With superinsulation, even free-standing dwellings can be constructed so as to require very little added energy for heating. The houses featured in the article need some solar input to be energy neutral, input not available to many houses because of site limitations. Without the sun, you have to add a little heat -- so little that conventional heat sources no longer make sense. It makes sense to combine space and water heating into a single appliance, particularly since once the space heating requirements are drastically curtailed, water heating is the greater demand. That too can be reduced using solar (and even more with lifestyle changes), but again, not every property is in a good position to take advantage of the sun.
I have to wonder whether your heat pump will be used for hot water as well, George. It would make sense. Joel At 12:38 PM 1/1/09 -0800, you wrote: >On Tue, 12/30/08, Elan Shapiro <[email protected]> wrote: > >No Furnaces but Heat Aplenty in 'Passive Houses' > >http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/27/world/europe/27house.html?th&emc=th > >Elan, > >Interesting, but this residential design concept appears to be very much >like the one behind the original Commonland townhomes off Slaterville >Road, now pushing 30 years old. The Commonland units were also built with >no furnaces and instead rely on a small heat exchanger, super insulation, >solar energy and heat generated by bodies and appliances. > >But is it a trend? > >Unfortunately here in Ithaca and Tompkins County, as well as the rest of >the country, archaic public attitudes backed by archaic local zoning >regulations effectively prohibit this type of compact, energy efficient >residential development by limiting the number of dwelling units per >structure, capping density at ridiculously low levels, and requiring >excessive setbacks everywhere. > >Although a townhouse design, the density of Commonland is only about 2 >dwellings per acre, or about one-eigth to one-tenth the density of a >typical contemporary European neighborhood. > >George Frantz > > > > > > >_______________________________________________ >For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, >please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > >RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: >[email protected] >http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins >Questions about the list? ask [email protected] >free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins Questions about the list? ask [email protected] free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
