It’s Time to Change How We Build Our Homes
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- Опубліковано 20 вер 2024
- Before we had powerful heaters and air conditioners, people built houses to maintain certain temperatures because it was the only option they had. Today, architects and designers are turning back to these old techniques because it’s an incredibly doable way to reduce the energy load of a house and significantly lower carbon emissions. Seeker talks to passive house architects and energy experts to find out how we can build houses in a smarter fashion with the environment in mind.
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Houses used to be built with temperature as the top priority. Before we had energy-guzzling mechanical systems to change the temperature to whatever we wanted, builders had to use natural forces and clever engineering. This meant positioning homes to capture the sun’s heat in the winter or to direct a cool breeze through it in the summer. Builders carefully insulated and sealed homes. The locations and sizes of doorways, windows, and the overall design of the house all maximized temperature control.
Houses were basically thermal batteries - storing heat in case it’s needed later. But air conditioners and heaters take so much energy to work. In fact, more than half of the average household’s energy consumption is used for heating and air conditioning. And this energy is a huge chunk of the five hundred sixty million tons of carbon dioxide that American homes generate each year.
But what if we built homes so that they didn’t need tons of power to be constantly heated and cooled? If we don’t have to rely on our machines, we aren’t putting those damaging carbon emissions out into the atmosphere. The technology has been getting more energy efficient over time - think about those lightbulbs, and double-paned windows, and better insulation - we’ve already improved so much. But homes are a lot bigger than they used to be and expanding the square footage is wiping out the gains that we’ve made.
The other benefit of building an energy-efficient house is that you’re protecting against losing all temperature control if the power grid goes out. So if there’s a storm or overuse of electricity and the power goes out, you don’t immediately lose all your hot or cold air. This can be life-saving in an emergency. Architects like Siena Shaw are building with these techniques to bring a household’s energy demand down by 80% or more.
#seeker #science #sustainability #greenarchitecture #thermalbattery #cleanenergy, #conservation #ecosystems #impactofeverything #cardondioxide
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Read More:
What Is Passive House?
“Passive House (Passivhaus) represents today’s highest energy standard for building performance with the promise of reducing the operational energy consumption of buildings by up to 75% in California, while providing superior comfort and extreme indoor air quality - all with minimal additional upfront investment.”
passivehouseca...
How Old Houses Were Built To Minimize Heat In The Summer
“Builders years ago built homes with large overhangs so the sun would not enter windows during the hottest part of the day. You don't see generous overhangs in new homes all too often. This is an example of a building practice that's going from history to legend to myth.”
www.washington...
Building Science for Homeowners - By Allison Bailes
“Energy Vanguard’s mission is to turn houses into high performance homes. We do this by: teaching building science to professionals and homeowners, helping home energy raters succeed, designing high-performance heating, ventilating, & air conditioning systems, helping manufacturers, government agencies, and other businesses with building science research projects.”
www.energyvang...
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As someone who grew up above the Arctic Circle, clicking on the latest Seeker video and realizing it's about the *extremely* basic concept of insulation feels like the equivalent of going to a uni math course and having a prof painstakingly explain this newfangled scientific discovery that one plus one is, in fact, generally and roughly speaking, two. "But what about fresh air?" Christ alive.
yea agree, this felt like a fluff piece, especially the way she ended it by saying she has a bunch of new ideas for how she can make her house more efficient, there were literally no useable ideas in this for the everyday person.
For a few thousand more I super insulated my home. It uses less than 300 gallons of propane to heat all winter in a place where 20F is common in the winter. It has large south windows that gather in huge amounts of light and warmth in the winter. In the mid day the house can heat up to 80F or higher. A lot of heat is absorbed into the floor, and radiates out at night. Overhangs keep the windows from gaining heat in the summer.
20 F Feels warm on a winter day here in Minnesota.
Mate I just have to look up what 20f was and it's only -7c lol.
where I live if it's that warm we don't even turn on the heat until it's -10 out and that is like 14f.
A cold winter day for us is -30c or for you -22f and the average winter temp is -20c or -4c
Lol, didn't realise it was a competition about how cold your house got. Like, nobody asked.
Wow did america find out about insulation?
I can't even afford to make my house livable.
@@CompactDisc7227 Most people can't but most people should be able to. I was homeless for 20 years. Now I live in a house with leaks in the roof and holes in the floor.
