Aktivhaus!
Posted on | June 6, 2009 | 1 Comment
From Treehugger comes news of a “passive house” with solar hot water collectors and a heat pump that actually generates more energy than the house consumes. A typical passive house is designed with lots of insulation and less windows, in order to absorb heat and trap it in, thereby conserving solar energy and reducing the amount of energy needed to heat the space to near zero. (These are also known as “super insulated structures” and work well in extreme climate conditions.) The Aktivhaus goes a step further – it includes an active solar collector, consisting of solar thermal and photovoltaic energy which supplement the houses energy needs. So basically, when energy consumption is near zero thanks to the awesome passive features the house has, you can add solar energy and voila – you get a house that PROVIDES energy. And houses people! I’ll take one, please. 
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Awesome diagram from a Web site in a foreign language, courtesy of Treehugger.
Tags: efficient > energy > home > housing > materials > passive > saving > solar
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August 17th, 2009 @ 6:26 am
The Solar Aktivhaus Austria – Opening on October 2, 2009: “The Solar Active House is the first type of house that receives its entire, year-round energy demand for heat and hot water solely from free solar energy.”
This type of house was developed in cooperation with the well-known solar architect and engineer Georg W. Reinberg.
Count me in!