7 ms·

Real estate agent here... so I see a lot of houses and get asked a lot of questions about houses... at the root of your inquiry, I see a couple things going on:

Real estate agent here... so I see a lot of houses and get asked a lot of questions about houses... at the root of your inquiry, I see a couple things going on: 1) Builders at scale aren't willing to make these kinds of investments. They want standard designs that they can throw up as cheaply and quickly as possible. Frankly some of the developments I've seen in my area are just hideous - like if they had just run the streets the other direction people would have had view lots, but they were too effing cheap and lazy to even do that, let alone hire an actual architect. 2) Distribution networks of building supplies are ineffective and feels like a market ripe for disruption. Just because there exists some cool new material or energy-saving option out there in the world doesn't mean that one's local builders have access. So, whatever is available to them is what's going into local houses. 3) Consumer tastes. Human beings have notions about houses. Lots of humans like house designs that are conforming to local norms and traditions. So thermally efficient designs like below-ground homes often end up as outliers that don't sell particularly well to buyers who don't understand the benefits.

TeMPOraL 6y ago
I wonder if GP's problem could be approached through standardization of heat exchange piping? While people like to move the furniture and white goods around every now and then, usually the kitchen stays a kitchen and the bathroom stays a bathroom, because that's where the piping goes. And we already put all kinds of pipes and wiring in the walls. I imagine another set of piping could be run, meant specifically for moving the heat in and out, with standardized endpoints for appliances to hook into.
- jhloa2 6y ago
  This is kind of the idea of variable refrigerant flow system which can heat, cool, and move heat from one space to another. Seems like an "easy" solution would be to add appliances to the system.
gfxgirl 6y ago
> like if they had just run the streets the other direction people would have had view lots Wouldn't that have allowed them to make more $$$$$$$ because places with a view sell for more than places without?
- toyg 6y ago
  Depends. Would the delays (due to the search for proper architects and waiting for them to come up with a good layout) cost less than the extra profit they might generate? What if the delay results in less sales - the right timing is a massive issue in construction projects. As usual, it's "trade-offs, trade-offs everywhere"...

TeMPOraL 6y ago

I wonder if GP's problem could be approached through standardization of heat exchange piping? While people like to move the furniture and white goods around every now and then, usually the kitchen stays a kitchen and the bathroom stays a bathroom, because that's where the piping goes. And we already put all kinds of pipes and wiring in the walls. I imagine another set of piping could be run, meant specifically for moving the heat in and out, with standardized endpoints for appliances to hook into.

jhloa2 6y ago
This is kind of the idea of variable refrigerant flow system which can heat, cool, and move heat from one space to another. Seems like an "easy" solution would be to add appliances to the system.

gfxgirl 6y ago

> like if they had just run the streets the other direction people would have had view lots Wouldn't that have allowed them to make more $$$$$$$ because places with a view sell for more than places without?

toyg 6y ago
Depends. Would the delays (due to the search for proper architects and waiting for them to come up with a good layout) cost less than the extra profit they might generate? What if the delay results in less sales - the right timing is a massive issue in construction projects. As usual, it's "trade-offs, trade-offs everywhere"...