Comments | valuesystem: The Ultimate Post Peak Oil Sustainable Home

valuesystem

The Ultimate Post Peak Oil Sustainable Home

Oct 13, 2007 11:11

After thousands of years of constructed dwellings, it is about time that humans create a home that could be the "home of choice" for a low energy future... for life after the oil crash... or life after the Eosawki (End of Society as We Know It ( Read more... )

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Comments 6

My Sustainable House dtbrookes October 23 2007, 14:47:22 UTC

I'll be brief. I really like some of your ideas, others, I find too sophisticated.

Electricity: We really can't get by without some. There are essential devices (e.g., heat exchanger and water pumps) that HAVE to function without fail. Irrespective of generation method, a storage method is necessary. I suggest one scrounges as many car lead-acid batteries as one can find and stores them in the basement.
Keeping warm/cool: a) live in a smaller house, b) learn to live at 50F in winter and 85F in the summer. It's not that hard. c) Passivhaus design (sealed airtight house) Should have big south facing windows and black stone walls behind to absorb winter sunlight, with awning to shade out summer sunlight. Ventilation runs on simple heat exchanger - outgoing waste air heats incoming cold air and visa versa for summer. d) include a high efficiency sealed combustion wood stove (draws air directly from the outside) for the really cold nights... No underground fancy heat storage devices. Too complicated and expensive.
House construction: ( ... )

Re: My Sustainable House valuesystem October 24 2007, 09:49:50 UTC

Yes, you have some very good points, and I agree with you on most, especially if you were attempting to retrofit a home. That problem would require quite a different solution from building one from scratch. I certainly have considered installing a high-efficiency wood stove, roof-top hot water solar panels, a photo-voltaic & battery electricity system, the in-basement root cellar and the like ( ... )

Re: My Sustainable House valuesystem October 24 2007, 09:50:09 UTC

Of course, there are still problems with this design. First of all, what would be the cost of a Sterling Engine, or number of them, that could convert a 150 to 200 degree F heat difference into enough energy to run an very electricity efficient home? And, what sort of parts would need replacing in said Sterling Engines? Would they last longer than a PhotoVoltaic and chemical battery system? Can it even be calculated ( ... )

Mechanical energy storage dtbrookes October 24 2007, 14:42:49 UTC

I've devoted some thought to this and I think that mechanical energy storage is not particularly feasible. I'll do some sample calculations for you so you can see the scale of the problem ( ... )

Thread 5

Another thought dtbrookes October 26 2007, 18:56:27 UTC

Although self-sufficiency is a lovely thing, I also believe that energy storage should be something a community shares. In relation to the analysis above, mechanical and water energy storage devices are going to scale much better when they serve a bunch of people rather than a single house.