How Big Can You Make a Passive House?

Exploring how big you can make a passive house. To get an Autel MaxiCharger for your EV, go to: amzn.to/3NbEFRn. Recently I’ve talked about the new net zero, passive home I’m building, but not all net zero buildings have to be homes or houses. The same net zero, passive house construction principles can be scaled up to large buildings like offices and apartment buildings. In fact, I had a chance to visit the first net zero energy hotel, that's going to be passive house certified, in the United States. There are some really creative concepts at work, and a few that really surprised me.
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00:00 - Intro
01:59 - Hotel Marcel's History
02:51 - Energy Storage/Production
06:14 - Can It Be Net Zero?
07:52 - Insulation & Air Tightness
11:18 - Digital Electricity
13:08 - Sound Proofing
14:18 - Regen Braking Elevators
15:04 - Was It Worth It?
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[@UndecidedMF]

Would you want to see your apartment building or office retrofitted like this? To get an Autel MaxiCharger for your EV, go to: amzn.to/3NbEFRn. If you liked this video, check out Exploring Solar Panel Efficiency Breakthroughs in 2022 kzbin.info/www/bejne/o2nGo52rgZ15fNU

[@ThisIsGoogle]

Cum

[@adus123]

Yes these types of buildings waste huge amounts energy. Making them more efficient will be a huge benefit to the environment.

[@hawkeyes4768]

this guy u interview actually took time and learn the different faucet of the building and actually knows what he was talking about threes usually a big disconnect between Architects and engineers when it come to technical things very cool

[@sfnyc]

I must premise that it's 3 years old but when I recently came across this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/on2ZpnVnr55onaM as soon as I got 1/2 way through, I became instantly very very curious to get the opinion of @Undecided with @MattFerrell, Material for a new video to come in the near future perhaps? ;D *hint-hint*

[@b_uppy]

You need to do a story on restoration ag, Mark Shepard and the Savannah Institute. His methods greatly reduce the amount of CO² conventional moncultured, synthetic chemical ag normally loses with annual, bare earth, dead-plant fallow practices. His methods actually sequester a large amount of carbon deeply into the soil instead of losing it to air compared to conventional, annual ag while producing food and livestock feed.

[@jopo7996]

Even though that elevator is more efficient, I'm sure the technology still has it's ups and downs.

[@jasonritner9662]

Boooo! I love it...

[@UndecidedMF]

😂 I can't believe I didn't make that joke in the video. Tip of the hat to you.

[@terryharrigan6324]

@@UndecidedMF I'm sure you will "rise" to the occasion in the future.

[@vermontsownboy6957]

You just had to push our buttons?

[@yonaalter]

You'll take it to a new level.

[@SaveMoneySavethePlanet]

What I like most about this is that the hotel was a retrofit on an already existing building. I was reading a study the other day by a group in the UK. They found that even making sure that 100% of new builds are Net Zero won’t be enough because most of our emissions come from our already existing buildings. So we have to aggressively pursue retrofits like in this video on all buildings if we want to hit our Net Zero goals!

[@UndecidedMF]

👍 Retrofitting is key.

[@SaveMoneySavethePlanet]

@@UndecidedMF yea I’m currently working on my own video on that very topic. Feels like our governments aren’t giving enough attention to the need for retrofits. Like the guy in your video implies: it has a very steep upfront cost (although it does eventually have a payback). So currently it’s just a handful of people who really care that are going through the trouble. That’s where government legislation and subsidies can help push more people to do similar projects!

[@rutessian]

How much would that cost? Are there enough materials to do it with existing technologies? How much would China have to increase their emissions as a percentage of current ones to compensate for your efforts? How long until you realize you're chasing a dream?

[@richardfranks2831]

From the standpoint of the previously emitted carbon versus new carbon emissions from new builds, we have to make many more of these old buildings work for longer. It just make sense to reuse viable structures. Also the disruption of new build structure with pile driving and traffic associated with a tear down and rebuild is way more disruptive than shipping in additional material to retrofit in urban areas.

[@manipulativer]

net zero is also achievable by depopulation if you look at bill gates formula.

[@solorund]

Digital electricity in concert with DC power is a concept I have never heard of, and it just blew my mind. I would love an entire video on this!

[@LumenCache]

We've been doing it since 2012. We were also WAY too early at the time! 😀 Now it all makes perfect sense to everyone.

[@ovi9610]

More videos on this, please

[@remotecontrol1082]

Yes please!

