IKEA FLATSTOOL. 4€, FLAT, PORTABLE AND RECYCLE STOOL.

A House is not only what it´s made of and how. It´s also what does it has inside. Furniture, is another aspect to be controlled in order to make a more sustainable house. The use of recycled materials and low carbon footprint production processes, helps to make a "A+House" too.

I present you another idea. This is a stool, made 100% of recycled material, really cheap to produce, easy to assemble and disassemble, low carbon footprint production process, almost no place ocuppied when dismantled.

SMARTTAPS. A SIMPLE WAY TO SAVE WATER.

This new Idea is about saving water. As you all know, every time we have a shower, we waste some water at the beginning, when the water is still cold. We have to keep the tap open, until hot water comes.

I have designed a smarttap, that works automatically. As long as there is no hot water coming from the hot water tube, the water, will be redirected to the main water tank. During this time, no water coming from the hot water tube, will be wasted.

It´s a really simple way to save water. This is an idea that could be useful for new houses, or houses where a renovation is to take place, because it is needed to introduced new tubes to make it work.

I am aware that there are some systems, that keep water hot, close to the taps, but, there is always some water that it is wasted while we are waiting for hot water to come. Existing systems, uses both electricity and thermic energy. (Electricity, for the pump that recirculate the water, and thermic energy to keep water hot while it´s been recirculating)

This is a new idea to be included in the A+House. It´s just about saving energy. The main idea, is that if we preheat water before it enters into the boiler, we save energy. With this concept I have developed some ideas:

1.- Place a tank inside the house, that will supply the boiler. Normally cold water enters the house below 59ºF. Inside the house, normal temperature is about, 71ºF. If we place this tank inside the house, water will reach 71ºF temperature, what mean that the boiler will work less, saving energy.

2.- A smart drain, conected to two different draining tubes.

When the water in the shower is hot, the smart drain will connect the tube that will preheat the tank I said before. In this way we will use the termic energy included in the water. Once the water has passed the tank, it will pass a filter and ther fill another tank for gardening or cleanning use.

When the water is cold, the smart drain connects with the filter that fills the tank for further use (gardening or cleaning)

This drain will work automatically, by a termic sensor that will make it turn a device, in order to connect to one or another drainning tube.

ENCOURAGING DEVICE. "YOU´VE BEEN GREEN TODAY"

One thing I know for sure, is that, if people are aware of how much energy they are wasting every day, they will change their behavior, at least a little. And it we can do it encouraging them to "think in green" the better.


This device, is a simple one, that is installed close to the main electrical box of the house. It controls how much energy is been used in lighting, heating, cooling, and power points. The device has one electrical input from each of this supplies.


Then the installer, will program the device for every house, depending on the size, typology, meteorological conditions, etc.


Everyday, this device, that will be easily visible for the occupants, will display a green light with the message "You have been green today", in case that the electrical energy used is under the limits entered. If not, it will display a red light with the message "You are polluting much today".


The device will also specify, where the energy has been wasted (lightning, heating, cooling or power points)


For example, if the device detects that at night, power points have been used more than normal, it could mean that any appliance hasn´t been disconnected from power supply.


Another variant, is to use a similar device as thermostats for cooling or heating systems. The device obviously detect inner housing temperature, and when it´s higher than really needed, it will alert the occupants about this fact. It all will be done with a friendly message such as "for a greener world, please wear a jumper and down the heating a little"

SELF LIGHT HOUSE

Lightning means 4.1% of the energy and 11,7% of the electricity consumed in housing, even when low consume bulbs are introduced in 83% of the houses.


In North hemispheres, the sun always light South facades most of the say, East facades in the morning and West facades in the evening. North facades have normally reduced natural lightning, and inner rooms have no natural lighting possibilities. Therefore artificial lightning has to be used, in different rooms of the houses, even when the sun is shinning outside.


Self light walls, is a concept that introduces natural light in walls, wherever the Sun is. As you can see in the drawing below, with a mirror technology, we introduce light in a hermetic gap created in the inner wall of the house. This way, rooms with little or no natural lightning availability, will have a new lightning source.


The system can be turn off whenever the occupants want. A simple tap that can be moved from the inside of the house, closes or opens the light entry into the wall. The mirror gap, is hermetically closed by a transparent fixed tap on top of it. It also makes that the wall will be better isolated from the outside, reducing thermic gain or lose.


To summarize, the A+ House self light wall, will directly reduced artificial light consumption and will increase wall isolation, reducing heating or cooling needs. It will also create beautiful and creative walls.

A+HOUSE. IDEA 2. STAND BY "OFF" HELPING DEVICE.

Nowadays “Stand by” mode, means 2,3% of the whole energy consumption in housing (in Spain) and 6,3% of electricity consumption. It means a total of  337ktep ( 3.925.683.240 kWh) and 842 tCO2. Taking into account that in Spain, only 12,3% of the energy comes from renewable sources, and most of it, is used in industrial buildings, then, in Spain, a general figure of over 700 tons of CO2, are produced only because of the Stand By mode of housing appliances.

You can find in the stadistics attached, that in 1998, in OECD members (Europe and USA), Stand By mode represented 1,5% of total electricity comsuption (124TWh) and contributes 0,6% (68 millions tons) of CO2 emmisions. This represents the annual CO2 emissions of 24 million European-type cars.

Nowadays any domestic appliance, should have an Energy Performance Label, (A⁺⁺⁺, A⁺⁺, A⁺, A, B, C, D, E, F, G). I think that devices that aim to be over A qualification, should be “no stand by mode”.

I have designed a new electrical plug or socket, with an individual switch, in such a way that, after being used, any appliance can be turn off “stand by mode included”, easily. Please, find the drawing, to better understand the idea. 

The idea has to strong points.

-         First:    It´s as easy as turnning off the lights of the house.

-         Second: Led lightning included, remember users to switch them of.

(http://www.idae.es/index.php/mod.documentos/mem.descarga?file=/documentos_Factores_Conversion_Energia_y_CO2_2011_0a9cb734.pdf)

http://energy.lbl.gov/ea/reports/46019.pdf

MODULAR CONCEPT

We present you the Modular concept. This is the idea that assumes, that any industrial process, will work better when it can mass produce a specific product. On this occasion, the product, is a modular building, or part of it. The idea, is that, based on modular typologies, we can produce almost any kind of house we want, just combining the modules the way we want to. A module could be a house itself, or can be combine with other modules to make a bigger house or a building. (Please find the drawings attached).

Modules industrially made, will then be moved to the final settlement, and then they will be assembled, by specialized workers. Another advantage of this way of working, is that very little noise will be produce in the neighborhood where the house is being placed and construction process will be shortened a lot.

The Idea, is that anyone that wants to have a house, will have a digital calalogue, as those people can use to make a wardrobe in IKEA, in order to create the house they want. Module by module.

 

INDUSTRIAL CONCEPT

It´s known that a lot of CO2 is produced during building construction process, this is why we want to emphasize about the benefits of the industrial modular concept.


Any building construction moves everyday a lot of material, people, machines, cranes, etc, to the places where the building is to be raised. Then quite a lot of time passes until de building is finished. Due to the fact that every house is different, and it is made by different workers, in a different places, with no industrial facilities, time spent is longer than needed, a lot of waste is produced, and the process is not optimal itself.

All this translates into a lot more of CO2 produced, than really needed.

Any industrial process, optimize time, material, staff, waste, etc, because any task is planned forehand, personnel is specialized, the environment and machines are specially designed for every task and even material supply is optimize.