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Honda’s radically efficient, energy-producing smart home


al mcguire

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Not every impressive from this clip.  Selling points are carpet tiles, running drywall to the edges of door openings so you don't have to put molding around them, recycling couch springs. There's other points but nothing that will matter a tinkers damn.  Much to do about very little.  BTW, watch a news clip on how companies recycle old beds and bed springs - talk about getting the heebie-jeebies.

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The above response is what I have come to expect from Mirror. I would agree with you that the video fails to highlight some of the more substantial aspects of Honda's house project. If one were to read the article accompanying the video, I think we would all agree that Honda is doing the right thing and is demonstrating that it is quite feasible to design homes which can be very much more Earth-friendly. From the article:

It’s 1,944 square feet, runs on solar energy and battery power, and it doesn’t even need air conditioning.

 

Because its plans are all open-source and it produces more energy than it uses, it’s an excellent potential model for future California homes, because all new houses there will have to be net zero beginning in 2020.

 

“When we came to visit, I was shocked that it was 74 degrees inside when it was 104 outside,” Susan O’Hara tells Smithsonian. The windows face south and have eaves that block the sun when the day’s at it hottest, while still capturing the rays in winter. The thick walls are well insulated, and the roof reflects light.

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One of my daughters is a student at UC Davis. She knows a couple people who worked on this project. Yes, Honda probably funded the project for their own nefarious promotional ends. And yes, it doesn't include tons of only-in-the-lab technology. But that's the point: Beyond the energy management stuff (IIRC), everything is available off the shelf...i.e., others can do this now.

Sure, this demo unit is kind of a fishbowl. But in a neighborhood, this house looks like it would be quite livable.

Check out Honda's promotional site for more info:

http://www.hondasmarthome.com

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Hmm,

Several of their construction ideas aren't that practical in the real world. Still trying to see how implementing these rather EXPENSIVE modifications to a home will save energy. 

Don't get me wrong. I'm all in favor of stuff like this. Just want to get a better understanding of how these new ideas can be done by everyone and not just those with enough residual income to buy organic everything. After all, isn't the point to get everyone "off the grid" instead of just a select few. 

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The above response is what I have come to expect from Mirror. I would agree with you that the video fails to highlight some of the more substantial aspects of Honda's house project. If one were to read the article accompanying the video, I think we would all agree that Honda is doing the right thing and is demonstrating that it is quite feasible to design homes which can be very much more Earth-friendly. From the article:

It’s 1,944 square feet, runs on solar energy and battery power, and it doesn’t even need air conditioning.

 

Because its plans are all open-source and it produces more energy than it uses, it’s an excellent potential model for future California homes, because all new houses there will have to be net zero beginning in 2020.

 

“When we came to visit, I was shocked that it was 74 degrees inside when it was 104 outside,” Susan O’Hara tells Smithsonian. The windows face south and have eaves that block the sun when the day’s at it hottest, while still capturing the rays in winter. The thick walls are well insulated, and the roof reflects light.

It's too bad they didn't include those facts about the house in the video, it would of been more informative and interesting.  Didn't see the article, just the youtube link.

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Regardless of what Honda's doing, researchers at Cardiff University have also proved that it's possible to build a carbon-positive house at an affordable price: they proved it by building it. This is not some PR stunt, but a genuine attempt to move forward in reducing the amount of power we consume. And it's in Wales, not noted for the huge amounts of sunshine it enjoys during the year.

http://eandt.theiet.org/news/2015/jul/carbon-positive-house-story.cfm

 

You could also look at two projects developed by a friend of mine, Jürgen Huber.

http://passivehouseplus.ie/blogs/the-bauhaus-barge-an-energy-efficient-canal-boat.html

and

http://www.superhomes.org.uk/superhomes/london-du-cane-road/

Again, please note, not in sunny California, or Arizona, but in London, where we're in the middle of a grey and rainy summer.

Regards,

John

 

Edited by soundmanjohn
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Just having a south facing house with  the eaves coming out the proper amount to figure the changes in the angle of the sun from winter to summer and good insulation make a huge difference.I built a small house like this in 2006 and it's amazing how energy efficient it is,without costing a lot extra in construction----planning.

 

                                            J.D.

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As with all of these types of projects, they never show the pricetag.

Its like those really nice looking, prefab "green" homes. They seem really attractive, until you find out the average size one starts at around $400-500k. And that's juse for the house, no land.

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My home is a circa 1730 Dutch colonial. It has a front porch with an extended eve overhang. This eve blocks the sun coming in the front windows during the summer when the sun is high, and allows the sun to come in all day during the winter when the sun is low. The house is oriented slightly to the southeast to allow the sun to find the house at the earliest moment, and at dusk the sun is coming in my "north" windows. When I had my solar panels installed a NJ state agency surveyed and inspected to determine the amount of subsidy they would apply to my system. The agent told me that my house and its orientation along with the steeply pitched roof were the most ideal he had encountered for sun exposure. There are many houses of that era in central Jersey and a lot of them exhibit these characteristics. Passive solar use as well as other environmental stewardships were practiced by these early settlers.

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My home is a circa 1730 Dutch colonial. It has a front porch with an extended eve overhang. This eve blocks the sun coming in the front windows during the summer when the sun is high, and allows the sun to come in all day during the winter when the sun is low. The house is oriented slightly to the southeast to allow the sun to find the house at the earliest moment, and at dusk the sun is coming in my "north" windows. When I had my solar panels installed a NJ state agency surveyed and inspected to determine the amount of subsidy they would apply to my system. The agent told me that my house and its orientation along with the steeply pitched roof were the most ideal he had encountered for sun exposure. There are many houses of that era in central Jersey and a lot of them exhibit these characteristics. Passive solar use as well as other environmental stewardships were practiced by these early settlers.

Got any pics of your house that you would like to share? I love architecture. 

 

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Thank you, Daniel, looks glorious! I love the fact that your brought up something so fundamental like SIGHTING and position when building a house. Often older structures were much better at this than newer designs, designs that did not take any of these factors into account because they knew they could rely on technology (heating and air conditioning, etc.) to make the house pleasantly habitable.

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I agree on the points r.e. planning.

My house came with a thermostat that gets direct sun through a high window every morning... the AC would compensate for the baking thermostat for about an hour and a half. I replaced it with an Ecobee and MOVED it to an adjacent wall (unfinished basement made this possible)... problem solved.

I've always wondered why houses with basements don't take advantage of the natural temperature states of the house. Your cold air return is in each room... often times high on a wall. So the AC circulates WARM air that's risen to the top floor... MEANWHILE... in the basement there's unlimited free cool air... So an intelligent AC system could pull from the basement floor... using only the fan (AC units already run the fan for the AC cycle... and continue to run it for a while after each cycle)... so... seems stupid. "Free AC"... goes unused. If you have a 2 story home you already know that the top floor is about 15 degrees difference in temp from the basement. (unless you have multi-zone, multi-unit central air)

I was an early adopter of CFL... and then LED. Now my whole house is LED and I've noticed a significant drop in AC bills as I don't have bulbs heating up the house. (Most people see the watts savings, but forget that those watts translate to HEAT also).

I'm all for home automation.

As for "green homes"... I worked on a video for a local builder who does super-efficient homes... and the only downside is the cost per square foot. By my math these people will have to live in that house for about 10 years before they start to realize any actual savings over a comparable traditional home.

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