#energy-efficient housing

[philedmanau1]

Phil Edman: Leading the Way in Sustainable Development and Innovation

Phil Edman is a visionary leader from Western Australia, dedicated to fostering sustainable development and enhancing community welfare. Through his work with Pacesetter Projects, Phil has revolutionised housing with energy-efficient solutions, showcasing his commitment to the future of Australian living. Visit: https://philedman.com.au/

[arc-hus]

House Ringvaartplas, Rotterdam - Korteknie Stuhlmacher Architecten

[alpaca-clouds]

Solarpunk vs Home Building

Okay, let me talk about another solarpunk topic, that we really gotta talk about: Homes. And the way we construct them. Because let's put it like that: There is a lot wrong with it.

The amount of things wrong with it depends a lot on the country - and your income bracket. But generally we do think about it wrong. Especially in the west (and let's face it: Worst in the US) we have this idea that everyone needs their own home. And in general that this home should look a certain way, should have a certain size and all of that.

Of course, I think most people active in the Solarpunk sphere do know how bad suburbia is for nature. Because of the lawns, because of the amount of concrete. All of that. It harms biodiversity.

But even if you have a super natural space around it... Let's be quite honest: Single family buildings are bad for the environment, because the per person use of basically everything is a lot worse than it is with a multi-family home/complex.

The very obvious one is heating/cooling. Because it is in fact easier to keep a multifamily home warm or cool, compared to a single family home. If you have ever lived in a multifamily home you might have noticed it yourself, that you have to heat a lot less and that the temperature in summer is also more even. (Though of course the amount also depends on the efficiacy that the house is build with.)

This has to do with the fact that there is some amount of the temperatures exchanging between the different apartments of a building.

Now, you might ask: "But what about water and electricity? You do not use less of that, right?"

Which technically is right. Still, multi-family homes will still save energy on those things. Why? Because the infrastructure is more centralized. Basically, getting the water to the house uses up less energy and material. And the same goes with electricity.

It should be noted, however, that there is a bit more complexity to this. While the heat/cooling savings basically scale quite a lot, the same is not true for water. If you build a home over a certain height, the energy will end up being used on pumping the water up.

Generally six or seven floors are the optimum in most cases.

So, if we imagine a Solarpunk city, the thing that actually makes a lot of sense is to imagine rather wide buildings with about six floors and several families living inside.

Bonus: Some ammenities can actually be shared. And be it actually something more luxurious, like a shared gym or a shared pool in the basement.

[saintartemis]

I’m not saying we should shame people, particularly flippers, who buy old homes (let’s say 1910 craftsman style), and put in new windows that may be very energy efficient, but don’t fit the overall look of the house.

But we should definitely shame them.

[dandelionsresilience]

Good News - April 1-7

Like these weekly compilations? Support me on Ko-fi! Also, if you tip me on here or Ko-fi, at the end of the month I’ll send you a link to all of the articles I found but didn’t use each week - almost double the content! (I’m new to taking tips on here; if it doesn’t show me your username or if you have DM’s turned off, please send me a screenshot of your payment)

1. Three Endangered Asiatic Lion Cubs Born at London Zoo

“The three cubs are a huge boost to the conservation breeding programme for Asiatic lions, which are now found only in the Gir Forest in Gujarat, India.”

2. United Nations Passes Groundbreaking Intersex Rights Resolution

“The United Nations Human Rights Council has passed its first ever resolution affirming the rights of intersex people, signaling growing international resolve to address rights violations experienced by people born with variations in their sex characteristics.”

3. Proposal to delist Roanoke logperch

“Based on a review of the best available science, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has determined that the Roanoke logperch, a large freshwater darter, is no longer at risk of extinction. […] When the Roanoke logperch was listed as endangered in 1989, it was found in only 14 streams. In the years since, Roanoke logperch surveys and habitat restoration have more than doubled the species range, with 31 occupied streams as of 2019.”