[@xxwookey]

@@LumenCache When I looked at this a few years ago the conversion/standby loses in the POE power units were significant (because they are sized to run the whole house and are always on). It was much more efficient to just have one CC LED driver per room (well, per switched circuit) with a few lamps on each. Standby usage is zero because the driver is actually turned off. One decent driver (as opposed to one cheap and nasty driver per lamp) is efficient and reliable. Maybe POE has got better, but at least in a domestic setup the always-on nature is a significant structural disadvantage. POE wiring is enormously flexible of course, but also expensive in comparison to dumb lamps at £5 each and drivers at £10. So that's £20-35 per room in a domestic setup. A single POE lamp costs more than that. I'd love to hear that this stuff was reasonably cheap and actually low-power by now. Hmm. I've just watched your video and it is a really nice system, which can use any lamps I like. And I can have a CC string or some parallel CV lamps. So whilst it's POE it's not using the (rather wasteful) 48V POE spec directly. But that flexibility costs money at $66/104 per switch, $36/24 per driver and $420 +PS for the system. And I'd like to know what the standby consumption is. So my house would be about $1500 vs the $340 it costs me to do it with mains and one driver per circuit. OK cabling is about £150 whilst it would only be £40 for lumencache, so that's a $130 saving. i.e lumencache $1550, conventional $520. So approx triple the price and higher loses (but maybe not excessive) for the flexibility. Also not available in the UK. And do you not have string-pull bathroom lightswitches over there in the US? I guess with 48V there is no need. But it would be great if you did some UK/Euro style switches. There's a big market your US-only switches currently preclude you from.

[@garrettmillard525]

Likewise!!

[@Enn-]

Dryers using heat pumps are available. That's what I have in my home. It uses less power, and has no vent. Rather than generating hot air to increase evaporation, and vent all the humid, hot air, it condenses moisture from the air onto the coils, which then drains away. I'm sure a commercial use version can be found or made. Hopefully they could have their current dryers retrofitted.

[@ericwebster6911]

Seems like this would be a huge energy saver especially if it can work with those commercial dryers.

[@MoeBabaloosh]

That's pretty cool. Is it more time-consuming than a traditional dryer's "fully loaded at high heat" cycle? I wonder if the traditional dryers were selected due to their speed.

[@darksunrise957]

@@MoeBabaloosh Well, he seemed surprised that the dryers used more energy than the whole rest of the building, so he might not have thought of that when installing them. But even if heat-pump dryers might take longer (which I don't see WHY they would; a large enough heat-pump could compensate for any kind of heat demand. It would just cost more), I'm sure a project this green-focused could find the space to add an extra machine or two to recoup the productivity lost by the slower machines. This also assumes the machines are run 24 hours a day. If they only run for a fraction of the day, a slower machine could be allowed to run for longer; just using up the otherwise unused operating hours.

[@Lastings]

@@darksunrise957 condensing dryers take longer, don't dry quite as well, and don't have the wrinkle removing qualities of heating dryers. But I think they could do a two step process of doing mostly condensing drying and then finish them off with hot air from heat pumps.

[@GeorgeBurkhard]

@@darksunrise957 They do actually have to take longer because the colder the air circulating in the dryer, the less water the air can hold, so the evaporation rate from the wet clothes goes way down when you're using cold air to dry vs hot air. That's actually one thing most people get wrong - heat doesn't dry things; it just raises the vapor pressure of the water. It's the air movement that moves the moisture away, so to dry things you need heat to get the water into the air, and you need new dry air to replace the humid air you just made. The condenser isn't the limiting factor - it's the air temperature. Driving the condenser harder would just make ice on the coils, but wouldn't dry any faster.

[@mikepetersen2927]

I think a hotel is a great showcase for this kind of tech & execution. It demonstrates what can be achieved without significant lifestyle changes on the part of the guests/residents, which would make adoption that much easier. If you can make it work in a hotel, you can probably make it work anywhere.

[@Brurgh]

likewise with office buildings! implement and iron out the creases with commercial then transfer to residencial.

[@jasonritner9662]

Literally about to drive past this building on my way to a jobsite today. I didn't know it was being converted into this. That's fascinating! Such a unique looking building.

[@UndecidedMF]

You should stop and pop your head in for a quick look around.

[@jasonritner9662]

@@UndecidedMF I think I might, I need to stop by the Ikea next door anyways lol

[@streetwind.]

It's a great example of brutalist architecture. Not actually derived from the word "brutal", but rather from the French term "béton brut" ("raw concrete"). Hence the stark, intentionally unpainted concrete exterior.

[@hongotopiadada7574]

@@streetwind. I´d say i's Bauhaus! but that a good fit as well

[@streetwind.]

