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Unfortunately American homes are designed with heating and cooling as an afterthought. Most of them are just designed with ducting and an HVAC to fill their nee

Unfortunately American homes are designed with heating and cooling as an afterthought. Most of them are just designed with ducting and an HVAC to fill their needs, to keep design and building costs low. This naturally leads to terrible ventilation, a key ingredient of effective passive or low-energy heating and cooling. Without any active HVAC system, many of them hold in heat and don't cool down, or become much too cold because of how badly insulated they are. Modern code mandates better insulation and useful advancements like H/ERVs and heat pumps but American local governments do almost nothing to push their homeowners to update their homes to new code. Tools like ceiling fans and attic fans are unheard of these days. Awnings to bring in winter sun and keep out the summer sun aren't considered. And despite a lot of the US being dry enough for evaporative cooling, they still mostly use AC. Most people have never heard of an H/ERV. Hopefully as awareness of climate change increases, this changes. As for me, I live in a dry climate and through the summer our evaporative cooler is a mainstay. With the help of some ceiling fans, and well placed windows, we can go most of the year not using our AC at all, and having the evaporative cooler blowing cool, moist air on us feels fantastic on a dry summer day.

BostonEnginerd 5y ago
The cost of upgrades is prohibitive. It would probably cost us 20% of the home's value to really upgrade it to a reasonable place. Replacing our oil boiler with a heat pump based central air or mini-split system will cost us almost $40k -- 4x more than a simple oil boiler replacement.
- Karrot_Kream 5y ago
  Indeed. A lot of it is the failing of the government to offer meaty incentives/subsidies for these upgrades. Unfortunately the US still doesn't take climate change seriously or they'd do more than pay lip service to green initiatives. They'd actually incentive people to put in double pane windows or heat pumps or ceiling fans. I'm not even talking about urbanism and city design here, just help the existing renters and owners of SFHs in the US.
- morsch 5y ago
  It's a lot of money but it's a matter of perspective and situation whether it's prohibitive. If energy/emissions are more expensive, the upgrade would pay for itself sooner rather than later; other countries have generous financing aids; you buy a house assuming that there'll be expenses like that in the upcoming decades (and planning the money correspondingly), ...
  - Karrot_Kream 5y ago
    Yup, we need to be careful not to beggar current residents or create more resentment toward environmental initiatives. Offer subsidies in the beginning, and after a while, simply begin to tax electricity along with its pollution effects; price in the externalities. But we're a _long_ way from doing that in the US. We can't even get people to take the train from a park-and-ride to work and back!
MattGaiser 5y ago
Homes in general seem to be hodge podges of design with little optimization. Where is the Apple of homebuilding?
- goldenkey 5y ago
  Frank Lloyd Wright died a long time ago. I think the incentives are misaligned and it is difficult to find out what's really wrong with a house until you live in it for a sustained period of time. Inspections and appraisals generally only yield surface details and obvious problems.
- doublerebel 5y ago
  @coverbuild is literally attempting to be the Apple of homebuilding. They are making quick progress with modern prefab modular homes, starting in LA. I have no affiliation just an appreciation for efficiency and repairability/sustainability. https://twitter.com/alexisxrivas/status/1423400137091518466 https://twitter.com/alexisxrivas/status/1423400137091518466
  - MattGaiser 5y ago
    That’s awesome. Thank you.
- kebman 5y ago
  Perhaps here? Article: Norway is pioneering energy-positive buildings https://www.theexplorer.no/stories/architecture-and-construction/norway-is-pioneering-energy-positive-buildings/ https://www.theexplorer.no/stories/architecture-and-construc...
sparsely 5y ago
The difference in design between buildings in hot European countries, which almost universally have shutters and other forms of shading, and American ones which might have a porch if that, is striking. It's an extremely effective, cheap, and low carbon way of controlling temperatures which only requires small changes to design and behaviour.
- Karrot_Kream 5y ago
  Just window fans and shutters can go a long way to keeping houses cool. A tactic I like to use a lot in the wee months of the summer is to use a window fan to let cold air in at night, then put the shutters up during the morning to try and keep the night cold air inside as long as possible while still having some ventilation. Along with a ceiling fan this works very well, unless the night doesn't cool down enough.
- cbg0 5y ago
  The shutters you speak of are mostly for comfort because the sun is usually quite bright. You'll still see shutters + A/C units pretty much everywhere in Europe where you have 30+ degrees in the summer.
  - sparsely 5y ago
    The significantly reduce heat from solar radiation - you might still need AC units, but they need to do less work and be on less often.
- anigbrowl 5y ago
  American houses used to be designed for the weather to some extent, eg having internal airflow to maintain cool cupboards in kitchens. Having worked in residential construction for a few years (only on the West coast) my feeling is that well-maintained older homes are often in better condition than newer ones.