4. Fully-Accessible Theme Park Reopens Following Major Expansion

“Following the $6.5 million overhaul, the park now offers [among other “ultra-accessible” attractions] a first-of-its-kind 4-seat zip line that can accommodate riders in wheelchairs as well as those who need extra restraints, respiratory equipment or other special gear.”

5. ‘The Javan tiger still exists’: DNA find may herald an extinct species’ comeback

“A single strand of hair recovered from [a sighting] is a close genetic match to hair from a Javan tiger pelt from 1930 kept at a museum, [a new] study shows. “Through this research, we have determined that the Javan tiger still exists in the wild,” says Wirdateti, a government researcher and lead author of the study.”

6. Treehouse Village: Eco-housing and energy savings

““The entire place is designed and built to meet the passive house standard, which is the most energy-efficient construction standard in the world,” says resident Wayne Groszko, co-owner of one of the units at Treehouse.”

7. 50 rare crocodiles released in Cambodia's tropical Cardamom Mountains

“Cambodian conservationists have released 50 captive-bred juvenile Siamese crocodiles at a remote site in Cambodia as part of an ongoing programme to save the species from extinction.”

8. The Remarkable Growth of the Global Biochar Market: A Beacon of Environmental Progress

“Biochar, a stable carbon form derived from organic materials like agricultural residues and forestry trimmings, is a pivotal solution in the fight against global warming. By capturing carbon in a stable form during biochar production, and with high technology readiness levels, biochar offers accessible and durable carbon dioxide removal.”

9. 'Seismic' changes set for [grouse shooting] industry as new Scottish law aims to tackle raptor persecution

“Conservation scientists and campaigners believe that birds such as golden eagles and hen harriers are being killed to prevent them from preying on red grouse, the main target species of the shooting industry. […] Under the Wildlife Management and Muirburn Bill, the Scottish grouse industry will be regulated for the first time in its history.”

10. White House Awards $20 Billion to Nation’s First ‘Green Bank’ Network

“At least 70 percent of the funds will go to disadvantaged communities, the administration said, while 20 percent will go to rural communities and more than 5 percent will go to tribal communities. […] The White House said that the new initiative will generate about $150 billion in clean energy and climate investments[…].”

March 22-28 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[lacnunga]

I do have a question for my american followers, just bc there seems to be very conflicting information on this: do you own an electric kettle? Does kettle ownage vary wildly between different parts of america? I get if you dont drink tea but surely its better than stove boiling water for instant coffee, pasta etc?

[2tents-blog]

[leebrontide]

Pray for us, Tumblr. Today my wife and I are going to go rent a large and intimidating device from the hardware store to try to blow fire-retardant recycled paper insulation into the walls of our dining room. APPARENTLY the dining room used to be like a 3 season porch and it is not insulated. We’ve been just sort of sealing it off all winter, paying outrageous heating bills. I though we’d have to wait till summer to both replace the very damaged siding and put in new insulation but it turns out we can blow it in from the inside so we’re trying that. We still have a lot of cold weather ahead of us in MN. (It’s a comparatively balmy 22F right now) so it’s still well worth it to get it done this winter.

This is like a 1 hour job for ppl who know what they’re doing. But we are. Not that. And the “advice” I got from the one neighbor whose done this before consisted mainly of pitying laughter. So we’ll see how this goes! I’ll let you know.

Update: forgot the Menards is for MANY MEN and PROFESSIONALS and they only rent a 300 lb industrial machine for reason. Imagine lugging this up to your attic. Bad boy is proper steel.

We will not be deterred. I am determined to be one of those middle aged queers who does a bunch of DIY projects to their very old house. On to the next hardware store!

[thedreadvampy]

Ok so like my partner and their partner are moving today, right?

and my partner had top surgery like 2 months ago and their partner has injured their shoulder so I'm like ok I love to move boxes I am super happy to come help if that's useful? and they're like yes yes oh my god please cause we don't know if we've got the manpower to move anything.

so I go on Friday afternoon I am knocking off work early to help them move. I block out my calendar. I work longer days Monday-Wednesday to balance it out. I also have to leave work earlier than usual Tuesday and Thursday so it's a bit like ok I can squeeze this in if I use up all my TOIL from the last few weeks.