@@hongotopiadada7574 It may well be both! Buildings are allowed to have elements of multiple styles :)

[@RetrOgre]

HVAC Engineer here. The Swegon ventilation system, using heat recovery is basic stuff for buildings in northern Europe. You would not get a building permit without it. Same thing for the heat pumps and PV-panels. Interesting to see that you are watching this as something new and innovative.

[@PaleGhost69]

Murica, the best country in the world. /s

[@UndecidedMF]

Europe is way ahead of the US on these standards, so it's still very new/novel here.

[@RetrOgre]

@@UndecidedMF Good to know. Kudos for the owner of the hotel. Its good to see that he had everything under control and could monitor everything in his phone on the spot. This is something that stood out and not every owner is this informed.

[@teranova5566]

This guy from Sweden is far too optimistic. I lived in many houses in Europe, mostly central and none of them had ventilation with heat exchanger. And it is a pity, because if it is so popular in Scandinavia why are you not selling it in mass to be the rest of Europe?

[@travisdudley4520]

As an HVAC controls programmer in the States it's definitely frustrating how common it is to see new projects using non-energy-recovery systems. It should be a no-brainer, but it's just not. 😞

[@blueckaym]

skipping the DC/AC/DC conversions is really great move! Lots of energy is saved this way (when it's produced or retrieved from storage in DC). Most appliances either internally work on DC (and have convertors inside them), or can work on both AC & DC either directly or be easily modified to do so. It's great to see it implemented, especially on a larger scale like in this hotel, rather than just a home.

[@100const]

Passivhaus standards are based on KW/sqm so the larger they get the easier it is to comply especially if you have a large block which will have very little exposed area ( i.e. Zero heat loss on adjoining walls). The challenge is making a small detached Passivhaus

[@johnt5222]

The "PROBLEM" is making small detached Passivhaus ... Is so much more inefficient.

[@henryweidenhammer1036]

Stayed in the hotel, the technology works! so quiet, best nights sleep ive had in a long time. thers alot of reasons to say that, but for me, the biggest part was: the room is silent, you can hear virtually nothing. after that comes perfect temperature, perfect indoor air quality. Thanks so much Matt for doing the review on this, please post more updates to this place when you go back! Can you talk more about ERVs: Recovery wheel (like the hotel has) and the plate (like you showed in the CGI demo)? whats better?

[@pacificlion]

ARE THE WINDOWS OPENABLE

[@daemenoth]

The whole cat5 and cat6 wiring is an incredible idea. I hope that becomes the standard because it would sure make things much simpler in homes.

[@MathieuDeVinois]

Until the moment all the things aren’t compatible with (old) cat 6 anymore and therefore one is forced to change all CAT 6 wires with the new CAT standard ;) except of that it’s indeed really awesome.

[@TheFPSPower]

@@MathieuDeVinois That's not happening in the next 2 decades, networking standards last an incredibly long time and new CAT standards are already compatible. CAT6 is already overkill for IoT so they are set for a long future.

[@Renegade605]

@@MathieuDeVinois CAT standards are backwards compatible. You could still use Cat3 today if all you needed was 10 Mb/s (more than enough for smart devices).

[@mixamun]

Would be nice if this became more standardized and popular in the market. Right now there are companies that do it but its not the most friendly system. If your lighting company stops supporting the trendy poe light product 3 years after launch because its not selling... what do you do when if fixture dies? Are there "friendly" to use residential use POE supplies/control boxes? I messed with this stuff commercially 3-4 years ago and dealing with Cisco network equipment and their support was a pain in the ass. (i think this was UPOE+? 60w per port)

[@Renegade605]

@@mixamun this is why you should insist that smart devices you buy are able to be controlled locally. No cloud service for someone else to shut down and brick your devices.

[@gibsongb8938]

Would love to see this development for public schools and universities, POE everything is genius!

[@philipbaptie605]

Incredible. A genuinely futuristic hotel thats essentially created a benchmark for design and redevelopment. Thanks for the top quality production as always Matt 👌

[@latsword3513]

Hands down one of your best videos so far and for someone who loves this channel, that's a big deal. I spent many years working in commercial construction and now work in the energy sector. It's great to see "blue sky's" thinking coming down to Earth.

[@anydaynow01]

Agreed I hope we get many more videos like this in the future, especially now that travel restrictions are back to normal for the most part!

[@paulogden7417]

Matt this is one of your stronger efforts to date. A very thoroughly designed retrofit and a great template for the hospitality industry. I love that he found space for 1000 SP’s on the property, love the power over Ethernet, inverter cookers, batteries, insulated windows…wow, so many details! I wouldn’t waste time moving weights on and off the elevators. I agree with comments that he needs to add heat pump dryers to complete the picture. And offer incentives to his guests to arrive via EV.

