A great presentation created by my colleague Tiziana Volpato with her students for a Comenius project. Our home is like a mirrored shell, it reflects our idea of comfort, it provides protection, it fits our needs, it reflects our attitude towards the environment, so the greenER… the better.

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HOME SWEET HOME
HOME GREEN HOME
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Our home is like a mirrored shell, it
reflects our idea of comfort, it
provides protection, it fits our
needs, it reflects our attitude
towards the environment, so the
greenER… the better.
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Two principles out of the
“BILL OF RIGHTS FOR THE PLANET”
(William McDonough architects for EXPO 2000 held in Hannover,Germany)
Insist on the right of humanity and nature to co-exist in a healthy, supportive, diverse,
and sustainable condition.
Understand the limitations of design.
No human creations lasts forever and design does not solve all problems. Those who
create and plan should practice humility in the face of nature. Treat nature as a model
and mentor, not an inconvenience to be evaded or controlled.
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Sustainable architecture revolvs around two basic principles:
Building orientation
Thermal insulation
Minimisation of
Energy consumption Natural ventilation
Window placement, sizing and shading
Heat absorbing building material
Energy efficient appliances
Autonomy in terms
of energy
Use of renewable resources
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● Save money on energy costs
• Reduce impact on the enviroment through the
decreased use of fossil fuels
• Increase comfort of effective natural lighting and
ventilation
• Improve resale value of your home due to lower
power bills
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Active solar design includes
systems to harness solar energy
by means of solar panels and
photovoltaic panels.
Passive solar design harnesses
the benefits of the sun using
standard construction features
making use of the sun, in terms
of daylight and heat, to maintain
comfortable temperatures.
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The envelope should allow the building to breathe
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ORIENTATION
PHOTOVOLTAIC TILES INSULATION
WINDOWS
SOLAR TUBE
LANDSCAPING
APPLIANCES WATER SAVING HEATING & COOLING page 11
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Solar power tiles can be installed to
produce electricity. They collect solar
radiations from the sun and convert that
energy into electricity.
Thermal solar panels use solar
radiations to integrate the heat pump in
the production of hot water.
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A solar tube consists of a clear dome that collects sunlight into a polished and
reflective tube that reflects the light down to a diffuser on the ceiling
bringing
natural daylight into interior rooms.
They are inexpensive and unlikely to experience problems like rain leaks, heat
loss, condensation or overheating.
The light provided has a natural quality and is sufficient for a small room,
hallway or staircase.
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Standard kitchen and bathroom water faucets use
15 to 26 litres of water per minute.
High-efficiency showerhead and faucet aerators
reduce the flow rate. This conserves water and
improves faucet performance at the same time.
Low-flow heads save 44% over non-conserving
showerheads.
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The Dual Flush toilets allow water saving giving the
possibility to choose the most appropriate water saving
flush (3 litres flush or a standard 5 litres flush).
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Good insulation can reduce the heat
transfer and energy loss to one sixth
Material Characteristics and Main applications
Mineral wool is a porous material that traps the air, which makes it
properties
one of the best insulating materials. The porous and elastic structure
of the wool also absorbs noise in the air. Since it contains
Glass wool incombustible (λ ) (thermal mineral •Roofs does not fuel fire or
•Lambda materials, wool
propagate flames.
conductivity) •Walls
•Acoustic •Cladding
•Flexible and light •Ceilings and partitions
•Not very expensive
Stone wool •Mechanical •Sandwich panel
•Fire resistant •Steel frame roof
•Acoustic •Floor (acoustic) page 16

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Ideally, the long side of the
house faces directly south and
shorter sides face east and
west.
This arrangement captures
heat and natural light in
winter, but minimizes
unwanted summer heat gain.
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A geothermal heat pump pumps heat to
or from the ground. It uses the heat of the
earth to provide heating, conditioning and
hot water. It is used both for cooling and
for heating. In the winter, it moves the
heat from the earth into the house. In the
summer, it pulls the heat from inside the
house and discharges it into the ground
Geothermal heat pumps reduce running
heating/cooling costs up to 25%-50%.
.
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Radiant Floor Heating Systems supply heat directly to
the floor of a house.
They consist of a system of pipes located beneath a
house floor that continuously circulate warm water.
The warmth from the water transfers itself to the
metal of the pipes and then radiates to the floor
above, heating it.
They provide a 15-40% energy saving over traditional
heating methods since a lower temperature is needed
to maintain thermal confort.
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Selection and placement of plants
can help control sunlight. Trees
must be carefully selected. A
“solar friendly” tree is a
deciduous tree that has a low
density branch structure, drops its
leaves early in the fall, and
regains them late in the spring.
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• Large windows should be
positioned on the south side, in
order to allow the winter sun to
warm internal spaces
• During the summer some sort of TYPICAL U-VALUES
shading device should be used to
keep out the hot summer sun U-value : heat-transfer coefficient value for w
• Double or triple glazed windows can
prevent loss and gain inside the
house
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Consumption by all-electrical
appliances and lighting
represents about 55% of the
electricity used by
households. The energy
label on appliances tells how
energy efficient the
appliance is and the energy
consumption per year in
kWh.
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The table below shows a comparative example between the consumption
of a traditional building and a bioclimatic one. Savings can be up to 67%.
The energy standard of a building is commonly measured by the energy
consumed for heating and cooling (kW/h) per square metre of building
surface (m2) and usually over a year.
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Thank you for your attention !
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