I want to say congratulations on your home Jeremy. Keep working to your goals.
@@CompactDisc7227 Most people are too in debt with the college debt. Funny, you get a degree to essentially owe more people & not afford what was promised to you.
Somehow I feel not much was actually said even though the video is rather short....
* How big is that house?
* How many rooms does it have?
* How much did it cost to build/modify?
* How do emissions compare to traditional buildings of similar size?
The fact _none_ of this questions were addressed makes it feel like a cheap misdirected ad...
If it would be a school project: *D-*
I live in a 10 story passive apartment building in Sweden. You can build them big if you want to.
Google it
PasivHaus has been around for like 60 years, plenty of info online, you can use the internet for more then just trolling. No scam here lol
More of Niba, please. I really like her cool and calming presentation style.
Yes, if you live in a shed you'll cut you heating and cooling bills
a house is a big shed
This is what we have been doing in Europe over the last 4 decades...
not in the uk 😂
@@crappymeal I've no first hand experience on this, but have heard that UK homes are extremely drafty. Any insight on why that is? Surely not because the weather and climate are so pleasant over there as to not necessitate it...
@@Yoarashi probably just lazy mindedness, we just don't care to pay extra to heat homes or think about it much + people don't know what insulation is tbh
Informations for americans as other countries know that already for decades...
Yeah, they don't care. They would prefer the world to burn than sacrifice some of their comfort. In the end, just poor countries are going to be affected
The same like the "plastic Recycling is a scam" video of another UA-camr channel. The EU is already recycling 31%, over 115 000 000 metric tons every year! Compared to the laughable amount of 30 million pounds/15 000 metric tons team seas tries to fish out of the ocean… Americans really think there the only one on the world.
In 2018, the US recycled over 94 million tons, so a bit more than just team seas contribution.
@@GreatOutdoors1 This is not a competence, we all get to something or we set ourselves a terrible future with refugees and hunger
@@JohanDanielAlvarezSanchez I just took offence to your characterization that Americans just want to see the world burn. I don't see that kind of attitude being helpful.
I once lived in an apartment that had no insulation in the exterior walls. In the summer it was fine since the ac was able to keep up. But in the winter the heater wasn't able to keep up. I know I was wasting a lot of money but I didn't mind since I'm a trucker. At the time I worked up to 14 hour shifts and I ended my shift at the terminal almost every day so I could go home. Luckily my truck had a sleeper berth so on the extra cold nights I didn't even bother going home and just stayed in the truck. As soon as my lease was up I moved out. Thankfully I'm single no kids. It was bad enough with it just being me. The reason I didn't get it fixed was because I'm super lazy when I'm off work, my lease was only for a year, and I was half way through it. I didn't feel like it was a health hazard since I had a viable alternative place to stay when it got too bad
Traditional Africa discovered this a long time ago. Full mud and cattle dung dealing with thatched roof (for circulation?) maybe that’s the next trend 😅
Passive housing isn't new. I build a few of those back in 2005. And they have probably been around earlier.
Apparently it's new in North America.
atleast its being promoted
The Passivhaus concept was developed by Dr. Wolfgang Feist and Prof. Bo Adamson in the late 80’s. The first Passive House in the US was built in 2003.
One of the first passive houses are from Finland built in the 70s.
America learns at a snails pace. In other words, the US has a massive ego but doesn't know how to control it, which explains its unwillingness to learn new methods or techniques.
I had a friend who used a counterflow heat exchanger to provide fresh air. The incoming air exchanged heat with the outgoing, so there wasn’t much heat loss (or heat gain in the summer).
@5:23 She should have used a heat exchanger on the Fresh/Exhaust air system to recover energy in the exchange. Also, you can easily add thermal mass to your house by storing 5-gallon water containers in your home. They absorb and release heat energy very well and provide emergency drinking water.
I build commercial buildings for a living, mineral wool is not designed to be exposed to moisture like their system has done. The mineral wool should be on the inside of the plywood and weather wrap to prevent deteriorating the the other wood components by the mineral wool holding moisture that comes through the siding
At around 3:50 you mention that passive houses can stay warm without anything mechanical. Which is completely untrue; the whole principle of a passive house centre around an MVHR unit; “mechanically ventilated heat recovery”. Which is basically it’s heart and soul, can keep air temperature constant and the air quality really high!