[@ericwallhagen3146]

The second you showed this building, I was like "wait, I know that one..." I've driven past it a million times over the years. Cool to hear what's being done with it!

[@UndecidedMF]

I had the same exact thought when I first heard about this hotel. 😂

[@vermontsownboy6957]

That was exactly my thought!

[@sickjohnson]

09:00 Bruce said all the rooms run 100% out door air...that is unbelievable as other than hospitals or a Vega Casino every other place runs at the minimum standard of 10% fresh air because of the massive costs. Now some newer systems like cool beam tech cheat this math like a crooked accountant because they reduced the size and volume of the supply air system down to about 10% of the normal and don't run a return air mixing system, they just exhaust. Matt it looks, you chose an exceptional property to cover for your channel, truly impressive!

[@WolfgangFeist]

It's unbelievable... because we are so much used to these high-energy-loss fabric, taht we just can not "imagine" that almost all of these losses are ... losses! And are avoidable losses. To realize this is actually the key for any solution: If you reduce losses BY a factor 8 or so, heating/cooling demands are reduced by this factor. AND, simple consequence, the small amount of fresh air needed ... all the sudden will be just enough to deliver the heat (or remove the heat) still needed. We can even afford to increase fresh air a bit (because of the heat recovery), still don't add much losses AND improve indoor air quality also by factors (really not less important in times of high viral loads). This way you get a lot of additional extra benefits (not just reducing energy bills; the noise reduction is another one; ...)

[@koiyujo1543]

The Kone powered elevator is nuts and I love how they made this building in such an amazing unque way and the guy himself Bruce he sounds pretty cool and saying that he's passionate about what he does is more of a reason we need more people like this!

[@Vile_Entity_3545]

Most lifts have counterweights which makes the motor doing the stopping and starting. If you take them away then it would make the motor work harder on the ascent. This would negate any power gained by using brakes instead. Counterweighted lifts are about as efficient as the lift can be made. If there is a gain it would be so minimal as not to be worth it. The CO2 to produce a lift with that much technology would take decades if not longer to ever make back. Physics is physics.

[@komfyrion]

@@Vile_Entity_3545 I have not looked this up, but I would be quite confident that it has counterweights like any elevator and uses regenerative braking when the elevator is loaded and descending, since that is a scenario when you need to use braking to control the descent as the weights are out of balance. A regular elevator would just use regular brakes for this, dispersing the energy as heat in the elevator shaft and/or a service room on top of the shaft. That is the lost energy you are adressing, plus the possible use cases for energy storage. It could be that this elevator uses regenerative braking for stopping when asending as well, depending on the speed you are going and how fast you need to slow to a stop. It seems very plausible to me that a regenerative brake system can make up for its cost in energy savings over time. At the fundamental level you are just running an electric motor (something you necessarily would have anyway) in reverse. Yeah, physics is physics, but clever engineering is clever engineering.

[@jeremygreenwood8501]

Bruce Becker should get a Nobel prize for showing how this can be done. Many thanks for telling us about this project.

[@johnbrant2454]

Great video. I got an architectural degree in 1972 and wanted to work on projects like this, but there was little happening at the time. It was too early. I am so happy that it is becoming possible now. By the way, I have had solar on my home since 1995. We love it!

[@draco_2727]

Matt, this is an amazing tour, props to Bruce and his vision 👏

[@filuo9058]

Since I've learned about passive housing, I was really excited. Actually, this video reflect a idea that I had that it would be really incredible to build large apartment buildings with passive housing principles. Between a hotel and a apartment building, except for a few differences, it pretty much comes down to similar things so this video really proves that not only it can be down but it would be a big improvement on quality of life for aartment renters and owners.

[@LumenCache]

Apartment owners and MDUs is one of our main market focus. We can give them reliable smart lighting and more without all the security and wireless connectivity issues of mesh systems. No need to "just add more nodes" in an already thick soup of colliding signals.

[@Zappygunshot]

I like this guy. It's clear he doesn't know all the technical details of everything in his building, but instead he hired the right people and put his faith in them to get things working. He listened to the professionals, which is the only real way of achieving something as technical and interconnected as a large net-zero building.

[@waynewallace10]

Yes, would love to see an episode just on wiring DC LED lighting using power over Ethernet, seems like this could become more common and even work in residential.

[@johnnypops6430]

This is amazing! So inspiring to think that these ideas are not limited mostly to single family homes but are cost effective enough to work for businesses!

[@Russellsouthey]

This is such a good example of "where there's a will, there's a way". Fantastic video! Well done. This should be standard viewing for every sustainability doubter.

