An Energy Efficient Small House from Team B

Small is Beautiful: First Shots of Team C's New House

Heat Transfer Through Windows occurs by Conduction, Convection And Radiation

Our task, if we want to be energy efficient, is to cut down on heat transfer through windows. There are three ways that heat transfer occurs: Conduction, Convection and Radiation. Window engineers use the physics knowledge of heat transfer to develop window technology that cuts down on heat transfer. Dr Peff Puff and Heat Team A sent us a site that has great windows for sale that cut down on all three types of heat transfer. They use the heavy gas Argon instead of air in the window cavity. This cuts down on convection. They have a special low e coating that reflects heat back into the house but allows heat pass in from the sun. They have spacial insulated spacers that cut down on conduction of heat through the frame.

House Design Ideas from Dr Daman (at the beginning of the project)

I have been going through my files and I found this communication from Dr Daman. It put some good ideas together into a house plan. I wanted to post this and wondered where Dr Daman had gone with these ideas? I would be very interested to know how they turned out. They sounded very good. I found a house that sort of fit the description Dr Daman gave so I have included it for illustration from www.pace-cleanenergy.org/.../past tours.htm

"By Using half submerged (underground) homes you can insulate the house much better and make it more energy efficient. Also using the large window panes to preserve and collect heat, using this with solar panels above you could heat or cool your house all year round if facing the proper direction. Also using an A-frame shape with the large window, the heat that would regularly go through the roof could be ventilated back down to create an alround heat. This could work because a flat roof spreads the heat all over the roof making it hard too collect but an A-frame can concentrate this heat to a specific area. " Dr Daman

This illustration showing how Thermal Chimneys work is from the green builder reference but there is a better picture showing how the chimney would be constructed at that same web site.

Thermal Chimneys
A thermal chimney is a device which is used to cool down the inside area of the house in summer. This is used when the air is hot and humid.

The thermal chimney is built in the form of a narrow passage to the roof, like a chimney. it has a black metal absorber, which is on the inside the chimney, behind a glazed front that is on the outside of the house and is able to reach high temperatures. This surface can be insulated from the house. The chimney must be able to terminate above the roof level of the house so that air will be drawn out through it.

There is also a rotating metal scoop at the top which opens opposite the wind, this will allow heated air to exhaust without being too overcome by prevailing wind.
The cost of a Thermal Chimney depends on the elements of the chimney its self. There is a layer of insulation on the inside wall and a glazed or 'window' surface on the outer wall. The only things that will cost are the insulation and the glazing and the black metal of the chimney. We would be insulating anyway so the only extra cost is the glazing, the metal and the rotating turbine.

To understand why the metal would be painted black please read the post about absorption by different colours by HEAT Team A

To understand why hot air rises check out Dr Noot and Team B's post on the behaviour of air when heated.

A post on convection currents should be coming up soon!
www.greenbuilder.com/sourcebook/PassSolGuide3.html

House Size Issues - Should people live in large houses?

Recently I checked other Blogs for discussions about House Size
I didn't find any comments from people defending living large
Here are some comments that answer the question:

Should we live in Large Houses?

"your house size reflects your green footprint - bigger house, bigger waster of resources - more power needed, increase in infrastructure needed to service these ridiculous houses, more applicances, more bathrooms so more water wastage, more heat/cooling required

- people who live in these giant houses should feel bad - you are part of the larger problems the world is facing today and in the future.

Small houses are far more effective at keeping warm/cool depending on the season, use less resources, easier and cheaper to service and maintain, and most of all allow far more space for other houses."

"I can't believe the size of some houses that people are building.Who seriously needs 5 bathrooms, and 6 bedrooms? (unless you have a large family, but we all know the average family size is pretty small these days).I think it is pure greed. Yes, we would all like a nice big house, but there is such a thing as too big.Plus, you have to clean it! I could not be bothered dusting rooms that were never used. What's the point?!I think it is also forcing people to stay indoors. People are opting for larger houses with court-yards, rather than a smaller house with a big backyard. It's no wonder we are becoming obese."