Her house sounds like a normal house, wood beams-check, insulation-check, house wrap-check, hard outer cladding-check. Her house is on the small side (but the square-cubed law is a thing so that is actually arguably worse for energy consumption). The only possibly "exceptional" thing she did was use reclaimed wood (you know, that thing that even the trees themselves throw on the ground when they are done with it) woo-_-
It looks like she didn't manage thermal bridging at all. Because her house is so small, it has almost no thermal mass to stabilize its internal climate so even with the insulation she has which isn't really that impressive (it's not terrible either, to be fair) her climate control systems are going to be constantly powering on to tweak the internal climate. She has no entry room, a small room that allows you to enter though one set of doors, then close them before opening a second set of doors to enter the rest of the house, this would keep the internal climate of the house from leaking out when a person enters or exits (especially when bringing things in or out like groceries or furniture. She doesn't mention how she heats her air or water.
The house isn't bad and I know I'm being harsh but Seeker seems to be using the person's house as a representative of green building technique and it's really not.
I think main problem is her house does seem super sustainable next to the sprawling, poorly designed, poorly constructed houses of modern suburbia.
Look at the big brain on zach! Seriously though, absolutely correct
Fully agree. Looks like people in "some" countries are still living under the rocks. Here in Scandinavia this IS the way to construct buildings (for the past 50 years at least). In fact you may not even be allowed to construct if your building plan does not have these "basics".
I like this concept. The only thing I would mention is to be careful with gas leaks if using gas for heaters and stoves. I've heard of houses blowing up when a door or window is open if the pressure of leaked gas inside is high enough to cause a massive rush of gas. Sonoluminescence can ignite the gas.
Also, air purifiers.
Imagine a land of opportunity, where energy was so cheap, the residents didn't know about house insulation until like now :D
Wait til they hear about recuperation ;)
This stuff is super important. It’s great we have AC, but we should still be taking into consideration how to keep our homes cool & warm even without it; if anything, it’ll make it so we have to use the AC less.
Passive housing is basically mandatory where I live. Since 2015 I think. They are insulated to the extreme (sadly mostly plastic foam is used, plant based insulation is still in the minority). I know Europeans often make fun of how "light" american houses are being built but if I'd live there I'd do the same. Since our weather is more extreme we need to build with bricks and concrete anyways so going for a passive home is not that different price-wise. Plus the state is giving you an environment credit for choosing one.
0:00 make houses air tight
5:29 make 6 in hole to outside 🤣👍
I love this series.waiting for more topics regenerative agriculture, sustainable transport etc.
When we’re cold we add a blanket, the same we should do with buildings!
Using insulation? Closing air leeks? Wow who could have thought of something so ground breaking. Oh, every person who doesn't live in a location that is warm 99% of the year.
My problem is that during winter ofc i want to stay warm in my house, at the same time though i love the idea of keeping my windows open to let in the fresh air🤷♂️😬
Edit:
Oops, wrote the previous comment before watching the full video🤦♂️😁
A fairly calm, normal speaking delivery: I like it :)
More actual details about passive design would be welcome.
This is well-done and informative for future house/apartment owners, thank you for this.
Blower door testing and air leak sealing are an under appreciated tool.
Every new home or major remodel should be required by building code to have a blower door test and air leak sealing.
they do in my country, as part of code you got to gave a isolation score (or a score about what amount of energy it takes to keep the house at same temp / square meter)
Otherwise you will never be able to sell a house, or rent it out. part of that score is that test, and a list of all the materials used in construction + some other inspections. Cause of the current climate top now homes with a 'low' score (high requirement of energy to keep warm) will be banned to be sold/bought/rented unless remodelling is done within 1-2 years to increase its score by the owner/new owner.
Interesting video and well made one. I hope the couple are happy in their new homes. Tell me about the flaws of modern/postmodern architecture. In the UK it's a coin with two sides. Air-conditioning is prohibitive and usually unnecessary, except in summers with 10 degrees above average temperature. However the building designs have meant, for me, no usage of central heating because of insulation. This is no doubt better for the environment! Although be careful about blowback because there was a huge scandal in UK caused by retrofitted postmodern cladding used for supposed insulation - it's a complete disaster fire hazard!!!