[@albertsmart1221]

Bruce clearly knows a lot of detail on this project. Knowing the weight of the battery modules really shows he’d been quite hands on with the build. If they are net zero with hot water, driers and HVAC that is quite amazing.

[@gabrieldemourae]

i've been following this channel for around 2 years now, and I have to say it's one of your best videos ever, Matt. Very well put together, the hotel deserves congratulations too, and deep enough to make us feel the difference it makes to try to be as sustainable as possible. Congrats all the way from Brazil!

[@__-pl3jg]

I have a special kinship with experimenters like this gentleman. Im about to retrofit a residential home and have been wondering why no one inside the US is manufacturing vacuum insulated panels for residential structures yet. After doing some research it looks like I can make my own panels for this particular project. There are no examples online explaining how the panels are made or how to install them on residential structures so I've already got some materials arriving in the mail this week to practice making some small scale VIP's and test their effectiveness against closed cell polyurethane foam and fiberglass. Some times you've just got to experiment yourself to see if an idea is viable.

[@Cynthia_Cantrell]

I suspect the tricky parts will be making sure it maintains a vacuum for 20 to 30 years, and making sure no one sticks a nail through it to hang a picture!

[@__-pl3jg]

@@Cynthia_Cantrell - Yes exactly. Someone needs to make a puncture resistant panel with the VIP inside. For my particular project it wont matter because its my house and i'll be careful. And the way Im going to install them it wont be too difficult to replace if/when they fail. Im projecting my panels to stay sealed for 50+ years.

[@osc3892]

Well if you do this, definitely make a video about it. I've wondered as well, but my guess was that material science wasn't there to maintain a passive vacuum for years

[@Cynthia_Cantrell]

@@__-pl3jg Interesting... sounds like a serious challenge. Stainless steel could probably do that, but it would be ungodly expensive! If it works you should get a patent!

[@BobHannent]

Double glazing is a good example of why Vacuum insulation is a bad idea for fixed structural elements. It's hard to maintain a vacuum, and even if 'most' glass panes don't fail regularly, you only need a couple to fail to lose that insulating value. Structurally insulted panels with PIR are comfortably available where I am, but also there are insulated renders for retrofit on brick structures. Attaching PIR panels to the exterior or interior is relatively easy.

[@vermontsownboy6957]

I've passed that building (now Hotel Marcel) at least several thousand times driving I-95 as a child and adult. The architecture always caught my eye, but I had no idea of this building's potential. Fascinating!

[@enviromental2565]

I love everything about this hotel, and hope it's a blueprint for things to come. Thank you so much Matt for covering this. I know my office building could definitely use a retrofit and I'm sure a lot of people feel the same. One thing that stands out that our office is sorely lacking is fresh air. Some days you feel as if you can't breathe and it affects everyone's health.

[@sp276]

Amazing information. I really enjoyed the presentation by both of you. This concept makes me excited for what is to come. I look forward to more presentations about this topic.

[@eaaeeeea]

Seeing that KONE elevator makes me incredibly proud of Finnish innovation as a Finn. Not only that, but in my experience they are most consistently comfortable, quick and reliable to ride on (looking at you, OTIS, Schindler, ThyssenKrupp). I've followed KONE's new tech from time to time, but this energy generating elevator was new to me and indeed something else.

[@UndecidedMF]

I love seeing this kind of innovation. Europe has A LOT of companies innovating in this space, which is very cool. That bit where Bruce blew my mind in the video was at the very beginning of my tour. I found it funny how Bruce was basically throwing that nugget of information out there like it was no big deal.

[@hoekbrwr]

@@UndecidedMF In my time at work(15 years ago) those inverters were already standard. In fact I made a drive for a gas compressor that delivered energy to keep the total plant at Power factor = ONE. All because the power feeding cable cable to the plant would otherwise have to be replaced for a bigger one, which would have been very expensive!

[@EclipticGuy]

This is so cool and making the future come to today. We got our new build close by and had few challenges but all the lights are wired for PoE! Can’t wait for DC lights to become available at Lowe’s and HD! Thanks for reminding me that I am not losing it!

[@Likeomgitznich]

I love how truely enthusiastic he is. I have been waiting for manufactures to introduces DC first appliances for a while now. It’s just makes sense when most of your energy needs are being met by solar and batteries that switching from DC to AC to DC just creates waste.

[@victoarino]

Matt please make a video about digital electricity in general.... That blew my mind. It really is an amazing solution for the AC/DC "problem"

[@svOcelot]

Fabulous video, Matt. Thank you for this. There's SOOO much to learn here, & this industry is changing so quickly. We live on our cruising sailboat, currently in the Philippines, so we have to be very energy efficient. We generate all our electricity with solar, & we converted to LEDs many years ago, but I hadn't considered the PoE advantages before. Very cool!

