Browse Forums Eco Living 1 Jul 17, 2009 10:45 am ABC1 is screening a new 3 part series, "World Greenest Homes", from next Thursday 6:05 PM, see the link: http://www.abc.net.au/tv/guide/netw/200907/programs/ZX0051A001D23072009T180700.htm Chris My father rode a camel, I drive a car, my son flies in a jetliner, his son will ride a camel.Saudi saying Re: New Program on ABC1 4Jul 23, 2009 9:15 pm Did anyone see tonights program? If not pod cast it from the ABC Well worth it Where you are coming from is where you are going to... Re: New Program on ABC1 5Jul 23, 2009 10:10 pm I'm a tad disappointed. There was too much stress on "posh" and too little on technology and innovation. And I don't like yankee accent . Now, if I had a few millions to spare I might like it better ......sigh.... Chris My father rode a camel, I drive a car, my son flies in a jetliner, his son will ride a camel.Saudi saying Re: New Program on ABC1 6Jul 23, 2009 10:23 pm Some good ideas though... How was that highway house (9 93) "It's ok you can take deliveries on Sunday said the Cop" Nice copper I have a similar fountain planned for the new house... and a creekline for the Trout The concept is to remove dust and sound good Where you are coming from is where you are going to... Re: New Program on ABC1 8Jul 24, 2009 10:00 am I guess it is like the space race... It was very expensive, however we got heaps of technology that has now been implemented. You could say the ppl doing their houses are the forerunners for the next tranche of housing construction and design. I agree the houses were HUGE but there was so much in them that makes sense, I don't see myself discounting them wholesale. Imagine creating 80% of your power needs... ( could save you 2000 PA) The goverment would be closing down power stations, and saving squillions, possibly to spend on health, roads and education. ...and water ...and waste water ...and materials IMHO only Where you are coming from is where you are going to... Re: New Program on ABC1 9Jul 24, 2009 12:29 pm I noticed all of them said it was warm in winter inside their places. And i'm wondering how is that possible. Huge open spaces with extremely high ceilings. Heat rises so surely it would take an enormous amount of heat for you to feel it at floor level? Re: New Program on ABC1 10Jul 24, 2009 1:26 pm onc_artisan Imagine creating 80% of your power needs... ( could save you 2000 PA) The goverment would be closing down power stations, and saving squillions, possibly to spend on health, roads and education. I strongly believe the opposite. We have been hoodwinked by the eco-lobby to think that domestic power generation is the way to go. Each day I drive to work through the Adelaide Hills and notice a number of houses with a few solar panels on their roofs with gigantic eucalypts keeping them in shade for most of the day. If conservationism is about making the best use of precious resources (silicon) than putting these panels where they are is a waste of time. It is better to let the utilities install them in an optimal location with high solar insolation e.g. Whyalla and make full potential of their energy generating capability. Even with line losses of 5-10% this would be far more efficient than several thousand sub-optimal domestic installations. There is also an intrinsic efficiency in having a power grid. Rather than storing excess energy in batteries (toxic, expensive, limited life span) we can port the electricity to areas with higher demand. Regionalised water management makes more sense than power management. Re: New Program on ABC1 11Jul 24, 2009 1:33 pm d@n I noticed all of them said it was warm in winter inside their places. And i'm wondering how is that possible. Huge open spaces with extremely high ceilings. Heat rises so surely it would take an enormous amount of heat for you to feel it at floor level? Zero energy design is a misnomer. You can have minimal inputs to keep a house warm but not nothing. The emphasis should be on actual consumption not local energy production. I wonder if the on-site energy generation is equivalent to what most houses take off the grid anyway. There are houses that can consume < 45kWh/m2/year which is a tenth of what most houses consume. That would easily require less than 10 PV panels (1.5 kW) system. Re: New Program on ABC1 12Jul 25, 2009 9:22 pm dymonite69 - Silica we are an island made of sand do you think it is a finite resource? dymonite69 I wonder if the on-site energy generation is equivalent to what most houses take off the grid anyway. Duh! if I can produce what I use, surely that would save power production at a distant factory dymonite69 Each day I drive to work through the Adelaide Hills and notice a number of houses with a few solar panels on their roofs with gigantic eucalypts keeping them in shade for most of the day. Why don't you pop in and tell them to take the ugly things off their roof and let the coal fired powerstations do the job d@n I noticed all of them said it was warm in winter inside their places. And i'm wondering how is that possible. Huge open spaces with extremely high ceilings. Heat rises so surely it would take an enormous amount of heat for you to feel it at floor level? D@n when there are enough correctly orientated solargain houses around you will get the opportunity to feel the warm within . There are several down here ( a cold neck of the woods) that are warm as toast Dymo, rather than completely knocking something why don't you tell us how to do it I wonder who will be paying for the 2000k of power lines to my house from Wyalla, will you? Besides I much prefer parabolic heat exchange for power generation and hot water Did they really go to the moon? Is the earth really flat? Flight, what an absurd idea? onc Where you are coming from is where you are going to... Re: New Program on ABC1 13Jul 26, 2009 12:29 am onc_artisan dymonite69 - Silica we are an island made of sand do you think it is a finite resource? if I can produce what I use, surely that would save power production at a distant factory tell them to take the ugly things of their roof and let the coal fired powerstations do the job D@n when there are enough correctly orientated solargain houses around you will get the opportunity to feel the warm within . Silica is a plentiful resource but the production of polysilicone is currently limited: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114624912379938991.html Now let's think about a global solution for everyone not just a