Niba is a terrific host. This is a very interesting series. I love the air exchange, it makes a lot of difference.
yes! I want more people to talk about vernacular architecture and indigenous architecture
What are engineers and architects doing with multi unit buildings - apartments and office buildings and schools? What about large arenas? I use the YMCA and there is a lot of energy used for swimming pools, hot tubs, saunas not to mention the rest of the exercise areas and the locker rooms and showers. Large building energy use would be something I would like to know about.
This is awesome. Great video Niba!
Great video. Really simple explanation of passive house principles and design.
Perhaps also start building more dome like houses in the tornado alley, as they're stronger in storms?
Mineral wool isn't exactly environmentally friendly though is it?
I feel winter windows are a huge issue when sun is down. You would think there be a way to some how cover them to better insulate your house when no sun.
you have the most amazing voice.
Is not white an easy 'A' regards controlling heat though?
So this really didn't explain much. Just says make better efficient homes for better efficiency. Making all these is actually expensive if added to a home due to detail oriented work. Everyone wants it but since it takes twice as long nobody wants to pay twice as much.
Been doing these measures for last 10 years in UK I guess the US is playing catch up that UK & EU been doing.
4½ minutes in I realised the waffle before the important stuff I wanted to hear about had made my mind wander and I was no longer paying attention.
How to build a house in a nutshell:
Step 1 *Get dirt*
Step 2 *Build*
Step 3 *Profit*
awesome series, looking forward to the next vids.
I just finished building a 10 story building and found this video today and now I collapsed that building to the ground..damn!🤐
This video is so well intentioned.. Unfortunately it just portrays a new way of being wrong about building homes.
In Denmark we have been going down the path of well insulated, air tight construction since the 1970's. Rockwool is a danish brand of insulation, made by melting rock into something resembling candyfloss. This is a very energi consuming process.
Now in Denmark, we need 300-400 mm. of Rockwool in walls and ceilings to meet building code.
My point is, that it is not enough to consider the energi used when living in and using the home. We also have to lower the carbon footprint, harmfull substances etc. of the building materials themselves. Especially as we increase the amount of materials used to make our homes "airtight and well insulated"
Danish studies show, that you have to use a new building here for 80 years, before the initial "investment" of energi in building materials actually results in total energi saved. Unfortunately, we dont build houses with an 80 year perspective, and many buldings will problem only have a lifetime of around 50 years.
You need to exchange heat otherwise the air freshener will act as if your house as still full of holes. If you passively exchange heat, then the outside air coming in must cross paths with the inside air going out so that you don't waste too much energy conditioning the air coming in.
2:30 in the US
What about bioclimatic architecture?
In what kind of climate is this house?
Temperare? Cold? Humid cold?
What about gainning heat using natural sunlight, not just making a highly efficient thermal isolation?
Look up bioclimatic architecture for higrothermal comfort bulding strategies.
You cannot have a building 100% airtight. It needs to breath.
I can already see new york skyscrapers being insulated with fibers, plywood and tape 😅
I'm in love with you Nibaaaaa! :D
i think this is more of a western thing, because me and my friends don't use our AC all the time only when we want to sleep.
2:51 nice symbol
we need to work out a basic system to convert existing homes to modern efficiency and insulation standards.
You voted also let a professional build your house in the first place. That would save alot of the problems to mention
How would these houses fare against natural disasters?
Burgers and their McMansions, lol
Great video!
we need to build a giant heater to heat the whole earth that way we wont have to build heaters to heat homes.
Houses are bigger than they used to be... Isn't that part of the problem, build more small homes. This seems to be very focused on large rural homes, how about city homes. Especially apartments where you may not be able to make changes. Solve the problem by changing building regulations.
An energy efficient home or business is more comfortable and saves money in the long run.
Solar energy on your roof combined with battery storage can make people more independent from the grid and natural gas supplies. Add solar and supplemental electric heating or a heat pump for home or business heating..
All big box stores and manufacturing sites can support solar energy on their roofs or parking lots.
Added insulation, triple glaze windows, energy efficient doors, energy efficient heating and cooling systems, energy efficient appliances, LED lighting, smart thermostats, solar panels combined with battery storage and a electric vehicle charger in the garage or car park. People are too focused on the short term costs and miss out on long term savings and comfort. Blower door testing and air sealing are under appreciated tools.Even if you have money to burn you should not waste it. Climate Change will impact everyone. Leave a better future for your children and grandchildren. Join in and speak up for the future of the planet.
these not better futur for ur children and grand children. the climate change cannot be defeated, only slowing down.
