NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Autonomous building

An autonomous building is a building designed to be operated independently from infrastructural support services such as the electric power grid, municipal water systems, sewage treatment systems, storm drains, communication services, and in some cases public roads. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The term off the grid refers to a method of construction that relies on renewable energy sources rather than traditional public utility sources provided by the utility grid. ... Electric power is the amount of work done by an electric current in a unit time. ... Sewage (or domestic wastewater) treatment is the process of removing contaminants from sewage. ... A storm drain, storm sewer, or stormwater drain (in Australia) system is designed to drain excess rain and ground water from an area. ...

Advocates of autonomous building describe advantages that include reduced environmental impacts, increased security, and cost efficiencies. Some cited advantages satisfy tenets of green building, not independence per se (see below). Off-grid buildings often rely very little on civil services and are therefore safer and more comfortable during civil disaster or military attacks. (Off-grid buildings would not lose power if public power supplies were compromised for some reason.) It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Sustainable architecture. ...

The process of going off-grid may bring intangible benefits, such as an examination of personal responsibility, a conscious decision about one's relationship to society, and the psychological virtues of independence.^{[citation needed]}

Most of the research and published articles concerning autonomous building focus on residential homes. In the 1990s architects such as William McDonough and Ken Yeang applied environmentally responsible building design to large commercial buildings, such as office buildings, making them largely self-sufficient in energy production. One major bank building (ING's Amsterdam headquarters) in the Netherlands was constructed to be autonomous and artistic as well. See also 1990s, the band The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive, sometimes informally including popular culture from the late 1980s and shortly after the year 2000. ... William A. McDonough (1951, Tokyo, Japan - ) is an American architect whose career is focused on designing environmentally sustainable buildings and transforming industrial manufacturing processes, with the twin goals of eliminating pollution and increasing the profits of his clients. ... Dr. Ken Yeang (Chinese: æ¨ç»æ–‡/æ¥Šç¶“æ–‡) is a prolific Malaysian architect and writer best known for developing environmental design solutions for high-rise buildings. ... ING Groep N.V. (NYSE: ING, Euronext: INGA) (known as ING Group) is a financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance and asset management services. ... Amsterdam Location Flag Country Netherlands Province North Holland Population 741,329 (1 August 2006) Demonym Amsterdammer Coordinates Website www. ...

British architects Brenda and Robert Vale have said that, as of 2002, "It is quite possible in all parts of Australia to construct a 'house with no bills', which would be comfortable without heating and cooling, which would make its own electricity, collect its own water and deal with its own waste...These houses can be built now, using off-the-shelf techniques. It is possible to build a "house with no bills" for the same price as a conventional house, but it would be (25%) smaller." Professor Brenda Vale and Doctor Robert Vale are architects, writers, pioneer researchers and leading experts in the field of sustainable housing. ...

Theory

As an architect or engineer becomes more concerned with the disadvantages of transportation networks, and dependence on distant resources, their designs tend to include more autonomous elements. The historic path to autonomy was a concern for secure sources of heat, power, water and food. A nearly parallel path toward autonomy has been to start with a concern for environmental impacts, which cause disadvantages.

Autonomous buildings can increase security and reduce environmental impacts by using on-site resources (such as sunlight and rain) that would otherwise be wasted. Autonomy often dramatically reduces the costs and impacts of networks that serve the building, because autonomy short-circuits the multiplying inefficiencies of collecting and transporting resources. Other impacted resources, such as oil reserves and the retention of the local watershed, can often be cheaply conserved by thoughtful designs.

Autonomous buildings are usually energy-efficient in operation, and therefore cost-efficient, for the obvious reason that smaller energy needs are easier to satisfy off-grid. But they may substitute energy production or other techniques to avoid diminishing returns in extreme conservation.

An autonomous structure is not always environmentally friendly. The goal of independence from support systems is associated with, but not identical to, other goals of environmentally responsible green building. However, autonomous buildings also usually include some degree of sustainability through the use of renewable resources, producing no more greenhouse gases than they consume, and other measures. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Sustainable Development. ... Top: Increasing atmospheric CO2 levels as measured in the atmosphere and ice cores. ...

History

Autonomous building is an idea of western civilization in the 20th century. Inhabitants of cabins, huts and yurts through most of history were off-grid whether they liked it or not.