[@boxingtherapy87]

So I love the idea of this. I guess things will be different for every situation and location. What works for that hotel may not be good for someone's house. Like you guys were saying a little more time and planning will help in the long run

[@UndecidedMF]

👍

[@gregorykeating4195]

I think this is my fave of all your great vids! Practical and implemented vs possible but yet to be achieved. Love it!

[@Monkey-Epic]

Thanks Matt + Team@Undecided, you are my #1 favorite channel. You're the rarest team that actually doesn't just scream and yell, you are calmly giving us our hopeful solutions for a future where we see cool things doing the most coolest things.

[@johnmcnulty6171]

That was amazing. I had no idea it was possible to do so much with cat5 and PoE. A true lightbulb moment 💡 It's got me wondering how I can apply this in my own home. Thanks for a great report.

[@rickhobson3211]

I generally love all your vids, and this one blew me away! I am looking forward to your follow-up video in a year! I still don't know why their aren't PV panels on every warehouse in the Southwestern US...

[@anydaynow01]

Definitely, between solar and thermal / LFP storage that portion of the continent can run with near zero fuel costs with near zero environmental impact. Other parts of the country nuclear and wind (with storage) makes more sense. Using energy storage with SMRs will work for the high northern latitudes, the amount of SMRs is reduced and you won't need to waste energy by rejecting load at periods of low demand.

[@lost4468yt]

PoE lights should be the standard for all new commercial buildings. They just make so much sense. You get full control over all your lights, and you don't end up having to convert to DC at every single light point.

[@danparker8254]

I think it’s awesome that you go out find these things out for yourself and us, and share them with the world.

[@davejack8973]

Such a cool HOTEL! I wish I have to funds to go netzero or even get a solar setup.... maybe one day! Thanks MATT and everyone at UNDECIDED for yet another amazingly informative video!

[@UndecidedMF]

Glad you liked it, Dave.

[@saberint]

He needs a heating room to replace those dryers. 1 room heated to about 50c. The sheets gut hung on a moving line and they come out dry. You do need to extract the humidity which gives you grey water for those toilets. To soften the sheets they go into a non heated tumbler.

[@thefishkid1]

Exactly what i was thinking.

[@andrewsteinhaus8267]

They can use a heat pump to run the dryers

[@saberint]

@@andrewsteinhaus8267 they can. I have just seen drying rooms but in sunny locations because they also get passive heating of the room by the sun

[@TheSolarGuyJK]

I never get tired watching and re-watching this video. It is the best video to me that you've ever made.

[@danielmadar9938]

Beautiful. Hats off to the hotel owner. Regenerative braking was installed years ago in construction cranes.

[@victormphahlele1335]

Its kinda funny to me that they could probably go net zero by just hanging clothes to dry instead of using dryers😅

[@rebootninja8036]

When I started playing this video KZbin presented an ad for natural gas. This was happening to ClimateTown as well - ‘The Algorithm’ seems to want to sell people fossil fuels when they try to learn about sustainable energy. Turns out there is a setting in KZbin channel options to disable oil & gas ads tho, so… it’s there if you want it.

[@nwarvi]

I love the idea of keeping things on DC from the solar panel to the battery out to the load and how much efficiency can be gained with it is mind blowing

[@dogishappy0]

All these years later I find it hilarious that it's back to the argument of DC vs AC power. Using AC for long distance transmission and DC for local power supply seems like an amazing compromise I'm surprised didn't happen sooner!

[@riccardomichel]

No way I didn't know this building was net zero and I work right behind it

[@UndecidedMF]

That's too funny.

[@andrewmullen4003]

Impressive hotel, glad the owner had foresight and doesn't like hearing no. Brave man, kudos to him.

[@SubStationSparky]

This is great to see. Right in my backyard, I grew up 2 blocks from here, currently I retrofitted a net zero home in Prospect CT right up the road.. With 50 panels, 5 separate heat pump systems, HRV, air sealing, new windows/siding. I agree with your closing statement, this technology does make the building more comfortable BY A MILE, My home is heated and cooled 100% of the time.. I just let my heat pumps run and I forgot about. Really great work!

[@theblubus]

Fantastic video. Thank you for sharing! I used to work for an IT service provider about a decade ago and we were just getting into low voltage digital lighting over ethernet for customers in the late 2000s/early 2010s. I haven't heard much about it in the industry since. This is wonderful to see it still thriving alive and well and being used on large scales amazing project

[@kloqueman]

I want to meet and have a cup of tea with that guy. What an inspirational figure. I hope he changes the hospitality world. Great video Matt. 👍

[@Erik_Swiger]

My friend built a cabin with wind and solar, and I helped him install wiring for low-voltage lighting. Not only do dc lights save inverter losses, they're also silent and they don't flicker.

