Resolutions for a Happy New Year
It's that time of year, time to take off a few pounds. And no matter the diet--low fat, low carb, chocolate for three weeks then tofu--it all comes down to a basic formula: Put in fewer calories, burn off more. And calories are energy.
With a home, we want to do the opposite. We want to conserve calories. Reduce our load. Keep more calories (energy), burn less. The how-to is important. The diet in this case is how we treat the building envelope--from the basement floor, up the walls to the attic. There are many strategies and tactics to make this efficient--just like a diet.
In terms of energy output--the exercise part, the method is secondary to reducing the load. Weather it's forced-air(furnace), radiant, geo-thermal, renewables(solar or wind), they are all dependent on the load. If it takes x btu's of energy to heat a given area, if we reduce that btu load by 50%, our requirements to heat it are less. If we have a more air-tight home--attention paid to air-sealing from the bottom up and at penetrations (windows, doors, pipes, etc), our method to heat it becomes less--the heat machine needs to work less. If the home is comfortably smaller, if it is of a design that is more efficient (think of the energy you burn walking a maze versus walking as a crow flies) we reduce our btu's. And weather we use geo-thermal, solar, forced air or 500 candles (unscented, of course), we use less of that source to overcome our load.
Put your house on a diet. Make it use less calories so it can work less to replace them.
With a home, we want to do the opposite. We want to conserve calories. Reduce our load. Keep more calories (energy), burn less. The how-to is important. The diet in this case is how we treat the building envelope--from the basement floor, up the walls to the attic. There are many strategies and tactics to make this efficient--just like a diet.
In terms of energy output--the exercise part, the method is secondary to reducing the load. Weather it's forced-air(furnace), radiant, geo-thermal, renewables(solar or wind), they are all dependent on the load. If it takes x btu's of energy to heat a given area, if we reduce that btu load by 50%, our requirements to heat it are less. If we have a more air-tight home--attention paid to air-sealing from the bottom up and at penetrations (windows, doors, pipes, etc), our method to heat it becomes less--the heat machine needs to work less. If the home is comfortably smaller, if it is of a design that is more efficient (think of the energy you burn walking a maze versus walking as a crow flies) we reduce our btu's. And weather we use geo-thermal, solar, forced air or 500 candles (unscented, of course), we use less of that source to overcome our load.
Put your house on a diet. Make it use less calories so it can work less to replace them.
Posted by COASTLINE BUILDING at 1/16/2009 10:11 AM 
Categories: Energy
Tags: green building energy efficient building solar energy energy efficiency Energy efficiency building
Categories: Energy
Tags: green building energy efficient building solar energy energy efficiency Energy efficiency building
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It's like saying that you need to burn more than you take in. Although it doesn't seem to be logical, that's because you can't burn when you don't have something to burn but actually, the human body does have something to burn. That's our fat. No matter what we do, we will always have fat in our body and we must try out best to maintain it at a healthy level.
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I understand what are you trying to implement. I am glad you have expressed your own idea and view point about this topic.
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You almost got it, DCH . . .
B
ut what he's talking about is the energy required to heat (or cool) a house. The diet-and-exercise analogy is not the main point here. In fact it's a little confusing (it got you on one reading, didn't it).
His point is that if we can limit the requirements (to heat a house, for instance) by reducing the volume of the dwelling or limiting the heat leaks, these are better ways to go green than increasing energy inputs---even if they are from greener, less polluting sources.
Did I get it right?
OPF
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