In 1854, Henry David Thoreau wrote Walden, a nonfictional account of his time in a self-built home designed for maximum independence from the neighboring town of Concord, MA, USA. It includes detailed descriptions of his home, garden, costs, time, and associated labor. 1854 (MDCCCLIV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817 â€“ May 6, 1862; born David Henry Thoreau) was an American author, development critic, naturalist, transcendentalist, pacifist, tax resister and philosopher who is most famous for his written account, Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay, Civil... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

In the 1930s through the 1950s, Buckminster Fuller's three prototype Dymaxion houses adopted many techniques to reduce resource use, such as a "fogger" shower head to reduce water use, a packaging toilet, and a vacuum turbine for electric power. While not designed as autonomous per se, Fuller's concern with sustainable and efficient design is congruent with the goal of autonomy, and showed that it was theoretically possible. One of the three prototype Dymaxion houses that Fuller produced was made part of the conventional Graham family residence in Wichita, Kansas, and has now been reconstructed at the Henry Ford Museum. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The 1950s was the decade spanning the years 1950 to 1959. ... In the U.S. postage stamp commemorating R. Buckminster Fuller and his contributions to architecture and science, some of his inventions are visible. ... The Dymaxion House was developed by inventor Buckminster Fuller to address several failures he perceived with existing homebuilding techniques. ... Nickname: Air Capital Location in the state of Kansas County Sedgwick Mayor Carlos Mayans Area - City 359. ... A Ford Model T, used for giving tourist rides, is shown above at Greenfield Village. ...

In the 1970s, a group of activists and engineers calling themselves the New Alchemists believed the warnings of imminent resource depletion and starvation. The New Alchemists were famous for the depth of research effort placed in their projects. Using conventional construction techniques, they designed a series of "bioshelter" projects, the most famous of which was the Ark Bioshelter community for Prince Edward Island. They published the plans for all of these, with detailed design calculations and blueprints. The Ark used wind based water pumping and electricity, and was self-contained in food production. It had living quarters for people, fish tanks raising Tilapia for protein, a greenhouse watered with fish water and a closed loop sewage reclamation system that recycled human waste into sanitized fertilizer for the fish tanks. As of 2004, the successor organization to the New Alchemists still had a web page up as the Green Center. The PEI Ark has been abandoned and partially renovated several times. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... Motto: Parva Sub Ingenti The Small Protected By The Great) Official languages English Flower Ladys Slipper Tree Red Oak Bird Blue Jay Capital Charlottetown Largest city Charlottetown Lieutenant-Governor Barbara Oliver Hagerman Premier Pat Binns (PC) Parliamentary representation - House seat - Senate seats 4 4 Area Total - Land - Water (% of... A demonstration aquaculture facility Fish farming is the principal form of aquaculture. ... Genera and species Oreochromis A. GÃ¼nther,1889 Oreochromis alcalica- Alkaline tilapia Oreochromis aurea- Blue tilapia Oreochromis macrochir- Longfin tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus- Mozambique tilapia Oreochromis niloticus niloticus- Nile tilapia Oreochromis urolepis urolepis- Rufigi tilapia Oreochromis urolepis hornorum- Wami tilapia Sarotherodon W. P. E. S. RÃ¼ppell, 1852 Sarotherodon galilaeus galilaeus... A representation of the 3D structure of myoglobin, showing coloured alpha helices. ... A greenhouse in Saint Paul, Minnesota. ...

The 1990s saw the development of Earthships, similar in intent to the Ark project, but organized as a for-profit venture, with construction details kept as proprietary information. The building material is tires filled with earth. This makes a wall that has large amounts of thermal mass (see earth sheltering). Berms are placed on exposed surfaces to further increase the house's temperature stability. The water system starts with rain water, processed for drinking, then washing, then plant watering, then toilet flushing, and finally black water is recycled again for more plant watering. The cisterns are placed and used as thermal masses. Power, including electricity, heat and water heating, is from solar power. See also 1990s, the band The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive, sometimes informally including popular culture from the late 1980s and shortly after the year 2000. ... Earthships are earth-sheltered autonomous buildings made of tyres rammed with earth, which are usually arranged in a U or horseshoe shape. ... A tire or tyre (see spelling differences and etymological origins) is a device covering the circumference of a wheel. ... Loess field in Germany Soil horizons are formed by combined biological, chemical and physical alterations. ... Earth sheltering is the architectural practice of using earth for external thermal mass against building walls. ... Blackwater (waste) is a relatively recent term used to describe water containing Feacal matter and Urine: its is also known as foul water, or as sewage. ...

