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An acquaintance of mine works with a builder that specializes in zero energy homes. They mostly build in a climate similar to the UK. The houses are insanely in
by jasonwatkinspdx 3y ago
An acquaintance of mine works with a builder that specializes in zero energy homes. They mostly build in a climate similar to the UK. The houses are insanely insulated and airtight, but they have an air exchange unit that cycles fresh air in through a heat exchanger so the house temperature stays steady.
These houses are honestly quite pleasant to be in. The insulation has the side effect of being very good noise dampening as well. I was talking to the owners of one and they said they'd never used the backup electric heater. The one time things got a little cold they light a candle in their bedroom and everything was fine.
So I think in temperate climates, the answer is air tightness and thermal control, not whole house fans.
- ndsipa_pomu 3y agoWith old houses, air tightness isn't always practical as they need to breathe: https://www.greenspec.co.uk/building-design/importance-of-breathability-in-old-buildings/ https://www.greenspec.co.uk/building-design/importance-of-br...
- walthamstow 3y agoThat's what the air exchange unit is for. It brings fresh air in and exhausts stale air, passing the heat from the stale air to the fresh air as it does so. I would love one in my 1970-built house. In the types of old houses described in your link, this type of thing was designed to be done by one or more open fires, which drew fresh air in through cracks and crevices and exhausted up the chimney.
- WirelessGigabit 3y agoI lived in one of those homes. In fact, I had it built to spec. Very thick insulation Heatpump Solar panels Very energy efficient overall. Except... In the summer it overheats. Once it heats up you cannot get it to cool down at all. Horrible.