In 1977 I tried to get into alternative energy, mainly because Uninterruptible power supply They weren’t available and computers didn’t like frequent power outages, so looking at fuel cells as using hydrogen and oxygen to create electrical power seemed like a good way to create electrical power without environmental impact. Siemens in Germany had significant patents on that technology, so I contacted the patent holder within Siemens only to hear “we’re into nuclear power at the moment, we have no desire to further develop or make the technology of fuel cells available to anyone,” that was it. So in 1978 I went to my town to get planning permission to add solar photovoltaic (PV) panels to the roof structure as I wanted to produce my own electricity, when the local authority again told me “you can do that but please note account that we will also cut off all other utilities, water, sewer and garbage” – and that was it.

Now times have changed, but a bit of that attitude still lingers today. Energy providers entrusted with the management of federal funds will apply them only to schemes that will maintain dependency on the energy provider. For example, offering redistribution of federal funds only for on-grid solar PV generation, but not for off-grid solar. Although both equally save the generation requirement, in fact, the off-grid solution saves more than the on-grid solution. In addition, grid-connected systems have a separate meter that the electric company charges you, the provider, an additional monthly meter rental so they can meter what you have provided. They also control what they are willing to pay you for the power generated and their contracts often force you to provide a minimum amount of power per year, making you responsible for maintaining the solar panels and inverters. So, in short, using the network for storage is a raw deal.

Many people I asked believe that a sustainable work environment means sweating in overheated rooms in the summer and relaxing in the winter, dim lighting and going back to poorly lit neighbourhoods. Well, that’s no longer the case if you’re willing to employ the latest technology and controls to manage your energy usage automatically. I found that despite the availability of sustainable technology that helps achieve sustainable work and living environments, the biggest obstacle is that people think it’s too good to be true and the second biggest obstacle is that people don’t like it. like change, even if the change is for the better or does not have a negative qualitative impact.

I work and live in a super-efficient environment, which has been created in part from components of the company I worked for and other commonly available goods, such as high-efficiency wall and ceiling insulation, painting the ceiling and walls of white on the outside (we live in Texas), 3000 gallon sealed underground water tanks for the air conditioning system, Light space management and Building Automation Controls.

Working in this environment is actually a pleasant surprise, as the rooms are cool enough in the summer and warm enough in the winter, the lighting can be adjusted to the level that people working in the area are comfortable with. This means sometimes a little less and sometimes a little more light depending on the task at hand, the mood and the extra daylight available. Conference rooms where you simply walk in and turn on the light, the air conditioning is turned up to a higher level to remove the extra heat. Corridors that darken if nobody occupies them. The hot water produces cold in the water circuit that can be used by the air conditioning system to cool another room. Cold storage and server farms that heat buildings in winter. All this is not utopian, but it is possible today at negligible additional cost, since the systems that facilitate such designs have been further developed.

It is easier to plan and build sustainable structures than it is to convert existing structures to be super efficient. However, either way it’s a lot easier than putting a man on the moon. Things to consider in a new build are summarized below and detailed in separate articles in this series:

Electric
Hopefully soon power companies will adopt low voltage wiring more than they do today and I have to rewrite this paragraph. If you can separate the wiring in your home or office into three categories, 48V-DC low voltage (LV) for lighting and 48V-DC Air-conditioning, 120V-AC for computers and wall sockets, 240V-AC for Air Conditioning and Heating. The lighting should be hardwired from LV to a central point where you can have the power supplies for the lighting, good lighting technology the LED will never fail but the power supply using current available technology will eventually.

Load balancing
In some environments, energy providers offer significantly lower overnight rates. If you already have a DC battery system for your PV or wind generator, you can supplement it with cheap grid power. We have compiled the electricity providers in North America that allow such arrangements.

energy store
If you use solar photovoltaic, wind or both, you must have a space for the batteries, preferably accessible from the outside so that you can change and maintain the batteries conveniently. There are a number of battery types suitable for short-term storage and repeated discharge, and a trade-off must be made between cost and performance.

Mechanic
Being super-efficient means you have to do things differently, which is sadly commonplace these days. air conditioning contractor will not subscribe. Converting an existing system can be a challenge, not insurmountable but definitely challenging. The Mechanical Challenges Section is divided into Equatorial plus/minus 30 Y North and South of 30° as there are different challenges depending on the climatic region in which the system has to operate. A third section deals with fresh air and plenum ventilation.

construction fabric
The structure of the building matters little for efficiency and can be made of metal, man-made materials, or natural products such as wood or stone, or a combination thereof, whichever is most cost-effective in your region and for your purpose.

insulation materials
The insulating material between the exterior fabric and the drywall is what matters. The most efficient material available today is called airgel, this is not a brand name, but the type of material that has extreme durability and thermal insulation properties within the likely operating temperatures in any environment on planet Earth. There are water-repellent varieties of the material that are better for regions where high humidity and humidity are the main features of the local climate.

What is suitable for your region
I like to classify the world into two main regions, from the Equator to 30° North and South and the region above 31° North and South. Conventional and sustainable systems do not apply to the subarctic or arctic regions of the world.

Return of investment
The amount of misinformation and excuses used by propagandists of the consumer society to obscure or redefine the meaning of Return on investment or ROI it’s amazing. There is only one scientific way to ROI which will be discussed in this ROI of Sustainable Environments article, which clearly shows that payback can be significantly better than any conventional model of planned obsolescence.