Practicality

First and fundamentally, independence is a matter of degree. Complete independence is very hard or impossible to attain. For example, eliminating dependence on the electrical grid is one thing, and growing all of your own food is a more demanding and time-consuming proposition.

Living in an autonomous shelter can require one to make sacrifices in one's lifestyle choices, personal behavior, and social expectations. Even the most comfortable and technologically advanced autonomous houses may require some differences in behavior. Some persons adjust easily. Others describe the experience as inconvenient, irritating, isolating, or even as an unwanted full-time job. A well-designed building can reduce this issue, but usually at the expense of reduced autonomy.

An autonomous house must be custom-built (or extensively retrofitted) to suit the climate and location. Passive solar techniques, alternative toilet and sewage systems, thermal massing designs, basement battery systems, efficient windowing, and the array of other design tactics require some degree of non-standard construction, added expense, ongoing experimentation and maintenance, and also have an effect on the psychology of the space.

The Vales, among others, have shown that living off-grid can be a practical, logical lifestyle choice—under certain conditions.

Maintenance systems

This section includes some minimal descriptions of methods, to give some feel for such a building's practicality, provide indexes to further information, and give a sense of modern trends.

Water

Water is the most important utility, and is fast becoming a scarce resource. There are many methods of collecting and conserving water, and use reduction is usually quite cost-effective.

The classic solution with minimal life-style changes is a proven well. However drilling a well is an uncertain activity, and can be expensive. Well water can be contaminated in some areas, and is depleted in others. Also, once drilled, a well-foot requires substantial power. However, advanced well-foots can reduce power usage by two-fold or more from older models. A water well is an artificial excavation or structure put down by any method such as digging, boring or drilling for the purposes of withdrawing water from underground aquifers. ...

It is often more economical to design a building to use rain, with supplementary water deliveries in a drought.

Greywater systems reuse wash water to flush toilets, and water lawns and gardens. Greywater systems can halve the water use of most residential buildings; however, they require the purchase of a sump, greywater pressurization pump and secondary plumbing. Some builders are installing waterless urinals and even composting toilets that completely eliminate water usage in sewage disposal. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Toilet found in a Boeing 747 aircraft A toilet is a plumbing fixture and a disposal system primarily intended for the disposal of the bodily wastes; urine, fecal matter, vomit, semen and menses. ... A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. ... The plumber wrench for screwing various pipes Plumbing, from the Latin for lead (plumbum), is the skilled trade of working with pipes and tubing for potable water systems and for drainage of waste. ... Composting toilets use biological processes to deal with the disposal and processing of human excrement into organic compost material. ...

Most desert and temperate climates get at least 250 mm (10 in) of rain per year. This means that a typical one story house with a greywater system can supply its year-round water needs from its roof alone. In the most extremely dry areas, it will require a cistern of 30 m³ (8400 US gallons). Many areas average 13 mm (0.5 in) of rain per week, and these can use a cistern as small as 10 m³. It can be convenient to use the cistern as a heat sink or trap for a heat pump or air conditioning system; however this can make cold drinking water warm, and in drier years the efficiency of the HVAC system may decrease. Erg Chebbi, Morocco In geography, a desert is a landscape form or region that receives very little precipitation. ... For the usage in virology, see temperate (virology). ... Rain falling For other uses see Rain (disambiguation). ... House - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... A diagram of a simple heat pumps vapor-compression refrigeration cycle: 1) condenser, 2) expansion valve, 3) evaporator, 4) compressor. ... HVAC (pronounced either H-V-A-C or, occasionally, H-VAK) is an initialism/acronym that stands for heating, ventilating and air-conditioning. This is sometimes referred to as climate control. ...

Cistern design can reduce costs and inconvenience. Gravity tanks on short towers are reliable, so pump repairs are less urgent. The least expensive bulk cistern is a fenced pond or pool at ground level.

The size and expense of a cistern can be reduced substantially when supplemented with water deliveries. Many autonomous homes can reduce water use below ten gallons per person per day. In a drought, water can be delivered to the house inexpensively via truck. Self delivery is possible by installing fabric water-tanks that can fit inside the bed of a pick-up truck. A drought is a period of time when there is not enough water to support agricultural, urban or environmental water needs. ...