People have to stop with this misconception of the climate change.
Nothing can be done except slowing it of few decades. All our actions are nothing other than giving painkiller to ourselves.
the peace that allows the purchase and production of *green* products is already in sharp decline.
We will very soon be more concerned with war than our environment.
Does anyone miss DNews?
YOU DON'T FREAKING SAY!
"This house is made to be perfectly sealed to keep the heat trapped inside, rather than spending money on heating." *30 seconds later* "We've got a vent that sucks in fresh air from outside." That's called 2 windows to get a cross airflow.
ERV systems allow for fresh air on days when it would be far to hot or cold to open a window.
Windows are great for natural ventilation, when the outside temperature is comfortable. But the ERV (Energy Recovery Ventilation) system is required when outdoor temperatures are too hot/cold. ERVs work by venting the exhaust indoor air through a coiled pipe, and the fresh outside air is pulled over the exhaust coil, effectively tempering the incoming air temperature and saving energy.
Speak for yourself US most of europe dont use any airconditioning at all and if there is any need for warmth its typically through radiators
It isn't that how all modern skyscrapers has fully enclosed building envelope with complicated ventilation + temperate control system? Isn't the ventilation tubes are the most common method to "infiltrated into a building" in all American movies? How come this can be innovative or something new?
I mean not even for houses. I am pretty sure there are plenty of them around.
I think the biggest problems that are people just don't want to be bothered with an extra layer of complexity and a house with such eco-friendly system won't increase much of its resell value as well.
I sure wish I had any amount of control over my home. Land lords keep cutting down insulating trees and refusing to insulate windows......
I'm hoping that the share the list of materials and detailed blueprint designs if they truly believe in there project and if its money there after well... Will see won't we. I'm hoping for a better future too.
Clever techniques ; but what about homes which need to stay cool more than half the yr as in dry or sunny areas
Insulations works both ways. The ice-cooler metaphor works very well to explain that :)
The passive techs are different, you need sun-shades, thermal mass, etc but it's very much possible.
Ventilation, opening windows, air conditioning. You don't have to give up any of these things even if your home is properly insulated
A graph or two would be nice. Words are much less effective to communicate structures and systems.
The cost of material today your lucky to keep your house if something happens
Houses like that would not pass building code in the UK. It's basically a tinder box, and while I love wood built homes, I love my home not burning down more.
Also, if you're going to all that trouble to seal the building, it seems completely antithetical to then install ventilation that constantly does the very thing you are trying to avoid.
I would also add, passive heating and cooling has been a part of modern UK builds for decades. You didn't touch upon that, but that's a far bigger part of the energy cost of a home.
Ventilation systems have heat exchangers that can be up to 85% efficient. It's mandatory for houses to be air tight and have ventilation systems here in Norway
@@MSkjel those are expensive though and not really compact. Definitely the best solution we use those too in the Netherlands.
@@MSkjel Oh is that so? I wonder what the ratio is between that lost 15% and the amount that would be lost without needing them?
@@Martial-Mat it's far more efficient to have an air tight home and a ventilation system than having a poorly insulated and non airtight house. Remember, it's only 15% of the energy in the air leaving the house that gets lost. Not 15% of the total energy of the house
What aspect of the house do you think wouldn’t pass code in the UK? I don’t know UK building codes but I doubt they prohibit the use of wood siding or wood framing; I’ve seen plenty of wood sided homes on the TV show “Grand Design” and besides, house fires usually start from the *inside* not the outside, and that house looks like it uses standard sheet rock for interior wall finishes.
Green is the color you turn before vomiting.
❤
Building environment-friendly home requires friendly environment in the first place. Does this video address this pertinent issue or do they think the whole world is uniform?
Again an American focused video because in the EU we know that for a long time now. Same like the recycling is a scam video of that one UA-camr which is only true for amricans, because the EU is recycling already recycling over 31% of there plastic, that's over 115 million metric tons! I hate when they don't say there video is American focused…
My shitty apartment building is made out of cardboard and has no insulation. And I can't do anything about it and I can't buy a house. And I can't get an electric car because I have nowhere to charge it.
figures...I just had my siding replaced two weeks ago...i could have told them to seal all cracks and holes :I
They have it all wrong.
