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Brilliant New Jersey Family Develops Nature-Powered Snow-Melting System

Paramus, New Jersey might not seem like Ground Zero for the eco-friendly movement, but perhaps that will change. That’s the site, on an unassuming suburban street, of the Zenesis House, a brilliant piece of green architecture, engineering and smart technology. Designed by real estate agent Asit Parikh, his engineer father Raj and architect Eric Velez, the Zenesis House has no boiler, but produces enough hot water not only for the house itself, but to power their snow-melting system.

Best of all, Mother Nature provides all of the resources for the system, which is run through a combination of solar power, geothermal power and rainwater. “What we are doing is using the environment to battle the environment,” Asit told local paper The Paramus Daily Voice.

The home captures rainwater year round and then uses a solar thermal system to heat the water to 105 degrees, which is stored in multiple insulated tanks, explained Asit, who is a Passive House designer and NYC Real Estate broker.

The water then supplements two ground-source heat pumps developed by Raj to constantly supply 100-degree water to the driveway and walkways, which is distributed via a network of heating pipes underneath the concrete.

The melted snow from the driveway and walkway is recycled back into the system, re-heated, and then used for laundry, irrigation, and toilet water.

The home uses excess electricity produced by its solar photovoltaic system to pump the heated water through the snow melt system, Asit said.

Local news station WPIX had the Parikhs show the house on video, below, where Raj confesses the Zenesis design did create some waste: “I threw the shovels out,” he says.