In some areas, it is difficult to keep a roof clean enough to assure that the water collection is sanitary for drinking. Commercial reverse osmosis systems provide good quality drinking water, and some people attach devices to remineralize drinking water afterwards, or simply buy bottled water for drinking. Water is a tasteless, odourless substance that is essential to all known forms of life and is known as the universal solvent. ... Reverse osmosis is the process of pushing a solution through a filter that traps the solute on one side and allows the pure solvent to be obtained from the other side. ...

New technologies, like reverse osmosis water processors and Vapaires, can create unlimited amounts of pure water from polluted water, ocean water, and even from humid air. Water makers are available for yachts that convert seawater and electricity into potable water and brine. It has been suggested that Safe water be merged into this article or section. ...

Sewage

Sewage handling is not attractive, but it is essential for public health. Many diseases are transmitted by poorly functioning sewage systems. A disease or medical condition is an abnormality of the body or mind that causes discomfort, dysfunction, distress, or death to the person afflicted or those in contact with the person. ...

The standard system is a tiled leach field combined with a septic tank. The basic idea is to provide a small system with primary sewage treatment. Sludge settles to the bottom of the septic tank, is partially reduced by anaerobic digestion, and fluid is dispersed in the leach field. The leach field is usually under a yard growing grass. Septic tanks can operate entirely by gravity, and if well managed, are reasonably safe. A septic tank is part of a small scale sewage treatment system often referred to as a septic system, which consists of the tank itself and a septic drain field. ... Sewage (or domestic wastewater) treatment is the process of removing contaminants from sewage. ...

Septic tanks have to be pumped periodically by a honey wagon to eliminate non reducing solids. Failure to pump a septic tank can cause overflow that damages the leach field, and contaminates ground water. Septic tanks may also require some lifestyle changes, such as not using garbage disposals, minimizing fluids flushed into the tank, and minimizing nondigestible solids flushed into the tank. For example, septic safe toilet paper is recommended.

However, septic tanks remain popular because they permit standard plumbing fixtures, and require few or no lifestyle sacrifices.

Composting or packaging toilets make it economical and sanitary to throw away sewage as part of the normal garbage collection service. They also reduce water use by half, and eliminate the difficulty and expense of septic tanks. However, they require the local landfill to use sanitary practices. In the case of composting toilets, units of varying size can be used to naturally decompose human faeces into a highly useful odourless and safe compost, though pending future research it is suggested that "humanure" be used only for growing food that does not grow directly in the compost eg tomatoes (See Humanure by the great Joseph Jenkins).

Incinerator systems are quite practical. The ashes are biologically safe, and less than 1/10 the volume of the original waste, but like all incinerator waste, are usually classified as hazardous waste.

State of the art home sewage treatment systems use biological treatment, usually beds of plants and aquaria, that eliminate nutrients and bacteria and convert greywater and sewage to clear water. This odor and color free reclaimed water can be used to flush toilets and water outside plants. When tested, it approaches standards for potable water. In climates that freeze, the plants and aquaria need to be kept in a small greenhouse space. Good systems need about as much care as a large aquarium. For other uses, see Aquarium (disambiguation). ...

NASA's bioreactor is an extremely advanced biological sewage system. It can turn sewage into air and water through microbial action. NASA plans to use it in the manned Mars mission. NASA Insignia Listen to this article Â· (info) This audio file was created from an article revision dated 2005-09-01, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... Biochemical engineering is a branch of chemical engineering that mainly deals with the design and construction of unit processes that involve biological organisms or molecules. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ...

A big disadvantage of living sewage treatment systems is that if the house is empty, the sewage system starves to death.

The approaches above treat human excrement as a waste rather than a resource. Humanure is composted human excrement, and can return nutrients to a garden. Recycling human excrement requires minimal life-style changes. Humanure is a neologism designating human waste (feces and urine) that is recycled via composting for agricultural or other purposes. ...

Another method is NASA's urine-to-water distillation system. Distillation is a means of separating liquids through differences in their boiling points. ...

Some of the oldest pre-system sewage types are pit toilets, latrines, and outhouses. These are still used in many developing countries. Pit toilet in Tunisia A pit toilet is a method of collection of human waste, used for composting, controlled decomposition, or waste disposal used most often in areas with no sewer system. ... A latrine is a method of disposal of human waste used in rural areas and much of the developing world. ... Outhouse near Crabapple Lake, USA, with chipboard walls, and a fiberglass ceiling This article refers to an outhouse, privy or kybo that is an old type of toilet in a small structure separate from the main building which does not have a flush or sewer attached. ...

