EcoRenovator  

Go Back   EcoRenovator > Improvements > Renovations & New Construction
Advanced Search
 


Blog 60+ Home Energy Saving Tips Recent Posts Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 07-31-14, 11:49 AM   #1
AC_Hacker
Supreme EcoRenovator
 
AC_Hacker's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 4,004
Thanks: 303
Thanked 723 Times in 534 Posts
Default Zero Energy Homes in Europe

I came across a couple of very interesting videos that illustrate just how Zero Energy Homes are no longer just a curiosity and are entering full-scale production.



A couple of things jumped out at me from this first video, besides the amazingly well organized construction techniques... First was the use of combination solar PV and solar heat in the same panel, and second was the fact that the excess energy from the house could be used to power an electric car. How great is that??!!

EDIT:

I found an indestructible were some guy sucessfully built a hybrid PV & Thermal solar panel!

Also THIS




I like this second video because it indicates how production techniques can be applied to greatly upgrade energy waste on row houses. Also, careful observation will reveal techniques that can be incorporated into new construction by anyone.



Best,

-AC

Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	ZeroEnergyHouse-1.jpg
Views:	1118
Size:	10.4 KB
ID:	4516   Click image for larger version

Name:	ZeroEnergyHouse-2.jpg
Views:	1251
Size:	15.0 KB
ID:	4517  
__________________
I'm not an HVAC technician. In fact, I'm barely even a hacker...

Last edited by AC_Hacker; 07-31-14 at 01:10 PM..
AC_Hacker is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to AC_Hacker For This Useful Post:
Mikesolar (07-31-14), Piwoslaw (07-31-14)
Old 07-31-14, 03:03 PM   #2
Piwoslaw
Super Moderator
 
Piwoslaw's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Posts: 960
Thanks: 188
Thanked 110 Times in 86 Posts
Default

The image in your post (from the first video) shows that warm, dirty air for the ventilation heat exchanger is taken not only from the bathroom and kitchen, but also from the exhaust of the gas-fired boiler/water heater. Now, this is a great idea, but the HX would have to be protected from the acidic condensate and, more important, would have to guarantee that there is no risk of the exhaust mixing with incoming fresh air. Get around that so that building inspectors are satisfied, and you're golden!
__________________
Ecorenovation - the bottomless piggy bank that tries to tame the energy hog.
Piwoslaw is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-31-14, 04:11 PM   #3
AC_Hacker
Supreme EcoRenovator
 
AC_Hacker's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 4,004
Thanks: 303
Thanked 723 Times in 534 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Piwoslaw View Post
The image in your post (from the first video) shows that warm, dirty air for the ventilation heat exchanger is taken not only from the bathroom and kitchen, but also from the exhaust of the gas-fired boiler/water heater...so that building inspectors are satisfied, and you're golden!
I thought it might be a bit aggressive... but lesser problems have been solved.

-AC
__________________
I'm not an HVAC technician. In fact, I'm barely even a hacker...
AC_Hacker is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-31-14, 05:07 PM   #4
Mikesolar
Master EcoRenovator
 
Mikesolar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Toronto
Posts: 958
Thanks: 40
Thanked 158 Times in 150 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by AC_Hacker View Post
I thought it might be a bit aggressive... but lesser problems have been solved.

-AC
And greater problems too, haha
Mikesolar is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-01-14, 01:49 PM   #5
AC_Hacker
Supreme EcoRenovator
 
AC_Hacker's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 4,004
Thanks: 303
Thanked 723 Times in 534 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mikesolar View Post
And greater problems too, haha
Yeah, those too!

But I was thinking about this... and the gas-fired demand water heater exhaust part could be solved by hacking a heat pump water heater, instead of burning gas... better cheaper.

Better to reduce energy through efficiency... then recovery becomes a smaller, more reasonable undertaking.

I think that there was a history element to this video, like the history of zero energy homes.

But the widespread use of heat pumps, for so many purposes, even to the point of the secrets of the technology falling into the eagerly awaiting hands of hackers such as ourselves, hadn't happened yet.

Then there's induction cooking.

So energy not used is more efficient than energy recovered.

-AC
__________________
I'm not an HVAC technician. In fact, I'm barely even a hacker...
AC_Hacker is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-02-14, 10:57 PM   #6
gtojohn
Journeyman EcoRenovator
 
gtojohn's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 314
Thanks: 39
Thanked 50 Times in 45 Posts
Default

Because their energy costs have been much higher for so long Europeans especially the crafty and money conscious Germans have had incentive to design for super efficiency. But you knew that. I was in Luxemburg touring a Handswerkskammer. They produced their own power with several Detroit Diesel 98s and used the exhaust heat to run the massive ammonia chiller as well as water heating. They claimed it was cheaper than the expensive power from their grid.
gtojohn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-03-14, 02:00 PM   #7
AC_Hacker
Supreme EcoRenovator
 
AC_Hacker's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 4,004
Thanks: 303
Thanked 723 Times in 534 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by gtojohn View Post
Because their energy costs have been much higher for so long Europeans especially the crafty and money conscious Germans have had incentive to design for super efficiency. But you knew that. I was in Luxemburg touring a Handswerkskammer. They produced their own power with several Detroit Diesel 98s and used the exhaust heat to run the massive ammonia chiller as well as water heating. They claimed it was cheaper than the expensive power from their grid.
Very cool!

Now if you could put your superior TX brain to work and figure out how anybody could DIY such a system on a single home scale...

-AC

__________________
I'm not an HVAC technician. In fact, I'm barely even a hacker...
AC_Hacker is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:45 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Ad Management by RedTyger
Inactive Reminders By Icora Web Design