local one where a few lucky people get to be self-sufficient and the rest get plunged into the stone age. How are we going to shift this country's dependence on fossil fuel (oil, gas, coal) within the next 100 years? Total Household energy consumption 373 PetaJoules/year (mainly from coal electricity and natural gas, wood is a small fraction) Assuming standard PV efficiencies 1m2 @ 365 kWhr year. We would need 280 square kilometres of solar panels or 300m2 per household i.e. 300 panels for every one of the 8.5 million Australian household around the country operating in optimal conditions to deliver our total energy needs. Now this is just for household consumption. It ignores the huge commercial, industrial or transport sector. This represents only 8% of total consumption * So, you could solarize an entire capital city and you would still be shifting the deck chairs on the Titanic where fossil fuel usage would run largely unabated. * Total Australian energy consumption ~ 5770 PetaJoules/year Re: New Program on ABC1 14Jul 26, 2009 12:33 am onc_artisan Did they really go to the moon? No but they haven't been back onc_artisan Is the earth really flat? Whether or not it is doesn't really change who we are or our destiny onc_artisan Flight, what an absurd idea? The horse and buggy looks particularly viable when we inevitably run out of jet fuel. Re: New Program on ABC1 15Jul 26, 2009 12:47 am onc_artisan Dymo, rather than completely knocking something why don't you tell us how to do it I would rather encourage every Australian who vaguely has considered any form of eco-friendly measure to purchase Green power and force our utilities to increase their Renewables capital investment. For a minimal added cost to the household you are essentially increasing the solar plant in this country to offset the fossil fuel otherwise consumed by your household. The solution isn't appealing because 1) you don't get to advertise your eco-credentials for everyone in your neighbourhood to see. 2) if no one else participates you still end up in the same fossil-fuel depleted boat as everyone else Re: New Program on ABC1 16Jul 26, 2009 2:18 pm kristofw There was too much stress on "posh" and too little on technology and innovation. And I don't like yankee accent . Now, if I had a few millions to spare I might like it better ......sigh.... Chris Disagree Chris and Dan - Sure they were big houses etc, but the techniques and desing features can just as easily be included and have been included 1 and 2 bedroom houses in Australia just as effectivly on smaller budgets than many people think a house should costs them to build. for instance - the thermal mass wall with vents through it is not hard or costly to do and it provides large section of thermal insie the house, same applies to the CA house that used ventilation to cool if via the prevailing seabreezes, the rammed earth floor made of local clay and then sealed - is not all high tech or costly things to implement - it's just different - and using effective energy efficient principles. If you re-watch the show on iview and look for / listen for the components of the house and how they work - as oppossed to looking at how big the house is or the scale of the system - you might see the houses in a different light and how some features may be suitable for inclusion in your homes. Steve Re: New Program on ABC1 17Jul 26, 2009 2:23 pm dymonite69 onc_artisan Dymo, rather than completely knocking something why don't you tell us how to do it I would rather encourage every Australian who vaguely has considered any form of eco-friendly measure to purchase Green power and force our utilities to increase their Renewables capital investment. For a minimal added cost to the household you are essentially increasing the solar plant in this country to offset the fossil fuel otherwise consumed by your household. The solution isn't appealing because 1) you don't get to advertise your eco-credentials for everyone in your neighbourhood to see. 2) if no one else participates you still end up in the same fossil-fuel depleted boat as everyone else Totally agree Dyno and another componet to this is the fact that they are just starting to make low grade silicon for solar panels which will dramatically lower the costs anyway. At present they use IT chips grade silicon which is very high in purity and this is not required for solar cells anyway. But they still use it. I think solar has leaps and bounds in design and reduced costs to do yet. Re: New Program on ABC1 18Jul 26, 2009 2:35 pm Yak_Chat I think solar has leaps and bounds in design and reduced costs to do yet. My eyes are currently on Sliver cell (Oz technology) or 3rd generation thin film PV which 'print' the chemicals onto a flexible backing. Still in R&D mode. But yes, $/watt needs to improve to satisfy our national energy requirements. Re: New Program on ABC1 19Jul 26, 2009 3:21 pm onc_artisan I guess it is like the space race... It was very expensive, however we got heaps of technology that has now been implemented. You could say the ppl doing their houses are the forerunners for the next tranche of housing construction and design. Yak_Chat Sure they were big houses etc, but the techniques and desing features can just as easily be included and have been included 1 and 2 bedroom houses in Australia just as effectivly on smaller budgets than many people think a house should costs them to build. To a certain extent that's the way I see it. There were a couple of things that had me saying out loud "Yes but...!" One was the first house with the huge doors that open the house right up. Don't they have flies and mosquitoes in California? The other was the shower-bath in Greece. I thought the bath underneath was just a bit too clever, and more trouble than it's worth. Who's volunteering to climb down to clean the grout? I loved the idea of the shower being sort of indoor/outdoor with the big window, and the water diverted to the garden though. Re: New Program on ABC1 20Jul 26, 2009 5:30 pm Macy There were a couple of things that had me saying out loud "Yes but...!" "I am drowning in a tide of eco junk....' A cynical commentary but sadly true. Eco-Junk: Why Buying Less Is More Than Buying Green A person needs to be licensed to offer financial advice. Surely the accountant you use would have been chosen for his/her expertise in this field. Have you asked your… 1 6720 Is there a building permit? RU in Victoria? What is the value of the building contract? 1 6807 |