Energy autarkic/autonomic habitats

The purpose of energy-autarkic habitats is to be independent of 3rd parties concerning energy consumption for living. This may be based and resource-efficiency respective material, living space and energy.

Autarky can be defined as the quality of being self-sufficient. As well as Autonomy reflects to an autonomous person that acts morally solely for the sake of doing "good", independently of other incentives.

In former times nearly everyone had in some kind a form of autarkic living to a certain point of view, as people had to take care of satisfying' their basic needs (food, living - as it is still done in subsistence agriculture), until a network of proving these needs was established (craft, trade, profession).

In times of the industrialization also networks for energy have been set up, which led to a sort of dependency but made live “easier”.

Nowadays there can be seen a trend “back to the roots” - being independent of coal, gas and oil using renewable energy (wind, sun, water, wood).

Historic examples for autarkic habitats

from stone age caves/shelters/huts to mountain cabins,

from Bedouin tents to Inuit igloos.

Past and present examples for autarkic habitats

Antique houses and urban design

Even in antic times people thought of energy-efficient living and tried to optimise there conditions. By orientation to the winter sun to get as much sunrays as possible for heating up the building and less exposure to the winter wind, protection from the summer sun to achieve the different effect and ventilation by the summer wind, compact forms with less surface.^[1]

Igloo

An Igloo is a habitat with a compact form that has little surface (compare the low energy form of a drop of water; compare the optimised relation of volume to surface of a ball or globe). This results in less exposure to the wind and reduces hence the cooling of the building. The igloo contains an airtight shell which again assists to keep the temperature inside constant. Concerning heating there is relatively small volume to heat (as mentioned above; volume-surface-ratio).^[2]

Peat house

This form provides, similar to the igloo, a compact form with less surface and hence less exposure to the wind. It also shows a nearly airtight shell with good heat insulation (peat). An optimised orientation to the sun adds additional degrees during the day.^[3]

Log house

Here we have the same advantages as mentioned above. The material wood offers also a good heat insulation and a good airtightness can be reached by filling the gaps with moss and clay.^[3]

Monte Rosa Cabin

This construction of Monte Rosa Cabin^[4] marks a milestone in high alpine building presenting a high degree of energy autarky of over 90%, meaning that 90% of needed energy is obtained locally from renewable sources. The technical systems are based on existing technology (combined heat and power unit, photovoltaics, thermal collectors), innovative wastewater treatment (the wastewater is going to be purified on-site to be reused as greywater) and foremost an ingenious energy management, which takes into account external conditions such as weather forecast and anticipated occupancy schedules to achieve the demanding goal of the high degree of autarky.

Mikrohaus

The basis for Mikrohaus^[5] is a 8,80 × 3,44 × 3,25 m cube that allows as kind of modular assembly system to combine several of them and hence to generate a flexibility in the size. The cube(s) don’t have any fundament (only screws of 1,40 m length) which allows some kind of mobile living. No cement and therefore time for drying is requisite. Additional floats allow also an installation on water. The building offers a high isolation up to passive house including e.g. photovoltaic (PV) energy supply. The cubical form allows a good ratio from volume to surface. The concept includes waste water treatment for greywater via wastewater treatment plant with an ultraviolet light (UV) treatment unit for sanitary water. Additional planted walls (www.gruenwand.at) are used outside (for cooling/summer, isolation/winter, noise prevention) and inside (for climate and humidity aspects) which also are used as water-filters as kind of biological purification plant.

Autarc homes

Autarc homes^[6] provides the 1st swimming passive-house worldwide and was originated to provide clients autarkic buildings on the basis of a protective handling of our natural resources to present the following generations a working basis of life. The swimming and rotatable passiv-house has its own on-board energy generation, water supply and disposal. The idea is to provide a sustainable, energy-efficient, environmentally compatible and affordable living space. The building can be orientated at the sun to get the most possible effect out of it. As this building is located on water the rotation process is done very energy-efficient. The tasks are decentralized energy supply and storage, decentralized effluent disposal and recycling/ reprocessing and drinking water supply.

Pithouse

for the moment only an entry on the German Wikipedia-site^[7] exists.

Energy production

Life on our planet is an endless exchange of energies among living things and the environment. Most of the energy resources we currently use, such as oil, coal, natural gas and uranium are non-renewable. The supply of them buried in the earth is limited and we are using them up at a rapid pace. Renewable energy resources such as Solar energy, wind energy, small hydroelectricity (e.g. Swimming hydroelectric power plant^[8]), geothermal energy and biomass fuels are becoming increasingly attractive. Solar, Photovoltaics, water and wind energy do not send pollutants into the air as occurs with coal and petroleum energy.^[9]

To get an idea of how and in which dimensons renewable energy is used, please refer to Renewable energy.

Hydrogen storage (storage by hydrogen)^[10] The objectives are to store H² in solid metal hydrides from which it can be readily recovered by heating which is an alternative and safe, highly volume efficient storage method. The final aim is to provide a storage technology that is attractive both economically and environmentally.

See also

• Green building
• Passive house
• Zero-energy building
• Energy Autonomy: The Economic, Social & Technological Case for Renewable Energy, by Hermann Scheer

Examples

• 1st zero-energy-hotel^[11]
• Boutiquehotel Stadthalle won "Klimaschutzpreis 2010"
• Autarc floating pavilion^[12]
• Green Energy Options for Housing^[13]
• Renewable energy options for buildings: Case studies^[14]
• Energy Autonomy: New Politics for Renewable Energy^[15]

References

External links

• The Passive House – historical review