The home will be a centrally located model for sustainable living in a developing neighborhood where other houses will be encouraged to go green.
Water-centric Green Design News
We’re hitting the books this September with a filled-to-the-brim back to school edition of The Whole HOG. Three stand-out school installations, from Nundah State School, the Dalton School, and Omaha North High School, demonstrate how valuable HOG tanks can be in the classroom – indoors or outdoors.
We’re catching up with Team ASUNM as they prepare their SHADE home to compete in the Solar Decathlon 2013. They’re bringing six HOG tanks with them. And in our B.U.G. Design section, we take a closer look at the winning Illawarra Flame House (from an Australian team) in the China 2013 Solar Decathlon. Fellow Aussies and HOG founders, Sally and Simon Dominguez, say “Good on you, mates!”
Speaking of green student design competitions, registration for the 2013 Campus Rainworks Challenge has begun! Check out our HOG giveaway for competing student teams.
Omaha North High School II Omaha, Nebraska II USA
The high school students at Omaha North installed their HOGs themselves, learning the practicalities of rainwater catchment and reuse, and irrigating their school garden.
“The Rainwater HOGs fit perfectly,” said Lee Kallstrom, Engineering Technologies Department at the time of the installation. Two years later he reports, “I’m still extremely happy with your product.”
Year of Install: 2011
Installation Stats Omaha North magnet high school built a LEED silver four-story addition and a two-story greenhouse. Two HOG tanks are in the wedge between the new and old building collecting rainwater for landscape irrigation, and one waters plants in the greenhouse. “I can water the entire place in 5 minutes when I turn the HOG on,” says Lee Kallstrom from the Engineering Technologies department.
Science, engineering and technology are the focus at Omaha North magnet high school in suburban Omaha, Nebraska. With students doing the hands-on installation themselves, they learn practical construction techniques alongside the sustainability principles taught in the technical curriculum and illustrated by the building and greenhouse.
Where is it now? The school, which earned a silver certification for its sustainable addition, is the first in Nebraska to be certified under the LEED for Schools system rating.
By building green, Omaha North H.S. reduced its energy use by 20% and its potable water consumption (with low-flow sinks, dual-flush toilets, and rainwater tanks) by 43%.
In the winter of 2012, “the wedge” platform gave way in -20ºF temperatures. Students rebuilt in the spring (at a height of 24 inches to allow the water to drain completely from the tanks) and took the extra security measure of strapping the two HOG tanks to the building.
Rainlab at Dalton School II Manhattan, New York II USA
Who needs a play pool when you can mount running water on a wall?! In an innovative way to integrate motor skills, learning and pure play, HOGs on the roof spill water down into a maze of pipes and valves that delights all ages.
“For kids this age, it’s all about interactivity and exploration,” says Will Hopkins, the Dalton School Science Department chairman.
Year of Install: 2012
Installation Stats: The interactive rooftop science classroom at Manhattan prep school for First Program students (grades K-3) has two orange HOGs installed horizontally to capture rainwater from an adjacent roof.
HOG Skills: The stormwater moves down the wall through a series of pipes, paddles and wheels and collects in removable buckets used to water plants. When it rains, the wheels and beams move on their own, even when the tank valves are shut off. Planters, a cold frame, a compost bin, and solar panels complete the 16-foot square rooftop “RainLab.”
Where is it now? Science lessons in the rooftop classroom are an interactive experience for young students. With the water wall demonstrating stormwater capture, planters, solar panels, and wind and weather elements, the small Dalton School rooftop is a kid-friendly introduction to sustainable practices. Liz Pulver, landscape architect from Town and Garden Ltd. and designer of the Rainlab, does periodic maintenance on the structure to ensure it’s continued smooth running.
Nundah State School II Brisbane, Queensland II Australia
104 HOGs in the school colors hold 5,700 gallons for irrigation, toilet flush…and teach students about gravity and water pressure!
Yellow and black HOGs mounted on the library peek out from behind the foliage at Nundah State School.
Year of Install: 2007
Installation Stats: 114 HOGS are grouped around the library building to capture water from each downspout. Made to order in the school colors of yellow and black, the tanks are installed at different elevations on different sides of the building.
Annual Water Capture: 5,700 gallons
HOG Skills: The different elevations demonstrate how a gravity feed system affects water pressure (higher elevation + full tank = maximum pressure). The Nundah library uses ultra-low-flush Caroma toilets and flushing these with HOGS saves the school more than 28,000 gallons of water per year.
Where is it Now? Six years later, our modular rainwater catchment system continues to capture rainwater, flush toilets, and teach the next wave of students.
The Whole HOG 