Energy Efficiency: Rethinking Form, Passive Solar, and Heat Pumps

[@antosmer]

Beautiful video, very explanatory. Regarding heat pumps, what I see done here in Italy (so different thermal zone), in the boiler pass is simply to calculate the demand and spread it over time. I don't know about the UK, but even in cold areas here they generally don't run all day, but for example a certain number of hours a day, divided between morning and evening, at temperatures as said before others. You run them for longer at much lower temperatures, e.g. 65/70 to 45/55 for several hours or even in some cases at just under 40 for the whole day. I am talking about solutions with radiators and not radiant solutions. But from many feedbacks it seems to work very well. NdR the climate zone and usage patterns are different I know. Anyway congratulations video absolutely remarkable and great in the part of the description of thermal discomfort due to excessive glazing.

[@MegaSoarer]

"We need buildings which are not only beautiful, but also nice to be inside". Very well said. Unfortunately, most of the architects I've dealt with, are only concerned about the external looks, or in the best case, internal looks too. Obviously, "feel good" part for architects is too intangible substance, hard to sell to customers, hard to show it in shiny architectural magazines... I wonder if those architects know that modern human being spends 90% time indoors.

[@logandilts3173]

I'd recommend this lady visit a properly designed passive solar house... seems like that school just wasn't designed properly, there shouldn't be any sunlight hitting the glazing during the summer if it's designed properly... using a poorly designed installation as the example and then extrapolating that to "Passive solar must die" is pretty extreme and i think does more harm than good.

[@andreycham4797]

Heating season do not last only during the winter but about 6-7 month a year and in the summer you need AC the most for two months. Nothing wrong with building a comfortable house but it is not what passive house about

[@FRZ5951]

Heat pumps are not rubbish, some of the buildings they are being asked to heat are thermally rubbish, therefore they will perform in a rubbish manner. This is a problem of sets; if a fish is an animal, we cannot say all animals are fish. It's maybe also a problem of bias, many/all of the ones you are asked to investigate are problematic, clearly all are not problematic.

[@NickGrant]

I'm guessing you did not watch the video? Sally also mentioned a document that is coming soon from the Passivhaus Trust that explains how to get really good COPs even for poorly insulated buildings.

[@FRZ5951]

@@NickGrant I watched the video. To spell it out, the video states in writing and audio that heat pumps are rubbish; the justification seemed to have been the poor thermal performance of some of the properties. That has nothing to do with heat pumps! The application of heat pumps in certain properties is rubbish, yes. Heat pumps are not rubbish. Even if it has a cop of 1.6 it is still 60% better then electric, twice as efficient as gas or oil.

[@NickGrant]

@@FRZ5951 we must have watched a different video!! Sally is very pro heat pumps even for poorly insulated buildings where the COP can be 4 or more. She is writing a short paper on this that will be available soon on the Passivhaus Trust website. Poor design of systems is an issue thought.

[@FRZ5951]

15:11.... summarised at 20:45?

[@alanwardrop9575]

Clearly, it's your ignorance of passive solar that is bad. In Australia there are buildings in some locations that are not passive house, but can be comfortable for most of the day and much of the year with the windows open! Looh up NATHERS 10 star rating.