BostonEnginerd 5y ago

The cost of upgrades is prohibitive. It would probably cost us 20% of the home's value to really upgrade it to a reasonable place. Replacing our oil boiler with a heat pump based central air or mini-split system will cost us almost $40k -- 4x more than a simple oil boiler replacement.

Karrot_Kream 5y ago
Indeed. A lot of it is the failing of the government to offer meaty incentives/subsidies for these upgrades. Unfortunately the US still doesn't take climate change seriously or they'd do more than pay lip service to green initiatives. They'd actually incentive people to put in double pane windows or heat pumps or ceiling fans. I'm not even talking about urbanism and city design here, just help the existing renters and owners of SFHs in the US.
morsch 5y ago
It's a lot of money but it's a matter of perspective and situation whether it's prohibitive. If energy/emissions are more expensive, the upgrade would pay for itself sooner rather than later; other countries have generous financing aids; you buy a house assuming that there'll be expenses like that in the upcoming decades (and planning the money correspondingly), ...
- Karrot_Kream 5y ago
  Yup, we need to be careful not to beggar current residents or create more resentment toward environmental initiatives. Offer subsidies in the beginning, and after a while, simply begin to tax electricity along with its pollution effects; price in the externalities. But we're a _long_ way from doing that in the US. We can't even get people to take the train from a park-and-ride to work and back!

MattGaiser 5y ago

Homes in general seem to be hodge podges of design with little optimization. Where is the Apple of homebuilding?

goldenkey 5y ago
Frank Lloyd Wright died a long time ago. I think the incentives are misaligned and it is difficult to find out what's really wrong with a house until you live in it for a sustained period of time. Inspections and appraisals generally only yield surface details and obvious problems.
doublerebel 5y ago
@coverbuild is literally attempting to be the Apple of homebuilding. They are making quick progress with modern prefab modular homes, starting in LA. I have no affiliation just an appreciation for efficiency and repairability/sustainability. https://twitter.com/alexisxrivas/status/1423400137091518466 https://twitter.com/alexisxrivas/status/1423400137091518466
- MattGaiser 5y ago
  That’s awesome. Thank you.
kebman 5y ago
Perhaps here? Article: Norway is pioneering energy-positive buildings https://www.theexplorer.no/stories/architecture-and-construction/norway-is-pioneering-energy-positive-buildings/ https://www.theexplorer.no/stories/architecture-and-construc...

sparsely 5y ago

The difference in design between buildings in hot European countries, which almost universally have shutters and other forms of shading, and American ones which might have a porch if that, is striking. It's an extremely effective, cheap, and low carbon way of controlling temperatures which only requires small changes to design and behaviour.

Karrot_Kream 5y ago
Just window fans and shutters can go a long way to keeping houses cool. A tactic I like to use a lot in the wee months of the summer is to use a window fan to let cold air in at night, then put the shutters up during the morning to try and keep the night cold air inside as long as possible while still having some ventilation. Along with a ceiling fan this works very well, unless the night doesn't cool down enough.
cbg0 5y ago
The shutters you speak of are mostly for comfort because the sun is usually quite bright. You'll still see shutters + A/C units pretty much everywhere in Europe where you have 30+ degrees in the summer.
- sparsely 5y ago
  The significantly reduce heat from solar radiation - you might still need AC units, but they need to do less work and be on less often.
anigbrowl 5y ago
American houses used to be designed for the weather to some extent, eg having internal airflow to maintain cool cupboards in kitchens. Having worked in residential construction for a few years (only on the West coast) my feeling is that well-maintained older homes are often in better condition than newer ones.