In article ,
trudogg wrote:

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.