I have also turned down two different requests to hang out this evening bc I was like ok no I have plans that evening cause I'm helping people move

They started moving at lunchtime because that's when the friend with a van was available. Ok. I knock off work at 3 instead of 5 and I message to say ok you've been at this a while, do you still need me? My partner messages back and says yes, we've just got here we've not even started unpacking yet and there's more stuff left at the flat, come on down.

It's a 25 minute walk and when I get there the things remaining in the van and the car are:

a kettlebell

a single box

a small bag

so I take those up. then I stand awkwardly around in the living room while their very loud friend talks very loudly and nonstop until everyone is overwhelmed. there's a sofa that needs to come out of the flat because it's full of dog hair and my partner's partner is super allergic to dogs, so me and the loud friend carry that downstairs. my partner keeps trying to direct it even though that makes it WAY FUCKING HARDER. we agree with the van friend that he'll hang onto it for now and load it into the van.

then I go back up to the flat and stand around for 20 minutes

eventually I'm like ok is there anything. I could be doing here?

and they look at each other and they're like no. nah. we're done for today. We'll sort through our stuff and set up and you guys come back in a couple of hours and we'll go for beers

and ok like this is not anyone's fault but I'm so upset.

Like I have been functionally superfluous here. I moved two things that other people were already about to pick up, and I moved a sofa that would have got moved anyway (although Jay would have tried to move it. but frankly it doesn't seem like they've tried very hard to Not Move Furniture before that so who gives a shit?). and for that I have basically used up my whole Friday afternoon/evening and lost 2 work hours for what?

"come back in a couple of hours and we'll go for beers" I didn't sign up for beers! I booked out this evening because I wanted to do physical labour and move heavy things!!! I wanted to be helpful!!!! If I wanted to have a beer and socialise I would have taken up the several other offers of socialising this evening!!!! But I don't want to now because I'm so upscuttled and upset that I can't even be around people, I am sitting on the back step in my garden right now because there is a risk of encountering 1-2 people in my flat!!!!!

and I asked before I left work if I was needed for this exact reason! because I didn't want to show up hang around and leave!!!!!

and "oh so your Friday evening's free now"? It's NOT FREE I'm AUTISTIC it's DENUDED. I'm not doing the thing I was meant to be doing but my brain still thinks I'm meant to be doing it so I don't have the capacity to do anything else!!!!! I'm just HERE.

[gwydionmisha]

Why industry is blocking the push for more energy efficient homes

[mydecorative]

Passive House Design: Maximizing Energy Efficiency For Comfortable And Sustainable Living

One of the best ways to start living more sustainably is to consider a passive house design. If you’re considering a new build or renovation, you can build your property to use around one-tenth of the energy used by average houses.

[geneticcatalyst]

boots theory of economics except for energy levels ie. the way i have to drag myself through a place where food can be purchased multiple times a week because each time i only have the energy and brain power to grab a handful of small items

[rredacted]

i wanna see so bad... let me IN!!! let me in please...

It should be socially acceptable to do urban exploration in buildings that aren’t abandoned. Like I wanna see

[die06]

nothing fuels me more with impotent rage than a certain someone telling me that an efficient thing that i'm doing is not at all efficient because "their" way is more efficient even though it's the complete opposite

[jamaicahomescom]

Architectural House Designs Reflecting Jamaica’s Bright Future

[lumeagroup6]

Energy Efficient House Designs Adelaide

Have you scoped out the benefits of energy efficient house designs Adelaide? Lumea Building Design will advise you on all the latest sustainable home concepts to help you achieve your dream lifestyle. As the leading choice in design management, we know that there should be absolutely no compromise on style when it comes to optimising energy efficiency.