Sustainable house
Individual project. Proposal that assesses 4 technological interventions to deliver a carbon neutral performance in a detached home.
Proposed technological interventions: insulating the building envelope, incorporating electric underfloor heating powered by solar photovoltaic panels, redesigning pipes to avoid pressure/head loss, and creating a rainwater harvesting system. Insulating the walls, floor, roof and hot water pipes reduces heat loss by 80.78%, 65.95%, 86.59% and 99.96%, respectively. Moreover a 92.58% efficient Heat Recovery Ventilation System and triple glazed windows (which save 95.07% of traditional heat loss) are installed.
The solar photovoltaic panels generate 119.24 kW per day and are capable of fully supplying the household's daily energy consumption during summer (103.10 kW per day). There is a pressure loss in pipes due to friction, elevation, fittings and bends, so an efficient pipe system is designed, which only uses 127.77 W. A rainwater harvesting system cover 100% of the household's grey water demand. 64664.6 L of rainfall are collected every year, filtered and stored in a 5.24 m3 underground tank.