Just build your house out of the bodies of your enemies, and all is fine.
Only the fattest ones, to ensure a nice thick layer of insulation. The skinny mean ones can be used as grotesque gothic decorative flourishes to instill fear in you foes whilst adding character😁
lets NOT follow the Israeli model... thanks.
Let's seal up the house but pump air thru it great idea lol exactly what you said causes the issue at the start of the video
The only suggestions that come from this video is tape things, use wood and get an ERV. 🙄
We have 0 heating or ac bill.
Americans have to say byebye to cheap housing with paperthin walls.
So, this is an American thing?
not it's originally German, look up Pasivhaus
Sorry but what she explained in this video nothing is new, its we all almost know. Also the inlet and outlet of the air main cause efficiency loss
Hey, what's that tiny passive house sitting on? Do you know that you can build a home with the material below the house? Rammed Earth homes can be built in just about any climate on earth, and they are inherently great at maintaining internal temperatures due to thermal mass. When you spoke of how homes need to be built cleverly, Rammed Earth was one of the go to methods used for a millennia. There are homes in Europe and Asia that have been continually inhabited for CENTURIES.
ALL new homes should be built with much higher R-values in the walls & ceiling. Also things like triple pane windows or more. Solar cells on the roof. Since I am retired & not rich I can only dream of these things. If cities passed stricter building codes, then 30 years from now, no one would complain about it, but mention these ideas now & people think you are crazy.
Where's trace?
"Mineral wool" sounds like asbestos 2.0....
They key thing is that we all have to live in the smallest possible homes that can meet our needs. There’s no point continuing to allow big homes to be built, even if they use all the latest sustainable building techniques.
The main problem is energy. An Example If we would have spend the money that america used to destroy countries in Africa to build solar panels. We could with the small size of germany in the sahara produce enough energy to handle the complete energycost of Europe driving and heating included. And germany fit over twenty times in the sahara. Of course it's important to be effecient but i think we must more concentrate on this thing.
@@fritzhamburg1785 We have to concentrate on everything at once because we’re out of time to just do bits and pieces. We’ve got to be perfect. And admitting that the rich have to live like everyone else is essential before we can move forward.
To be honest the house Looks Crap outside. It gonna rot on rain.
How is this news for anyone that knows anything about building houses? And i dont get what we have been ”wrong” about.
Americans have almost no regulation when it comes to building houses. They're out there makin houses outta paper
@@Yoarashi lol, what do you base that statement on? i dont even live in usa, but i can tell you they have as much regulations as any other western country. you are aware that usa pioneered modern building techniques, and sky scrapers?
i assume you dont know much about building houses which makes talking to people like you about building houses infuriating. you probably think a house constructed in Texas have the same building requirements as a house constructed in north dakota...
And you have all the correct answers,
And men are just always wrong...
Never use my heater. Sweaters n blankies baby.
Where do you live?
@@Catlily5 Northern California. Cold enough to show here occasionally
@@mikerphone. I am impressed if you don't turn on your heater when it snows. How do you keep your pipes from freezing?
@@Catlily5 insulated pipe is the industry norm for cold weather climates
@@mikerphone. Pipes are often not insulated where I live. We get snow every year. We used to get more but now get less with climate change.
I live in Albuquerque, NM. At the 35th parallel but at high elevation. I rent an apartment so I can't insulate the pipes.
The main problem is energy. An Example If we would have spend the money that america used to destroy countries in Africa to build solar panels. We could with the small size of germany in the sahara produce enough energy to handle the complete energycost of Europe driving and heating included. And germany fit over twenty times in the sahara. Of course it's important to be effecient.
How would one get the energy *from* the Sahara *to* Europe? Long distance transmission of electricity is very expensive to build, and expensive to maintain, especially since the lines would need to cross the Mediterranean. Plus the idea perpetuates the European tradition of taking resources *from* Africa and bringing them *to* Europe, very little of the money spent, or energy harvested, would directly benefit the local communities.
wow. what country is that from? They apparently realized this decades after everyone else
Never satisfied
"Rain Screen" LMFAO
Typical response: laugh at things you don’t understand.