Small Nuclear Reactors

[Waterfall]

It would be nice if the standard was changed for home builders and phased out older usual methods for heating homes as mandatory for new subdivisions over time. Much the same way hopefully gas engines for cars will be phased out for cars and replaced with something cleaner and better.
And government grant incentives for older homes, much the same as when they wanted everyone to switch from oil or coal to gas.

 

[Mendalla]

It would be nice if the standard was changed for home builders and phased out older usual methods for heating homes as mandatory for new subdivisions over time.

What older methods would we be phasing out? I though all new homes were gas or electric now. Oil burners are legacy and likely shrinking as people convert.

Or are you talking about solar heating and/or solar powered electric heat in place of conventional gas and electric?

 

[Waterfall]

What older methods would we be phasing out? I though all new homes were gas or electric now. Oil burners are legacy and likely shrinking as people convert.

Or are you talking about solar heating and/or solar powered electric heat in place of conventional gas and electric?

To replace gas.......which most urban homes were switched to.
I suppose Geothermo heat might work for whole subdivisions in some areas too.

 

[Mendalla]

To replace gas.......which most urban homes were switched to.
I suppose Geothermo heat might work for whole subdivisions in some areas too.

Geothermal only works when you have an underground heat source to tap into. Iceland, for instance, is making heavy use of it but its a volcanic island with loads of geothermal heat.

 

[Waterfall]

Geothermal only works when you have an underground heat source to tap into. Iceland, for instance, is making heavy use of it but its a volcanic island with loads of geothermal heat.

The earth is a heat source, you only have to dig four to six feet deep. There are companies in southern ontario and out west that do this. It is used for home heating applications only as we have no Geo thermal power plants.

 

[Waterfall]

I was going to start a new thread but as an aside, here are 15 youths who have started a lawsuit against the Canadian government to force the government to act on climate change as their right.
They want the government to be held accountable to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and safeguard their constitutional rights.
There is a similar case in the United States "Juliana vs United States" and other places around the world.

Youth climate lawsuit

In Canada’s first federal youth climate case, La Rose et al. vs. His Majesty the King, 14 youth are asking the Federal Court of Canada to force government to develop an adequate, science-based climate recovery plan.

davidsuzuki.org

 

[Luce NDs]

We cannot utilize developing energy ... if we do not believe in science being used for the good of all ... instead of devoted to destruction ...

Thus the de Bell departs ... bell ringer?

 

[Lastpointe]

My sisters house is heated and cooled by geothermal. But they built it, on 75 acres. The pipes run way down and then out towards the fields. Certainly would not be something that works in a city or in an established house

 

[Mendalla]

The earth is a heat source, you only have to dig four to six feet deep. There are companies in southern ontario and out west that do this. It is used for home heating applications only as we have no Geo thermal power plants.

Okay, I know about this but I do not think it is considered "geothermal". I would have to try to find the term. Geothermal generally refers to heat from deep within the Earth such as you Yellowstone's geysers.

And, as Lastpointe indicates, it is another like solar that may not be for everyone.

 

[BetteTheRed]

They're called heat pumps, and they work pretty well, although expensive install, or used to be. They are geothermal in that, like the magical Eco-fans for wood stoves, they operate on heat differentials.

 

[ninj]

If there's about 15' of earth on three sides of a structure and the open side in a solar - favourable location, the year-round temp inside stays at around 13c. Cool in summer and easy to heat in winter. The catch is only one side of the space has windows, otherwise you're surrounded by dirt. Radon considerations too. I've seen that open side made into a greenhouse to make a closed system, indoor vegetable and fish farm.

 

[Waterfall]

Underground homes in Australia:

 

[Waterfall]

More about underground homes:

Efficient Earth-Sheltered Homes

Efficient Earth-Sheltered Homes

www.energy.gov

 

[ninj]

Earth seems an awfully good way to go IMO. Cheap and does the job. Thanks to your links, you can see they can be classier than Hobbit holes.

This brief article speaks to one aspect of concerns mentioned upthread around e waste.

Do the environmental impacts of manufacturing solar panels outweigh the benefits? What about recycling? - PVBuzzMedia

It’s a common belief that solar panels can’t be recycled, but that’s not true.

pvbuzz.com

 

[Mendalla]

I have no interest in living underground. We have enough problems in this country with lack of sunlight causing problems like SAD. Underground homes will just exacerbate it.

 

[BetteTheRed]

I've often found hobbit type homes attractive. As long as your south facing exposure is very wide open for light.

 

[Mendalla]

As long as your south facing exposure is very wide open for light.

And my office and rec room are on that side. Bedroom is less of a concern since I only spend long periods of time awake there if I'm sick or something.

 

[ninj]

Hobbit hole with a garden roof above. I wonder if you could make a community of them? Even with renewables, you still have to deal with septage.

 

[Luce NDs]

Is partisan an underground party ... given the misty understanding of politicos?

Thus de Bell Tolls ... some find it vile! Yet IT may prevail ... may cause fixed words to fly as passe!

 

[mgagnonlv]

They're called heat pumps, and they work pretty well, although expensive install, or used to be. They are geothermal in that, like the magical Eco-fans for wood stoves, they operate on heat differentials.

The principle is very easy, but expensive to install. Just put some pipes in the earth and run water or antifreeze from the building to deep in the ground where it typically stays at 10-13°C. These pipes going deep into the ground work like a heat-exchange system. So the relative warmth of the ground means most of the heating in winter and all cooling in Summer can be done by the earth.

This system seems great because it doesn't burn any fossil fuels, but all the digging in the installation creates some pollution. But the most problematic consequence is that it changes the temperature of the earth deep down. One project doesn't have a measurable impact, but if all buildings in downtown Montréal were heated and cooled that way, the temperature of the ground deep under the city would increase by a few degrees. Now imagine if we were doing that in the permafrost?