> I've wondered vaguely for a while why you couldn't build a house that
> was basically vacuum sealed and thus needed almost nothing in the way
> of heating and cooling. But it turns out you can, and ground zero for
> research into "passive houses" is the Passivhaus Institut in
> Darmstadt, Germany, when I spent a couple of nights just a few months
> ago. The New York Times reports:
>
> The concept of the passive house, pioneered in this city of
> 140,000 outside Frankfurt, approaches the challenge from a different
> angle. Using ultrathick insulation and complex doors and windows, the
> architect engineers a home encased in an airtight shell, so that
> barely any heat escapes and barely any cold seeps in. That means a
> passive house can be warmed not only by the sun, but also by the heat
> from appliances and even from occupants’ bodies.
>
> ....Decades ago, attempts at creating sealed solar-heated homes
> failed, because of stagnant air and mold. But new passive houses use
> an ingenious central ventilation system. The warm air going out passes
> side by side with clean, cold air coming in, exchanging heat with 90
> percent efficiency.
>
> ....In Germany the added construction costs of passive houses are
> modest and, because of their growing popularity and an ever larger
> array of attractive off-the-shelf components, are shrinking.
>
> But the sophisticated windows and heat-exchange ventilation
> systems needed to make passive houses work properly are not readily
> available in the United States. So the construction of passive houses
> in the United States, at least initially, is likely to entail a higher
> price differential.
>
> Interesting stuff. Old news to some, but new to me, and probably new
> to a few of you as well. More passive houses, please.
>
> Kevin Drum
What an appropriate time to post this.
This is the time in the Northern hemisphere to seek out the sites for a
home ,when the sun is the lowest in the sky,
Any Solar project begins with Insolation. A good site makes Solar
possible.
That's what sealed the deal on the 1/4 acre we bought a few years ago.
Southern Exposure. Search; Micro-Climates.
Good hunting.
--
When the Power of Love,replaces the Love of Power.
that's Evolution.
--
When the Power of Love,replaces the Love of Power.
that's Evolution.
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> was basically vacuum sealed and thus needed almost nothing in the way
> of heating and cooling. But it turns out you can, and ground zero for
> research into "passive houses" is the Passivhaus Institut in
> Darmstadt, Germany, when I spent a couple of nights just a few months
> ago. The New York Times reports:
>
> The concept of the passive house, pioneered in this city of
> 140,000 outside Frankfurt, approaches the challenge from a different
> angle. Using ultrathick insulation and complex doors and windows, the
> architect engineers a home encased in an airtight shell, so that
> barely any heat escapes and barely any cold seeps in. That means a
> passive house can be warmed not only by the sun, but also by the heat
> from appliances and even from occupants’ bodies.
>
> ....Decades ago, attempts at creating sealed solar-heated homes
> failed, because of stagnant air and mold. But new passive houses use
> an ingenious central ventilation system. The warm air going out passes
> side by side with clean, cold air coming in, exchanging heat with 90
> percent efficiency.
>
> ....In Germany the added construction costs of passive houses are
> modest and, because of their growing popularity and an ever larger
> array of attractive off-the-shelf components, are shrinking.
>
> But the sophisticated windows and heat-exchange ventilation
> systems needed to make passive houses work properly are not readily
> available in the United States. So the construction of passive houses
> in the United States, at least initially, is likely to entail a higher
> price differential.
>
> Interesting stuff. Old news to some, but new to me, and probably new
> to a few of you as well. More passive houses, please.
>
> Kevin Drum