"Smaller is definitely better. Big houses is symptomatic of the selfishness of our society (big diets, big cars, big electricity bills, big environmental crisis!).Having travelled through Europe and living in Asia for a couple of years, I really appreciate the lifestyle of living in high density residential areas. The lively atmosphere and sense of community are uplifting and makes you enjoy being outside."

"Smaller houses are better. McMansions are related to the 'Forget the quality, feel the width' mentality. Thes houses are no doubt luxurious, but also energy & space inefficient.Thing is, it won't change. People are always going to take more than they need."

"I think councils should more closely regulate the size of houses. And if they won't, the state or fed govt should do something about it. Clearly a waste. My wife and i are planning to build a new home in the next year or so, the size of the house is a big issue for us, we cannot agree.""big houses, in my experience are for greedy, selfish and misguided people"

Please add your comment: Should we live in large houses?

Dr Noot's Particle Theory Diagram

This diagram was drawn by Dr Noot using paint. Dr Noot had trouble making it bigger so he has posted it as it is. If you click on it, you will see a larger version. The diagram explains the transfer of heat through copper to the butter in terms of the particle theory of matter in The Butter Melting experiment posted earlier on the blog by Dr Noot. The warm water means that the water particles have high kinetic energy. they are moving fast. They bump into the copper particles and transfer kinetic energy to them. then the kinetic energy is transferred along the copper particles by a kind of domino effect until the energy reaches the butter. The butter particles get kinetic energy and start to move faster. the butter melts.

Helpful Tips on Windows for Passive Solar Heating

If we want to use passive solar heating in our houses we need to choose the right windows.

Looking at the diagram here (from www.nfbuilders.com/r2000/default.asp?page=windows) we want high solar gain in winter so that we get the energy from the sun to help us heat the house. We also want to reduce as much as possible the loss of heat back out through the windows in winter by the processes of radiation, convection and conduction. Argon gas helps cut down on the transfer of heat out by convection because convection currents do not form as easily in argon as in air. Argon filled windows also cut down on conduction because argon does not conduct heat as well as air. We also need to cut down as much as we possibly can on infiltration around the edges of the windows and we can get windows we special foam insulation spacers for that.
Heat Team A found a great site http://www.windows4u.ca/w_cas.html
If you scroll down this site you can see an awesome graphic of the different types of windows

In summer we would need to cover the windows with drapes or blinds so that the house does not get too hot.

Build Smaller Houses

Q: How do I help the planet?
A: Build smaller houses.

"The most obvious way to conserve land, energy, and building resources, especially wood, is to build smaller houses. A smaller house uses less materials, and causes less pollution, at every stage...

"The Small House Society" has a web site

/www.resourcesforlife.com/groups/smallhousesociety/

Small houses can be beautiful too as you can see from the design here in the picture of the interior of a small house in Finland

Author/architect Esa Piironen has written a book called "Small Houses in Finland" and this picture is from that book. Finland has a climate similar to Canadian climates and to conserve energy architects there design very stylish houses

2007 House Size/ newspaper article

We found this old newspaper clipping and really this is an old issue! We disbanded a couple of years ago when average house size decreased to 1,000 square feet out of necessity. What's going on? Have we woken Sleeping Beauty? Are these House Designs for Real?
"The Citizens Against Living Large"

Read this article from 2007

Brian Hutchinson, National PostPublished: Saturday, March 31, 2007

"Canadians are living in houses bigger than ever, even though our families are shrinking. In this, the first of a three-part series, the National Post examines the driving desire for more Space And The Backlash Against Living Large.
Danny Evans was raised in postwar Vancouver, in a tiny, cottage style house, with his mother and father and a cluster of siblings. "We barely had room to move," he recalls. "But we didn't consider it a hardship. It was just normal."
Danny's house was 800 sq. feet

Heating Bills

I have recently commented on all three of the house designs on the BLOG. First I want to say how lovely they are. They remind me so much of the houses of my younger days. Thirteen years ago in 2007 we could afford houses like these because we used natural gas to heat them.