[@bigbadthesailor5173]

this is IMO definitely your best video to date: please just keep going out and interviewing people who have actually done things that work.

[@jimparr01Utube]

Pretty jolly awesome to see a Hotel architect/coordinator so personally invested in a currently difficult goal. He is obviously very knowledgeable about the detail. And no BS detected in the making of this video. All kudos to this gentleman. AND - with an old building? Wow! Lots of brownie points from me...

[@TinkerTry]

So fun to read positive comments like this, having been there with Matt during this amazing technology tour!

[@alankita1059]

I worked for Pirelli in the mid 90's and our offices were in the upper part of the building above the cutouts. Glad to see how it had been reimagined.

[@JJ-zg1hh]

I've never thought about d.c. lighting. What a great idea. Amazing hotel - this is the new benchmark.

[@paulrobertson2457]

You don't shove a view point down the viewets throat. You give us information to digest. Great content, again.

[@alexandrecloutier8330]

This was excellent..I imagine a total cost analysis would put this much higher in price in fact, but, being a retrofit it was was bound to be economically difficult. In the long term they are winners. Applying these concepts to modern architecture, from scratch (and others) will revolutionize the business for sure.

[@Mranshumansinghr]

This is what I was waiting for!! Wow! More please!

[@ClayBellBrews]

Love the dc-dc use. This is the playbook we need for homes, even if they are not net-zero.

[@olympicfireball]

They could have two venting tracks for the dryer. One that sends the vented heat to the nearest exit during the summer and another that routes the heat underneath all the floors during the winter to take advantage of heat they already use.

[@brymstoner]

this man's an inspiration to the way more buildings should be built.

[@billoconnor1601]

probably your best video to date. crazy innovative repurposing! luv it.

[@remotecontrol1082]

I love your channel, and this hotel is amazing. Someone has at last produced a near net zero building without demolishing it and building from scratch. I would love to adopt some of these ideas when I move into a retirement flat - I've got some serious homework to do!

[@myonen4402]

US electrician here. Hard unchanging rule for electrical devices. Unless specifically stated any electrical device that can run for more than 3 hrs is considered continuous duty and can only draw 80% of the circuit design capacity. A 50 amp electric car charger must be able to operate on a continuous duty cycle and therefore could only draw a maximum continuous load of 40 amps or 9.6 kva and not 12kva. I am being pedantic but this is important to remember when creating expectations for people

[@marcovanwijk6443]

I had my natural gas connection severed almost 3 years ago, to force myself to make the transition to renewables. I heat with infrared, have insulated the whole house and use an ERV. This is a house from the 30’s so it took some time. Past year I achieved net zero (even 100kWh surplus)

[@marcovanwijk6443]

@UCxdvETXNgUHlCftXjLrtzyg sharing knowledge with others is the best way to make a energy transition together 😉 I will take a course in installing solar, so I can help others achieve the same.

[@BLBlackDragon]

An amazing Proof of Concept. Now that there is an operational prototype, even using an already existing building, other companies can do the cost analysis work to see what retrofits will cost, versus maintaining existing systems. That should really help the adoption rate.

[@quinosonic82]

Eye candy!!! My two areas of expertise (Hospitality and Architecture) and one of my favorite architects (Breuer) altogether in one video, alongside passive design (probably my greatest interest nowadays). Cheers!

[@johnb4871]

This is brilliant! No stone unturned to address the efficiency of each system within the building. Very cool.

[@xnadave]

Hell yes. Now I shall spend the next 2 hours learning everything about power-over-Ethernet and convincing my wife to let me start rewiring the house.

[@andyhamilton5926]

What an inspirational outcome, and great to hear it from Mr Becker in person. That's a really smart guy!

[@anthonyperks2201]

That was such a great demonstration by Bruce Becker, talking about his hotel. Great talk.

[@Cynthia_Cantrell]

It looks like the only big energy saver left is turning the electric dryers into heat pump systems - that would cut their energy use for drying bedding by at least 50% if not 2/3rds.

[@grahamalbert3805]

Awesome video as always Matt! The idea of regenerative elevators working at as energy storage is super cool!

[@watchoutharry]

Just wana say, kudos to this architect, he was super knowledgeable of what he was building as well as everything that went inside the building.

[@mondotv4216]

That's an amazing story Matt - love it. The POE stuff is extremely clever - I hope it becomes the standard for new homes around the world.

