"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
...
IMM wrote:
"Franz Heymann" wrote in message
...
I have been reading about the immense progress being made in fuel cell
technology for more than twenty years now. Why are they not yet in
daily
use in every household?
Why isn't every new and rennovated houses built to superinsulation and
passive solar standards, virtually eliminating a heating system? Not
rocket
science and many examples are all over the world right now, so not airy
fairy ideas at all. It would cost the taxpayer nothing to implement.
Because super insulation is useless without other means to reduce
ventilation losses.
It is not useless. As you know, superinsulated and air-tight homes have
heat recovery and vent in them, rendering your criticism rather silly.
You need things like heat exchanges on ventilation - this gets very
expensive.
As there will be no full heating system this serves as the heating system
too, to top up the heating when it is rarely required. Not expensive at
all, when looking at the total cost of a house.
It is arguable that the energy used to build all this stuff doesn't
get paid back in a sensible timescale.
It is arguable, but an argument lost. And as the topic is emissions etc,
from a global view, this is a way of drastically reducing emissions,
reducing fossil fuel usage and eliminating fuel poverty, besides the
comfortable environment it creates.
Curemnt insulation levels are at around
ten times what they were in say
the 1950's, with windows being perhpas
3 times better.
Insulation was only mandatory in the UK from 1974. The insulation levels
currently are dire, but are being ramped to something acceptable soon. We
need a quantum leap, not staged pussy footing. Superinsulation and passive
solar can be implemented right now
We are reaching teh law of diminishing returns on insulation.
We are reducing the emissions drastically, eliminating fuel poverty, and
reducing millions of damp and cold related diseases, which is what counts.
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