Storm drains

Drainage systems are a crucial compromise between human habitability and a secure, sustainable watershed. Paved areas and lawns or turf do not allow much precipitation to filter through the ground to recharge aquifers. They can cause flooding and damage in neighbourhoods, as the water flows over the surface towards a low point.

Typically, elaborate, capital-intensive storm sewer networks are engineered to deal with stormwater. In some cities, such as the Victorian era London sewers or much of the old City of Toronto, the storm water system is combined with the sanitary sewer system. In the event of heavy precipitation, the load on the sewage treatment plant at the end of the pipe becomes too great to handle and raw sewage is dumped into holding tanks, and sometimes into surface water. Image of a sewer pipe // Function Sewers transport wastewater from buildings to treatment facilities. ... Storm water is a term used by engineers to describe precipitation. ... Queen Victoria (shown here on the morning of her Ascension to the Throne, 20 June 1837) gave her name to the historic era The Victorian Era of Great Britain marked the height of the British industrial revolution and the apex of the British Empire. ...

If a water absorbing swale for each yard is combined with permeable concrete streets, storm drains can be omitted from the neighbourhood. This can save more than $500 per house (1995) by eliminating storm drains. One way to use the savings is to purchase larger lots, which permits more amenities at the same cost. Permeable concrete is an established product in warm climates, and in development for freezing climates. In freezing climates, the elimination of storm drains can often still pay for enough land to construct swales (shallow water collecting ditches) or water impeding berms instead. This plan provides more land for homeowners and can offer more interesting topography for landscaping. A swale is low tract of land, especially when moist or marshy. ... Concrete is a construction material that consists, in its most common form, of Portland cement, construction aggregate (generally gravel and sand) and water. ...

A green roof captures precipitation and uses the water to grow plants. It can be built into a new building or used to replace an existing roof. Re-creation of Viking houses in Labrador Several grass roofs can be seen in the village of BÃ¸ur in the Faroe Islands. ...

Electricity

Since electricity is an expensive utility, the first step towards conservation is to design a house and lifestyle to reduce demand. Fluorescent lights, laptop computers and gas-powered refrigerators save both electricity and money. There are also superefficient electric refrigerators, such as those produced by the SunFrost company, which use 85% less energy than normal. Using a solar roof, solar cells can provide electric power. Solar roofs are far more cost-effective than retrofitted solar power, because buildings need roofs anyway. Modern solar cells last about 40 years, which makes them a reasonable investment in some areas. A solar cell, made from a monocrystalline silicon wafer A solar cell (or a photovoltaic cell) is a semiconductor device that converts photons from the sun (solar light) into electricity. ...

A number of areas that lack sun have wind. To generate power, the average autonomous house needs only one small wind generator, 5 m or less in diameter. On a 30 m high tower, this turbine can provide enough power to supplement solar power on cloudy days. Commercially available wind turbines use sealed, one-moving-part AC generators and passive, self-feathering blades for years of operation without service. The Sun is the star of our solar system. ... Wind is the roughly horizontal movement of air (as opposed to an air current) caused by uneven heating of the Earths surface. ... Wind turbine in Luxembourg Horizontal axis wind turbine, the Enercon model E-66 wind energy converter, in Germany. ...

The largest advantage of wind power is that larger wind turbines have a lower per-watt cost than solar cells, provided there is wind. However, location is critical. Just as some locations lack sun for solar cells, some locations lack sufficient wind for an economical turbine installation. Paul Gipe (a recognized authority, see below) says that in the Great Plains of the United States a 10 m turbine can supply enough energy to heat and cool a well-built all-electric house. Economic use in other areas requires research, and possibly a site-survey. Wind farm in Neuenkirchen, Dithmarschen, Germany. ... The Great Plains is the broad expanse of prairie which lies east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. ...

During times of low demand, excess power can be stored in batteries for future use. However, batteries need to be replaced every few years. In many areas, battery expense can be eliminated by attaching the building to the electric power grid and operating the power system with net metering. Such a building is less autonomous, but more economical and sustainable with fewer lifestyle sacrifices. Some electrical utilities either pay or give electricity credits to homes that produce energy and put it back into the grid when it's not required for immediate household use. The grid's cost and impacts can be reduced by using single wire earth return systems. Distributed generation is a new trend in electric power generation. ... Single wire earth return (SWER) or single wire ground return is a single-wire transmission line for supplying single-phase electrical power to remote areas at low cost. ...

