Thursday 12 November 2015

A Sneak Peak at Future Housing

My parents went on a house tour and Amherst, Massachusetts. They came back raving about the cool the Potwine Passive House! Although, cool may be the wrong word, because even on a crisp New England morning the house was nice and toasty. This was, in part, due to the feature that stuck out to my parents, the flooring.

It was a thick concrete slab, not what you'd expect on a home tour. This slab was vital to the heating and cooling of the house. It stored heat throughout the day and slowly realised it at night. In fact, 75% of the house's heating to comes from body heat and solar light. In the summer, the slab would become a heat sink. The combination of flooring and extraordinary insulation in the house keeps it comfortable year round.

This home reduces carbon emission while fluidly adapting the temperature of its environment. As the world heats up, this may be a sustainable solution for a comfortable home temperature.
 
 
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2 comments:

  1. Unknown13 November 2015 at 02:30

    This is great! Just like with the solar panels in your previous post its really interesting how little changes to materials/design can go a long way. I really love ideas such as this where just modifying a material makes homes/buildings more environmentally friendly without a sacrifice. Maybe I am a little bias as I think the concrete flooring looks really aesthetically pleasing too!

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    1. Unknown17 November 2015 at 09:16

      I'm really glad you like the post, it's such a cool house. I like solutions that only feel like a small change, so they can quickly become part of your routine. That way sustainablity is a progression of 'new normals' instead of a lifechanging upheaval.

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