I am a bit of a pack rat and today I came across an old uniongas bill of mine. We only paid $213.87 to heat our house for the month of March when the average outdoor temperature was ony 2C. Our house was very large by today's standards 1,650 square feet but not that big by 2007 standards. Our house was not well insulated and looking back on it I bet we wasted an awful lot of heat energy.

Now, in 2020 we heat using electricity that comes to us from wind turbines. Our energy costs are 100 times higher than they were. Now our house is insulated very well and we do everything we can to cut down on energy use. However there is no way we can afford a house like the ones you have designed, unless the rooms are very small. Can you please add the size of each house so that I know?
Mrs Doris Cunningham

Growing Balloons/ expanding air

Some time ago Drs Noot, Justice and Hudson showed that air expands when heated. We never posted pics. of this but here it is! The fact that air expands and rises when it is heated may be important for explaining some of our work on building energy efficient houses.

A balloon was placed over the opening of a 2L pop bottle. There was just air in the pop bottle. The pop bottle was then placed in a beaker of water. The hot plate was turned on and the water was heated until it boiled. As the water heated the balloon expanded.

Making thermometers/expansion of liquids when heated

A while back Heat Team A made thermometers. Following this the junior and senior elementary students made thermometers too. Dr Peff Puff gave them advice. The thermometers worked in that when they were placed in hot water the colour water that you can see went up the straw and when they were placed in cold water the coloured water went down in the straw. This is because liquids expand when heated and contract when cooled, so do gases and solids. This knowledge may be important in some way in our house designs.

The Unveiling of Heat Team C's House Design for Sustainable Living

Comparison of Absorption of Radiant Heat by Black and White Surfaces

My team has finished an experiment to test which test tube's [when covered in black or white tape] water was the hottest. We covered one test tube in black electrical tape and one in white masking tape. We taped those to a ring stand. We put a thermometer in each test tube and then got a lamp. We plugged the lamp in and focused it on both test tubes evenly. We looked at the temperature of each test tube every 15 minutes. These are our results:

At time zero the water in the black tube was at: 26ºC

At time zero the water in the white tube was at: 25ºC
At time 15 mins the water in the black tube was at: 30ºC
At time 15 mins the water in the white tube was at: 26ºC
At time 30mins the water in the black tube was at: 34ºC

At time 30 mins the water in the white tube was at: 27ºC

Sedum Mats

Sedums have been used alot for planting on green roofs because they are resistant to wind, frost and drought. Sedums absorb water really well. Some companies, such as living roofs, http://www.livingroofs.org/ , supply pre-made sedum blankets that are rolled up and can be transported to the buyer of the green roof and simply installed by unrolling. The depth of the growth medium is 2 cm. The growth medium is laid on a base layer of Polyester, Hessian, orporous polythene. When the growing roof is installed it is placed on 5-7cm of growth medium. Probaby all the usual layers for the green roof are already installed (eg. drainage, waterproofing etc) I have not read information yet regarding tests of the amount of reduction in heat transfer through these roofs. If anyone has such information I would love to read it.
Dr Rita Carson and Heat Team A

More interior photos from Team A

Garage with hybrid car and Mom and Dad's room with TV in back

Building Green Roofs

More on Green Roofs and choice of plants

Plants are what make green roofs. They're a combination of a waterproof membrane along with a root barrier, a drainage layer and the growing medium and a variety of plants, grasses, sedums, cactus or shrubs. The area or climate affects the choice of plants used on the green roof. Drought tolerance is a significant factor because you want the green roof to require as little care as possible. Drought tolerant plants don't need to be watered so much.
Green roofs, also called 'vegetative roofs’ are living plants installed on top of conventional roofs. There are two types of green roof designs, extension and intensive. Green roofs are lasting ecosystems that imitate many of the processes found in nature. Remember a green roof can keep buildings cooler, save energy, extend the useful life of the roof, and add beauty and usfullness to a space.
from Dr Kendra Acre

To the Johnson Family/ Enjoy your new home at 808 Eco. Ave.!!!!

