Passive systems on energy conservation and efficiency

We welcome Josep Maria Mas CEO of Domus Serveis to Feliu's blog he will talk about energy efficiency and passive conservation systems.

Last months energy has been in the headlines.

On the one hand, because of the high price of electricity on the other, for the uncertainty after the cut of the gas pipeline between Algeria and Morocco that has raised concerns about Algerian gas supply to Spain will arrive by the only operational connection from the Algerian desert to Andalusia.

This text is overflown by the energy issue a question: Is the current way of consuming electricity and gas the most convenient?

In this regard, the first thing I tell my clients about how to limit the current high energy bills is the following:

"Every euro you want to save on energy has to be invested in the medium and long term in the passive systems of the home."

The Passivhaus standard was designed as a formula for sustainability and efficiency in the home that is achieved with a specialized construction achieving total tightness of the interior envelope, without compromising the quality of air, light and comfort.

Thus, when designing it is necessary to emphasize the air renewals to sanitize the environment, and at the same time to provide mechanical air treatment elements that clean without losing the interior heat by exchanging it with the new air from the outside.

What principles do we start from?

- Orient the openings and rooms according to the cardinal points so that external elements such as the sun help us "passively" to conserve energy.

- Applying non-transmissive materials on facades, roofs and floors, to eliminate the effects of noise and temperature, are some examples of how this standard underlines the concept of energy conservation.

Examples of energy protection:

FAÇADE OPENINGS.

Enclosures and glazing are the main energy leakage point inside the home.

Based on this reality, we will have to make some considerations about their state of conservation and functionality and whether it is worth investing in order to amortize it quickly in energy.

- Exterior sunscreens or natural vegetation to provide coolness in summer and insulation in winter.

- Interior curtains of thermal inertia (cold or heat) with technical materials and careful aesthetics, as well as automatic mechanisms and sensors for closing the blinds in adverse weather conditions.

- Appropriate glazing, slat thicknesses, air chamber or technical gases, solar or radiation filters, thermal transmittance.

- Tightness over time. Maintenance of joints and checks for interior-exterior air leaks or thermal bridges.

- Material with which it is made (Metal, Aluminum, PVC, Wood). You can see that I have put a gradient from more to less thermal transmissibility in the materials.

With a thermal camera you can observe the temperature differences at these points that are the main cause of energy loss and, therefore, in my opinion, a point where to invest money.

DOMUS Serveis designs installations and installs air conditioning machinery. Therefore, perhaps you see a contradiction in "recommending" home closures, but you have to understand the customer and serve him/her properly.

WALL AND CEILING TREATMENT

Depending on whether our home is exposed to a wind or four winds (understanding as "wind" the part of the exterior facade of our home, exposed to the weather and external thermal effects), we will have to assess the feasibility of one option or another.

In the integral reforms we will be able to invest to a greater or lesser extent and in other cases, we will be able to value our purchase of new housing, taking into consideration these factors.
Likewise with ceilings, roofs and floor heights.

At each height we will have a different affectation, the materials with which we protect our interiors and energy conservation will be different.

That is why the figure of the energy advisor in the decision-making process, whether for purchase, renovation or installations, is vital and practically obligatory nowadays. In all cases we will find ourselves with the need to air-condition and make our home comfortable. Then we will have to evaluate which economic and environmental decision suits us best.

In this sense it is advisable to go for:

- Interior wall paneling of cardboard and plasterboard, thermal and acoustic insulation that allow us just protections, calculated to the characteristics of demand and use of housing.

- Elevation of light floating floors with air chamber formation on the roofs and roofs of buildings, to generate a protection of the original construction elements of ceramics or stone, to "break" the continuity and thermal bridges that we store during the day and with the contrast of the night age them while causing the effects of transmissibility between the exterior and interior without the ancient technique that if understood how this mechanism worked natural energy "loading and unloading".

- Cladding and facade cladding with new lightweight systems of highly technical materials with characteristics and qualities of waterproofing, insulation and aesthetics totally contrasted and of great efficiency and economic-performance ratio.

HABITS IN THE WAY OF LIVING THE HOME

I remember my childhood, how at home, my grandmother in winter wore a robe and sweater to go inside her, how the inside of the bed was heated with a brazier and how only the windows were opened in the mornings to ventilate ... As well as in summer, spending the "afternoon in the cool" of the street were common.

Some of the good habits that we should take into account to combat today's bad habits:

- To sectorize the home and manually or automatically close the consumption demand in the areas of the house when we do not use it.

- To lower or raise the blinds from certain external conditions.

- Provide comfortable lighting systems, as well as interior designs and colors that make it pleasant to "close" inside the house, wear comfortable warm clothing.

- Modify our eating habits in the summer and winter seasons, conserve our own internal body energy, adjust our hot water heating systems and protect our bathrooms in a special way.

In short, the way forward is energy frugality and awareness in order to change our bad habits.

Welcome to the century of energy knowledge!

In this article, at no time have I talked about machines or savings in energy bills or kilowatts. We must be accessible to everyone while maintaining living conditions and usability of our homes respectful of our pocket and the environment of which we are all part.

Josep Maria Mas, CEO of DOMUS energy