On Slowing Climate Change with Ecological, Thermo-Active Building Systems

Abstract

In the early days of energy conservation(1980s) several countries took the need for energy efficiency seriously enough to sponsor some demonstration buildings. For instance, a US university design concept was built in Regina, Canada in1978. The Saskatchewan Energy Conservation house [1s]demonstrated a new, passive technology. It had super-insulated and airtight walls, large windows on the south facade, evacuated solar pipes for domestic water heating, and a heat recovery ventilator. Despite of all the technology demonstrated there, as Bomberg et al [2] explains, the passive measures were not accepted in the Canadian marketplace because the builders modified the heating system and thereby changed the air flow pattern in the house. The 1995, German passive house was accepted in marketplace because the built system could be duplicated as it was demonstrated. In this case, saving from the elimination of expensive boiler were used to improve the level of thermal insulation and air tightness. These developments led to acceptance of a few points from building science [2-4], namely: (1) any building is a system, (2) a design team should work together starting with the conceptual stage, (3) heat, air, and moisture flows are not separable, and their interactions must be recognized, (4) excellent air tightness and a high-level of thermal insulation are required in all climates.