Nathasa's bedroom, whole downstairs, Ida's kitchen

Passive Solar Heating

Passive solar heating is when solar energy passes through a large window, and is used for heating the house. An interesting fact about passive heating is that, even in a very harsh or cold climate, overheating is one of the biggest problems. To figure out how many windows to place on the southside of the house, you have to first figure out the area of the floor in the sun space. Then you must do the same with the window or windows. After you have determined both areas, you have to make sure that the window area is 1/8 of the floor area in order to prevent the sunspace from overheating.

DEFEND THE PARTICLE THEORY

Dr Spacey and Dr Kendra!
Can you help us out defending the particle theory of matter to the GROB?

Anyone else remember any experiments showing evidence for the particle theory of matter?

Yesterday the lunch room was like a conference centre and everyone was trying to defend the particle theory but today some people were very interested in the continuum theory from GROB.

Today it has become more like a debate - Dermot is the referee, (more power to him! - as we say in Ireland).

As you know all serious scientists accept the particle theory for many good reasons.

Help us out by posting comments that defend the particle theory........
Dr B.
Dr. Spacey and Dr. Acre said...
The particle theory tells us that there are spaces between all particles of matter.
This is the experiment that provides evidence for that.

Alcohol and Water Experiment.
1. Get pipette and test tube (10ml). with the pipette get 5ml of water with food colouring in it and put it in the test tube.
2. Turn the switch on the burette and slowly pour the rubbing alcohol(90% alcohol) into the test tube above the coloured water you should see the line separating the two different liquids. Fill the test tube completely
3. Put your thumb on the end of the test tube and shake it vigorously. you should feel a suction on your thumb.
4. Without taking your thumb off the top of the tube notice that a bubble appears inside the tube that was not there before. They is the space that the alcohol did take up but now doesn't because the alcohol particles fit between the water particles ans the whole lot together takes up less space than adding the alcohol space and the water space together.
This provides evidence that there is space between all particles because the two liquids mixed and the rubbing alcohol filled in the gaps between the water particles.

GROB

This is a transmission from another world, KERTRATS, you should receive it in your Earth Year of 2020. We have intercepted your communications and interpreted your language. We have trouble understanding your concept of the individual. We, the GROB, are interconnected and integrated. We form a continuum. We form a continuous unit. What hurts one hurts everyone. Our whole planet forms a continuum: what hurts one part of the planet hurts everyone and everything. We are a system. The system is called GROB. We can act singly but we act for the whole. We are GROB. We wonder what it is that gave your people the view of the importance of individuals. When you act singly you act for the individual and forget about the whole. You forget the interconnectedness of your GROB. We notice how this view influences your observations and even your scientific theories. We intercepted a communication explaining your particle theory of matter. Only an individual-centered society such as yours could produce a theory such as this. We in KERTRATS know that MATTER is a continuous substance. When we exert pressure on one part all parts react. We intercepted your transmission in your Earth Year 1920. We wonder if you still feel the same way about the importance of individuals?End of transmission.

Moving HEAT through materials

Heat Transfer Through Various Materials or
Testing Heat Conductivity of Various Materials

The purpose of this activity is to test the ability of various materials to conduct heat.
Procedure:
1. Attach metal strips to the clothes line using paper clips. Attach the ends of the clothes line to the two support stands.
2. Place equal sized lumps of butter on top of each strip.
3. Prepare a hot water bath with foil over top.
4. At time zero place the water bath under the clothes line and ensure that all strips are just touching the water (the foil prevents steam from melting the butter).
5. Using your timing device measure the time it takes for each lump of butter to melt on each strip.
6. Record the times .

Experiment 1

The temperature of the water was 51C

Material /Time taken for butter to melt
Copper /40s
Aluminum /50s
Brass/ 1.45s
Plastic/ had not melted at 5 mins.

