Energy
Orthographic and bird’s eye view for a Zero-energy house
A zero energy house shows types of energy one can use in a house. After examining forms of energy such as kinetic, potential, mechanical, electrical, chemical, light, radiant, nuclear, and heat energy, they got paired up with the kinds of energy used at home. Those could draw energy from hydropower, wind (windmill), electrical energy from a power plant, from gas, and solar batteries. Those types of energy to be used in your home had assigned color to each specific energy type. For example solar roofs were placed on a dream house, or windmills were set on its property to generate energy with. It includes a space for cars, bikes, horses, or a garden or a solar-heated swimming pool.
Various kinds of materials can be used for a zero energy house to make it more energy efficient. For example aluminum foil and Styrofoam reflect heat and should be used to insulate; fiberglass with air inside would be used for the attic, with house insulation for the ceiling in accordance with recommendations set for a particular geographical region a, for example of R19 and the walls with R11. Since black, green, grey, and white colors absorb radial energy differently, it could be selected for the exposed parts. Passive heating from a solar system could be installed; also retrofitting structures and heat transfer systems could be applied. Space should be arranged to conduct heat well. A good spot selection was made for a house, and the front of the house faces south.
There are also unconventional materials used. For example, a paper bale or straw bale houses have been made from recycled newspapers, incombustible and relatively indestructible. They save lots of energy by having very wide walls, so one may place objects, or even rest sitting against the windowpane. They were embedded into a structure of a house, so they only exist through their protective power.
For example Rich Messer’s houses in Fraser, Colorado:
http://www.skinet.com/ski/detergent/2001/10/the-paper-bale-house
And images:
http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=paper+bale+houses&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=McK-T5_mGoGEgweE4NjxCQ&biw=1074&bih=966&sei=NcK-T8-
2GemN6QGkz4myCg#q=paper+bale+houses&um=1&hl=en&client=safari&sa=N&rls=en&tbm=isch&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=842eb4f84768d173&biw=1325&bih=1186
The first step to create a plan for a house, was to develop an orthographic projection of it.
Ways to save energy in every part of the house: living room, dining room, office, master bedroom and bedrooms, bathrooms, mudroom, den, basement, attic, laundry room, kitchen, garden, backyard, and garage were shown. A pattern coded types for saving energy were assigned. Some devices, appliances, applications, technologies, methods, routines, and habits, along with traditions were depicted. To save energy even more some typical family traditions supported or hinder edenergy savings. For example, some dry their laundry in the attic or in the garden; others rigorously turn out unneeded lights to save energy.
Local governments and organizations often provide citizens with brochures and kits for saving energy. This kit may contain: a bucket for collecting rainwater, tape for insulating windows, new types of bulbs (13W and 19W compact fluorescent light bulbs stand for the old 60W and 75W incandescent light), crises for faucets, programmable thermostats for controlling temperature, shower heads (1.5 gal/min), kitchen/bathroom faucet aerators, refrigerator thermometers, hot water temperature gauge indicator (with recommended temperature 120 F).
They also provide a pamphlet advising people to educate their children about energy saving, use bicycle instead of a car to save gas, arrange for a better transportation for every family member, open or close windows and drapes according to the atmospheric conditions, turn off all unnecessary lights, computers, applications, and unplug appliances at night, stop using a screen saver, lower the heating/air conditioning units at night, place buckets to collect rainwater, use a dishwater wisely and do the dishes with the earth safe detergents using not too much water, to use silver color dish kitchen, save and recycle paper to save trees (cancel unnecessary mail order catalogs, bring your own bags to a store for packaging, reuse printer’s paper), insert a bottle to a reservoir tank, use a fan to use air condition less, buy less food (to avoid throwing it out because of the expiration date), cover the pool. They advise people to put on a sweater instead of turning heating on. They explain that clothing either lets the heat in or isolates, that wool should be worn instead of polyester, which serves as an isolator. They encourage doing simple home experiments, such as covering colored cans with a cardboard, set them out to sun and see how cans painted black react differently from those painted white.
Apart from these small changes some improvements the house were made. They aimed at creating a ZEH Zero Energy House. This may include using solar energy by installing solar panels to have solar heating and warm water, or even generate excessive energy. Some savings come from applying environment- and energy-saving building and insulation materials.