In areas that lack access to the grid, battery size can be reduced by including a generator to recharge the batteries during extended fogs or other low-power conditions. Auxiliary generators are usually run from gas, or sometimes diesel. An hour of charging usually provides a day of operation.

Recent advances in passively stable magnetic bearings may someday permit inexpensive storage of power in a flywheel in a vacuum. Well-funded groups like Canada's Ballard Power Systems are also working to develop a "regenerative fuel cell," a device that can generate hydrogen and oxygen when power is available, and combine these efficiently when power is needed. Levitating pyrolytic carbon Magnetic levitation, maglev, or magnetic suspension is a method by which an object is suspended above another object with no support other than magnetic fields. ... Ballard Power Systems TSX: BLD NASDAQ: BLDP, located in Burnaby, British Columbia, a suburb of Vancouver, is a company that designs, develops, and manufactures zero-emission proton-exchange-membrane fuel cells. ... A fuel cell is an electrochemical device similar to a battery, but differing from the latter in that it is designed for continuous replenishment of the reactants consumed; i. ...

Earth batteries tap into the electric currents inside the earth called telluric current. They can be installed anywhere in the ground, but provide low levels of voltage and amperages (depending on the configuration). They were used to power telegraphs in the 19th century. Earth batteries may be used again in the future, if electric appliances become efficient enough that they require only low levels of electricity to function. An Earth battery is composed of a pair of electrodes made of two dissimilar metals, such as iron and copper, which are buried in the soil or immersed in the sea. ... A telluric current is an electric current in the Earth (both land and sea). ... Optical Telegraf of Claude Chappe on the Litermont near Nalbach, Germany Telegraph and telegram redirect here. ...

Heating

Passive solar heating can heat most buildings in even the coldest climates. Passive solar building design involves the modeling, selection and use of appropriate passive solar technologies to maintain the building environment at a comfortable temperature through the suns daily and annual cycles. ...

Modern krypton- or argon-insulated windows permit otherwise normal looking windows to provide passive solar heat without compromising structural strength. The basic requirement for passive solar heating is that the windows must face the prevailing sunlight (south in the northern hemisphere, north in the southern hemisphere), and the building must incorporate thermal mass to keep it warm in the night. General Name, Symbol, Number krypton, Kr, 36 Chemical series noble gases Group, Period, Block 18, 4, p Appearance colorless [[:Template:Elementbox atomicmass gpm]] Electron configuration [Ar] 3d10 4s2 4p6 Electrons per shell - Physical properties Phase gas Density (0 Â°C, 101. ... General Name, Symbol, Number argon, Ar, 18 Chemical series noble gases Group, Period, Block 18, 3, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 39. ... Thermal mass, in the most general sense, is any mass that absorbs and holds heat. ...

Earth sheltering and windbreaks can also reduce the absolute amount of heat needed by a building. Several feet below the earth, temperature ranges from 4°C (40 °F) in North Dakota to 26 °C (80 °F)[1], in Southern Florida. Wind breaks reduce the amount of heat carried away from a building. Earth sheltering is the architectural practice of using earth for external thermal mass against building walls. ... A windbreak,or shelterbelt, is usually made up of one or more rows of trees planted in such a manner as to provide shelter from the wind and to prevent soil erosion. ...

If small amounts of gas, heating oil or wood heat are available for the coldest nights, a properly designed slab or basement cistern can inexpensively provide the required thermal mass. In colder climates, construction costs can be as little as 15% more than new, conventional buildings. In warm climates, those having less than two weeks of frosty nights per year, there is no cost impact. A gas is one of the five main phases of matter (after solid and liquid, and followed by plasma and Bose-Einstein Condensate) and, that subsequently appear as a solid material is subjected to increasingly higher temperatures. ... Heating oil, or burning oil, also known in the United States as No. ... Trunks A tree trunk as found at the Veluwe, The Netherlands Wood is derived from woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs. ... Thermal mass, in the most general sense, is any mass that absorbs and holds heat. ...

A small supplementary heater can substantially reduce the required amount, and expense, of thermal mass, and also reduce lifestyle impacts with a small reduction of autonomy. A popular system for ultra-high-efficiency houses is a central hydronic (radiator) air heater with water recirculating from the water heater.

A new system used in some commercial buildings is to provide heating, often water heating, from the output of a gas turbine or stirling electric generator. [2]

Houses designed to cope with interruptions in civil services generally incorporate a wood stove, or heat from diesel fuel or bottled gas, regardless of their other heating mechanisms.