[@SIODSeraph]

I really enjoy how enthusiastic he is about his achievement. I do think they did write a new book making this possible for others to follow suite. Maybe in the future selecting (near) net-zero hotels for you stay really can be the deciding factor. Thanks for sharing this because I have never heard of this even being attempted!

[@mattw9667]

Wow! Never thought about all those transformers in my ceiling. Creative juices flowing for my next build. Thanks for sharing.

[@UndecidedMF]

👍

[@andrewlhoover]

This video has been enlightening! We have a 100+ year old home and I have been very interested in retrofitting our home to a net-zero house without killing our savings. Some of the ideas here have really helped in those goals.

[@UndecidedMF]

That's great to hear! I was hoping there may be elements to inspire in there.

[@TomSramekJr]

It had not even occurred to me to power lights via Power Over Ethernet. When every single light can be a smart light without wifi, that's brilliant (pun intended)!

[@frequentlycynical642]

Capital, lots and lots of capital. That's what net zero requires. Amazing that the hotel is doing this in an existing structure.

[@Megan-nt7dm]

I always wondered what that building was. I've gone past it so many times on my way to school. It's so cool that a building like this is so close by!

[@UndecidedMF]

Nice. I've driven by it a bunch of times myself and had no idea either until I was introduced to Bruce.

[@CarlKettler]

Thank you for this informative video! So much information to absorb. I have an upcoming project where I might be able to implement the Lumencache system. Only thing I worry about is potential obsolescence. A friend bought a house years ago which used low-voltage switching to control conventional 120v lighting. The house was built for early remote-control systems with home runs to relays and distribution wiring throughout the house. My friend ended up having the entire house re-wired. As long as it works, it seems like a great idea.

[@malte6834]

Inspiring to see such a pioneer trying this out. Thanks for sharing the story, Matt!

[@snoopaka]

Fantastic and most interesting. Great job on the video and Hotel for making the commitment to doing things right!

[@ChrisMak1]

Great video Matt, as usual. I’d like to hear your thoughts on my situation. We bought a home in a rural setting in July of 2020, the original house was built in 1947, there are at least two, possibly three areas that are obvious expansions to the original, single-gable structure. In 2011, the whole thing was lifted and a converted into a two storey house. The lower level is mostly insulated to modern standards although the envelope is definitely porous. When the first winter arrived, we realized what a sieve it truly was. Upstairs, there’s three separate attics and during the fall of 2021 I pulled out all of the insulation from the main and original gable, a mixture of R7 and R12 fibreglass and added vapour barrier (probably not necessary) and R28 rock wool insulation. This change alone made quite a difference in the overall comfort come the following winter. The main floor is fan-forced heat, we weathered the first winter with the existing oil-fired furnace but last fall swapped that out for a heat pump and air handler; the upstairs is still heated with baseboard heaters, which I’ve added smart thermostats to to save energy. I purposely had the heat pump oversized so that I could add two individual heads to the refrigerant loop at a later date. I was compelled to post this word-wall at the point in this video where you addressed HRVs. I’m continually working towards a better sealed house, and thankfully I have the skill sets to do most work myself. I’m wondering if it would be beneficial to add an HRV system to my house, I’m already planning a way to extend the forced air system to the master bedroom upstairs and adding HRV ducts wouldn’t be difficult to include, but is retrofitting a house that may never be fully sealed with an HRV worth it? Is this one of the reasons you decided to build a net-zero house, because you thought it would just be too difficult to retrofit your existing one? I could go on with more of my admittedly over ambitious plans, but this is probably already one of the longest comments you’ve ever received. Thanks in advance.

[@stefanweilhartner4415]

big fat thumbs up. at the end the comment for making a kind of new prototype as a model to be replicated made a lot of sense. so, this hotel is more an explorer where others can follow.

[@gordonbrown6793]

The great thing about VRV a/c systems is you can take all the heat from cooling the rooms and dump it into the hot water system: free hot water!

[@sirbutternubs]

Bruce is such a cool, knowledgeable person to interview. So glad I stumbled upon this video.

[@AlchemyAles]

SO cool. in 15- 30 years he will be laughing his way to the bank with the savings from this design. Why DON"T more people do this? The answer is that people get stuck in old blueprins cemented in their minds. Spreading the word is key. Thanks Matt.

[@motherboardbroken2305]

I love this guy and his attitude and the knowledge even more so. Just blew my mind all the way.

[@calibrepowa1762]

Such a cool episode, loved this tour format of real life examples

[@mattstrauchon6756]

A "reuse" building becoming the new standard, what a concept.

[@dertythegrower]

Super impressive. Thank you for sharing all this.