Go Greener Tips

Engineers from German have built house with a neutral energy balance. A pilot house is able to provide itself with energy autonomously.
In case the ESTTP (European Solar Thermal Technology Platform) unification plan is implemented, buildings with neutral energy balance should become building codes till 2030. ESTTP has adopted special program called the European solar thermal technology development program in summer 2005. And the term “neutral energy balance” implies that a building is completely independent on external power supply and covers its needs independently, solely by its own design.
German company Schuco, with headquarters located in Bielefeld, having not waiting for 2030, has developed the concept of the house and tests it now.
House with good insulation and low power consumption has been taken for a basis of the design that meets all current applicable requirements for new buildings. According to today’s standards of energy efficiency, such building must expend fuel oil at a cost of no more than 8 litres per square meter of living space annually. To get a zero rate, engineers of Schuco bet on a combination of three renewable energy technologies.

The task of the project is simple: to demonstrate in practice that we can turn the most ordinary house into a building with a neutral energy balance just by using a standard and mass-produced equipment,. That is to say, the owner of such dwelling will make a significant contribution to the climate protection and save money at the same time, since the outcome, he would not have to pay either for gas or for the light at the end of the year.

It is not difficult o achieve a zero balance in the spring, summer and fall. The solar collector area of 10 square meters on the roof of a separately standing single-family home fully delivers all the needs of residents in the heat and electricity from April to October. The situation is worse in winter. Even the best heat pump is no longer able to extract heating energy from the environment needed for the home when the air temperature is below 5 degrees Celsius. Therefore, engineers of Schuco pump warm water from solar collectors on the roof into earthen contour.

This greatly facilitates the work of the heat pump, but still it does not solve a problem of winter heat entirely: in the middle latitudes in the winter the amount of sun’s heat is not enough. Therefore, in the cold months in the house with a neutral energy balance power generated by semiconductor photovoltaic cells comes to help the heat pump. Their area should be 20-25 square meters. It is clear that in the summer, these converters provide more electricity than in winter. But the terms they produce for the year exactly as much energy as needed.

Field testing of three experimental houses have been lasting during two years and have shown that the concept is very viable. One particular house, equipped with a complete program, which includes heat pump, solar collectors and photovoltaic cells, even gave so to speak, a “plus”. Due to increased area of photovoltaic cells the house got more power than it was necessary for the maintenance of the heat pump at the end of a year.

Luckily we live in the times when the ruling elites start to understand the value of living in harmony with the nature on this planet. And solar power grants is a real case proof of it. If you want to switch to solar energy, please read more about how solar power grants and how exactly you can use these solar power grants for your living.

P.S. Good information makes life easier.

That is why if you are properly armed with the information in your topic you can rest assured that you will in any case find the solution to any bad situation. So, please make sure to get back to this blog on a regular basis or – the easiest way to take care of it – sign up to its RSS feed. In such an easy way you will have a direct shortcut to the latest informational updates here. Blogging can be helpful, you just need to understand how to use it.