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The greenest house in the world

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    #2
    Cookie_Monster
    Registered Users Posts: 24,480 ✭✭✭✭Cookie_Monster


    What about those Huf houses with the entire roof being solar panels, they must come close to that in terms of payback?

    No idea, have looked at them but probably would need to view / buy brochure to see figures.


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    #3
    Macha
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 6,376 Mod ✭✭✭✭Macha


    Amory Lovins is a genius but a house that big, by definition, is not sustainable - at least not a model for anything we want to be replicated thousands of times over.

    Plus what about his transport energy expenditure?


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    #4
    probe
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,055 ✭✭✭probe


    Cookie_Monster wrote: »
    What about those Huf houses with the entire roof being solar panels, they must come close to that in terms of payback?

    No idea, have looked at them but probably would need to view / buy brochure to see figures.

    The Huf is excellent and has enough insulation for the Irish environment. Factory built, precisely to the nearest mm. Trucked in and installed in a few weeks. No gaps to let the air in. You can customise the design.

    And you avoid having to deal with Irish builders, most of whom seem to me to have no professional training or work ethic.

    http://www.huf-haus.com


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    #5
    probe
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,055 ✭✭✭probe


    taconnol wrote: »
    Amory Lovins is a genius but a house that big, by definition, is not sustainable - at least not a model for anything we want to be replicated thousands of times over.

    It is probably right for the location and the job he is doing. Americans are used to over-sized houses, and if he bringing opinion leaders around the place to show them what can be done, he won't want them walking out of there feeling that (from their perspective) they have visited a tiny cottage. It seems to be made of local materials. OK it is a one-off house in the mountains - but I'd be happy with a one-off state of the art energy efficient house in the middle of St Stephen's Green, open to the public for education purposes. I don't think he is saying that everyone should live in the Rockies in his type of house. You can apply the same or equivalent technology to any size of building in any location.
    Plus what about his transport energy expenditure?
    He can use an electric car, charged up from the solar panels! He's about a four-hour drive to Denver Airport (with its seven runways) - within EEstor driving range - though he will need to recharge it before driving back.

    Paul Allen has a private Boeing 757, and a boat in Antibes that probably uses 400,000 litres of fuel to get to the Caribbean, and another 400,000 litres to get back to his Villa in Cap Ferrat. Few people can afford that, so it is not a material issue for the world. The big issue is billions of people wasting trillions of litres of oil equivalent on planet earth.


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    #6
    Macha
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 6,376 Mod ✭✭✭✭Macha


    probe wrote: »
    It is probably right for the location and the job he is doing. Americans are used to over-sized houses, and if he bringing opinion leaders around the place to show them what can be done, he won't want them walking out of there feeling that (from their perspective) they have visited a tiny cottage. It seems to be made of local materials. OK it is a one-off house in the mountains - but I'd be happy with a one-off state of the art energy efficient house in the middle of St Stephen's Green, open to the public for education purposes. I don't think he is saying that everyone should live in the Rockies in his type of house. You can apply the same or equivalent technology to any size of building in any location.
    Well I think houses like his add to the myth that environmentally expensive and heavy on the eco-bling, tbh. And if he's bringing people to show them, well that's even more transportation fuel! I know what you're saying but I still think there are a few negatives..

    Actually, I worked on a passiv haus design for a block of council houses and believe me, it is a whole other story to building a nice fancy one-off.
    probe wrote: »
    He can use an electric car, charged up from the solar panels! He's about a four-hour drive to Denver Airport (with its seven runways) - within EEstor driving range - though he will need to recharge it before driving back.
    Yeah yeah :pac: I know but still.., not for the masses!


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    #7
    probe
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,055 ✭✭✭probe


    taconnol wrote: »
    Well I think houses like his add to the myth that environmentally expensive and heavy on the eco-bling, tbh. And if he's bringing people to show them, well that's even more transportation fuel! I know what you're saying but I still think there are a few negatives..

    Actually, I worked on a passiv haus design for a block of council houses and believe me, it is a whole other story to building a nice fancy one-off.
    OK you have to manufacture and transport the high quality windows and doors to the location, but I suspect many of the building materials are local, and the good windows and doors will last as long as the house - ie they will be free in terms of energy saving over their lifetime. If his house doesn't consume non-renewable energy, it is almost irrelevant how big it is in terms of environmental day to day running costs.

    If Lovins was living in a condo in Floria - a humid damp area I suspect he wouldn't get half as much done... (aside from paying big electricity bills for air conditioning).

    In my experience people's minds work far more efficiently, and they have more human energy at around 2,000m altitude in continental areas where the humidity is low. Typical humidity around Lovins house will probably be in the 10 to 30%. No mosquitoes either at that altitude! It is also healthier.

    He can basically broadcast a "look at the snow on top of this mountain - where it is -20C outside" - "I have no heating on and it is nice and warm inside, because I have insulated the place properly - you should consider doing the same too" type of message...
    Yeah yeah :pac: I know but still.., not for the masses!
    Time will tell.

    In any event the masses don't commute long distances in cars, for the most part, except in Ireland and other English language speaking countries. There is good public transport in non-English speaking developed countries.

    Flimsy windows, doors and poor insulation are also a speciality of the English speaking zone. As is poor public planning....:(


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