Electric heaters and electric stoves provide pollution-free heat, but they consume large amounts of electricity. If enough electricity is provided by solar panels, wind turbines, or other means, then electric heaters and stoves become a practical option.

Water heating

Solar water heaters are widely useful because they can save large amounts of fuel. Also, small changes in lifestyle, such as doing laundry, dishes and bathing on sunny days, can greatly increase their efficiency.

The basic trick in a solar water heating system is to use a well-insulated holding tank. Some systems are vacuum insulated, acting something like large Thermos bottles. The tank is filled with hot water on sunny days, and made available at all times. Unlike a conventional tank water heater, the tank is filled only when there is sunlight.

Good storage makes a smaller, higher-technology collector feasible. Such collectors can use relatively exotic technologies, such as vacuum insulation, and reflective concentration of sunlight.

Current practical, comfortable water-heating systems combine the solar heating system with a thermostatic gas-powered flow-through heater, so that the temperature of the water is consistent, and the amount is unlimited. This again reduces life-style impacts at some cost in autonomy.

However, this compromise can still save 50-75% of the gas otherwise used, and the resulting system is redundantly reliable. If either system fails, the other can continue to provide hot water until the equipment is repaired, fuel or sunlight becomes available, etc.

But can any building that uses fossil fuel be called "autonomous?" Natural gas can be replaced by methane digesters, fueled by composting human excrement and kitchen scraps, or a biodiesel "co-gen" can produce both electricity and hot water from oilseed crops grown on-site.

Cooling

Earth sheltering or annualized passive solar systems substantially reduce the cooling needed by a building. In temperate climates several feet below the earth the average temperature ranges from 4 °C (40 °F) in North Dakota to 26 °C (80 °F), in Southern Florida. Annualized passive solar buildings often have buried, sloped water-tight skirts of insulation that extend 6 m (20 ft) from the foundations, to prevent heat leakage between the earth used as thermal mass, and the surface. Earth sheltering is the architectural practice of using earth for external thermal mass against building walls. ... Passive solar building design involves the modeling, selection and use of appropriate passive solar technologies to maintain the building environment at a comfortable temperature through the suns daily and annual cycles. ...

Less dramatic improvements are possible. Windows can be shaded in summer. Eaves can be overhung to provide the necessary shade. These also shade the walls of the house, reducing cooling costs.

Another trick is to cool the building's thermal mass at night, and then cool the building from the thermal mass during the day. It helps to be able to route cold air from a sky facing radiator (perhaps an air heating solar collector with an alternate purpose) or evaporative cooler directly through the thermal mass. On clear nights, even in tropical areas, sky facing radiators can cool below freezing.

If a circular building is aerodynamically smooth, and cooler than the ground, it can be passively cooled by the "dome effect." Many installations have reported that a reflective or light colored dome induces a local vertical heat driven vortex that sucks cooler overhead air downward into a dome if the dome is vented properly (a single overhead vent, and peripheral vents). Some persons have reported a temperature differential as high as 15 °F (8 °C) between the inside of the dome and the outside. Buckminster Fuller discovered this effect with a simple house design adapted from a grain silo, and adapted his Dymaxion house and geodesic domes to use it. In the U.S. postage stamp commemorating R. Buckminster Fuller and his contributions to architecture and science, some of his inventions are visible. ... The Dymaxion House was developed by inventor Buckminster Fuller to address several failures he perceived with existing homebuilding techniques. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Refrigerators and air conditioners operating from the waste heat of a diesel engine exhaust, heater flue or solar collector are entering use. These use the same principles as a gas refrigerator. Normally, the heat from a flue powers an "absorptive chiller." The cold water or brine from the chiller is used to cool air or a refrigerated space. Absorptive refrigeration utilizes a source of heat to provide the energy needed to drive the cooling process. ...

Cogeneration is popular in new commercial buildings. In current cogeneration systems small gas turbines or stirling engines powered from natural gas produce electricity and their exhaust drives an absorptive chiller, heats water. A Stirling engine and generator set with 55 kW electrical output, for combined heat and power applications. ...

A truck trailer refrigerator operating from the waste heat of a tractor's diesel exhaust was demonstrated by NRG Solutions, Inc. 11385 Shipley Road Johnstown, OH 43031, for EPA contract No. 68D98131. NRG developed a hydronic ammonia gas heat exchanger and vaporizer, the two essential new, not commercially available components of a waste heat driven refrigerator.