Experiment 2

The temperature of the water was 37C

Material /Time taken for butter to melt
Copper/ 60s
Aluminum /5 mins 30s
Brass /9 mins
Plastic /had not melted after 10 mins

from Dr.Noot

Atoms, Molecules and HEAT: The particle theory of matter

Dr Spacey and Dr Acre have been working with the MOLO program using Molecular workbench software. This particular example is called phase change #180. You can use it to help you understand the particle theory of matter. You add heat with the bunsen burner and remove heat by throwing dry ice at the test tube - its really fun!

What is happening to the atoms and molecules when we heat or cool matter?

What does transfer of heat energy to matter do to it?

What does heating something really mean?

Fascinating questions! Ask Dr Spacey and Dr Acre for more information.

Dr. Boyle

The Particle Theory of Matter explains the Nature of Matter in Different Phases
by Dr Luna Spacey and Dr Kendra Acre

When you reach a high temperature the water in the test tube boils and evaporates. When the temperature of the test tube goes up, the water molecules move faster.
When you make the temperature very low the water condenses and goes down to the bottom of the test tube again. The water molecules move more slowly when the dry ice cools down the water.
The model depicts a liquid when the molecules are moving but they are moving slowly so the water isn't frozen or in a gas state.
I think that the model shows water in a solid state when the molecules are moving only a little and they are moving very closely together.
Temperature related to the motion of molecules in that heat makes molecules move faster.
Molecules in ice are moving, but close together.
The motion of molecules in a gas is faster and they move farther apart whereas the molecules in a liquid are closer together.

GREEN ROOF DRAINAGE

A green roof, in order to work functionally, needs to have a drain. A drain takes the leftover water, that collects under the dirt, and brings it down, usually to the basement, and purifies it. This will cost a bit because the filtration systems plus the piping with the added fee of, yes, the drain. The drain is an essential item in having a Green roof, and without it, you would waste a lot of water, and the dirt along with it, there is no other way to be energy-conservational.

Picture from www.greenroofblocks.com/Frame-8-homepage8.html

Keeping the HEAT in: Experiment to test insulation materials

See the comment below for an explanation of the experiment

Awesome reduction in heat transfer through a green roof

If you're wondering about the kind of experiments that are used to determine green roof efficiency, then you might be interested in Dr. Liu's experiments. Dr. Liu currently works in Ottawa measuring the amount of heat transferred through the greenroofs at each month of the year. During winter the green roof doesn't make much of a difference when compared to a regular roof. However during the rest of the year the green roof reduces the amount of heat transferred through the roof.

" The average daily energy demand for space conditioning caused by the reference roof system was 20,500 BTU to 25,600 BTU (6 kWh to 8 kWh). However, the green roof system's growing medium and plants modified the heat flow and reduced the average daily energy demand to less than 5,100 BTU (2 kWh)-- a reduction of more than 75%."

quoted from Dr. Liu ( National Research Council Canada, Ottawa)

From: Dr. Lola Justice

Heat Recovery Ventilation System Diagram

Great graphic of the Heat Recovery Ventilation HRV System from Dr Daman.

You should ventilate for sure, it is a way to keep your house safe from dangerous chemicals like carbon monoxide, or toxins from smokers, gas leaks or just from using a household product like hairspray.

In modern homes the architectural structure and design is so airtight that seamingly harmless things can have a larger affect for they are trapped in the house. Also with ventilation the air is much less stuffy so you won't have a problem in your elderly years!

The HRV system is generally placed in the basement connected to the supply+air-return vents in your houses main ducting.

An HRV sytem heats the cold FRESH air from outside when it brings it back in and pushes out the hot stale air and transfers heat from the hot out going air to the cold incoming air.

An HRV system uses aluminum passages that are in close contact with each other and when the heat of the hot air passage touch the cold of the cold air passage it transfers the heat through the aluminum from the hot to the cold.

The HRV system can result in up to 85% of the heat staying in the house!

In winter in Canada the HRV must have a defrost damper. With a defrost damper if the HRV gets frost inside of it the defrost damper will shut down your HRV for a few minutes while the ice melts. Then the HRV starts running again. This keeps your HRV working and in good condition, Dr. Daman