GreenD
National Hazard
Posts: 623
Registered: 30-3-2011
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Mood: Not really high anymore
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Net-Zero buildings
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=net-zero-en...
So its not a pipe-dream!
There are "net-zero" buildings popping up, although insignificant in the large population of buildings - these are constructed to create exactly
enough energy to power the entire complex, if not more.
In times of larger need, they will pull from the grid, but on downtime, they will give back, hence "net" zero buildings.
Expensive, complex, and the future!
ʃ Ψ*Ψ
Keepin' it real.
Check out my new collaborated site: MNMLimpact.com
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Vogelzang
Banned
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http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/01/global_warming_s...
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peach
Bon Vivant
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Being from Europe, I have been aware of the Passive House idea of building homes for a good while.
However, quite to the contrary, many homes in the UK a long way from it. Many lack any form of insulation in the walls and a common theme among UK
builders to provide ventilation is to simply leave air bricks (holes) in the wall. I have encountered people who do not seem to get the idea of
building airtight houses and ventilating with air conditioning / heat recovery, instead insisting on this 'knock holes' approach being fine. Or even
condemming the idea of airtight as some kind of fad that will result in unsolvable rot problems (important to note that UK houses, at present, do not
often feature any form of air conditioning).
Consider that a boiler in the UK outputs about 28,000W of power and will be on for a significant percentage of the year, versus the 15w a light bulb
uses.
There is a guy in the US, who builds and remodels homes, called Matt. He uploads videos to youtube on a frequent basis. Whilst many of them are not
intended to be ideal representations of a Passive House, a lot of what he does is aimed at getting closer to them. I think the US is actually better
positioned to implement the Passive House idea, as buildings there more commonly feature stud walls and more of you already have air conditioning. In
the UK, the lack of air con, and the difficulty of installing it in solid clay brick buildings, is going to stand in the way.
It cascades down as well, in that, in the US, you will have a much broader skill base of air con engineers and better competition. Here, there are not
all that many people who will fit it to residential properties.
I like Matt's videos because he doesn't do crazy experiments with peoples' homes, as some of the green building people do. It is proven technology.
And he tries to balance the cost versus return realistically.
<iframe sandbox width="640" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/HXw8eCKG0g0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<iframe sandbox width="640" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9t6uQBj3cUk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<iframe sandbox width="640" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hxK60iGX86I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
[Edited on 10-3-2012 by peach]
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danielleB
Harmless
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Energy bills are a pain, but what if they could be drastically lowered or eradicated altogether? A growing number of “net-zero” homes, or
properties that use practically no power from utilities, are being constructed. <a title="More builders crafting net-zero homes"
href="http://personalmoneynetwork.com/moneyblog/2012/03/09/net-zero-homes/">More builders crafting net-zero homes</a>. Going net zero is
still a bit outside the expectations of the average home buyer, and outside the experience of the average home builder. But net zero homes, which
produce as much energy as they use over the course of the year, offer valuable lessons.
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Morgan
International Hazard
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I have been looking for a mattress and I can't believe the incredible smell from new foam mattresses. So I started to read about polyurethane. It and
along with it the fire retardants makes me wonder why anyone would want to sleep on so many chemicals let along surround yourself in a house made of
it.
"EBN contacted several builders and foam industry professionals, and found that most were unwilling to be quoted on an issue they deemed sensitive and
still-unfolding. One leading green remodeler offered this perspective: “I have stopped using SPF in any of my projects at this point. I simply
can’t and won’t jeopardize my clients’ health and the reputation of my company by using building materials with the emissions profile of SPF.”
http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2011/5/3/EPA-T...
http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/qa-spotlight/...
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/isocyanates/index.html
"The first night of sleeping on our new high end latex foam layered mattress, I awoke with a headache and nausea and noticed a horrible sickly sweet
smell that permeated the mattress, the room and even penetrated the other rooms in the house. After calling the salesman(who said mine was the first
complaint of mattress odor) he recommended that we air it for a few days."
"I have a firm mattress and have tried 2 brands of memory foam toppers. One brand was very expensive and the second was a cheaper one. Both had very
bad smells and the directions said to air them out for a few days and I did. The smells never went away and I tried sleeping on them after a week. The
more expensive brand had a worse smell and made me sick with headaches from the first night. A few months later I tried with the cheaper one and after
airing it out it was still smelly. Now after a month I have been getting bad headaches and bad dreams. This morning I am removing it and never going
to try memory foam again despite it being very comfortable."
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Can-Your-Mattress-Kill-You-76...
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