A similar scheme (multiphase cooling) can be by a multistage evaporative cooler. The air is passed through a spray of salt solution to dehumidify it, then through a spray of water solution to cool it, then another salt solution to dehumidify it again. The brine has to be regenerated, and that can be done economically with a low temperature solar still. Multiphase evaporative coolers can lower the air's temperature by 50F, and still control humidity. If the brine regenerator uses high heat, they also partially sterilise the air.

If enough electric power is available, cooling can be provided by conventional air conditioning using a heat pump. A diagram of a simple heat pumps vapor-compression refrigeration cycle: 1) condenser, 2) expansion valve, 3) evaporator, 4) compressor. ...

Food

Food production has often been included in historic autonomous projects to provide security. Skilled, intensive gardening can support an adult from as little as 15 square meters of land. Some proven intensive, low-effort food-production systems include hydroponics, and forest gardening. A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. ... {{[[Unreferenced}} [[Image:Hydroponic onions nasa. ... Forest gardening (also known as 3-Dimensional Gardening) is a food production and land management system based on replicating woodland ecosystems, substituting trees (such as fruit or nut trees), bushes, shrubs, herbs and vegetables which have yields directly useful to humankind. ...

Communication

Telephone and network service will probably be purchased. The public switched telephone network (PSTN) is the concentration of the worlds public circuit-switched telephone networks, in much the same way that the Internet is the concentration of the worlds public IP-based packet-switched networks. ... A telecommunications network is a network of telecommunications links arranged so that messages may be passed from one part of the network to another over multiple links. ...

A increasing number of activists provide free or very inexpensive web and email services using cooperative computer networks that run wireless ad hoc networks. Network service is provided by a cooperative of neighbors, each operating a router as a household appliance. These minimize wired infrastructure, and its costs and vulnerabilities. WWWs historical logo designed by Robert Cailliau The World Wide Web (WWW or simply the Web) is a global, read-write information space. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... A mobile ad-hoc network (MANET) is a kind of wireless ad-hoc network, and is a self-configuring network of mobile routers (and associated hosts) connected by wireless linksâ€”the union of which form an arbitrary topology. ...

Rural electrical grids can be wired with "optical phase cable", in which one or more of the steel armor wires are replaced with steel tubes containing fiber optics. [3]

Satellite internet service also can provide high speed connectivity to remote locations, but as of 2002, most of these services are limited in which types of network hardware and operating systems they support. They are also not yet on par with the costs of cable modem or DSL service providers. MILSTAR:A communication satellite A satellite is any object that orbits another object (which is known as its primary). ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... Cable modem for broadband Internet access A cable modem is a unique type of modem that is designed to modulate a data signal over cable television infrastructure. ... A typical DSL Modem DSL or xDSL, is a family of technologies that provide digital data transmission over the wires of a local telephone network. ...

Financing

If considering a system for the economics, run the numbers with real utility prices. Most utilities have prices 5-10% below the amortized price of the mass-produced rural systems they replace (e.g., electricity will be just below the fuel costs and amortization of a generator powered from natural gas). However, many people pay for utilities from after-tax income, so even the simplest home-based utilities can be 15-45% more efficient by creating untaxed value. Clever purchasing (e.g. in internet co-ops) can cut capital costs. Amortization may refer to: Amortization (business), the allocation of a lump sum amount to different time periods. ...

Unless the area has local nuclear or hydroelectric power, new construction can often afford to make its own heat and light.

In the coldest areas of the U.S. passive solar heat in new construction costs only 15% more than normal construction. In milder areas, it costs nothing and is therefore a great bargain. A passive-solar house usually commands a 15-20% price premium.

In Southern California, new solar roofs already provide cheaper electricity than utilities, and the amortized cost of such electricity is cheaper than the utility prices. In most great plains areas, a 10-meter wind turbine on a hundred-foot (30 m) tower will run an all-electric house, for 10% or less of a new house's cost.

Sewage and water are more marginal. Local health regulations can be problematic, and bulk water and sewage services are usually cheap. Water and sewage systems also have unattractive costs, lifestyle and mechanical reliability issues. Groundwater poisoning, deep green beliefs and high utility prices can motivate installations.

In all rural and most suburban areas buying land for swales instead of digging storm-drains creates a more valuable and more pleasant building. Swale is a local government district in Kent, England. ...

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