Houses of the future

What kind of house will you be living in 20 or 30 years’ time? The truth is that today’s houses are not all that energy efficient. Even with the available technology, one can live in a more sustainable way, using energy resources wisely. Twenty or thirty years down the road, technology will be sufficiently advanced to offer a totally sustainable lifestyle centred on houses that are 100 per cent energy efficient.

The recent electricity rate hike has opened the eyes of many to the need for energy conservation.

We cannot afford to waste energy - the bill is just aspect of it - but the overall picture is far more important. We have to move away from depending too much on fossil fuels.

During my recent trip to Japan, I glimpsed two futuristic houses that have envious ‘Green’ credentials. The first was in Tokyo itself, at the Panasonic Centre. The second one was at the Building Research Institute in Tsukuba (where many Sri Lankan scientists have studied). It is called the LCCM (Life Cycle Carbon Minus) house.

These houses are part of the New Growth Strategy announced by the Japanese government in 2010 that sets a long-term target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020. It was prompted in part by the fact that emissions from residential sector in Japan continued to rise in spite of the progress of heat insulation.

Construction

In such a background, the concept of an LCCM house was proposed as a house which has a long service life, emits the least amount of CO2 while constructing and using the house, creates recyclable energy by using solar power generation and fuel cells. and results in a negative life-cycle CO2 emission balance even with the CO2 emission during the construction included.

Two houses in Japan

CO2 emissions from LCCM houses decrease with the surplus energy for operation and fall below zero after a period of years.

But it would be meaningless if all creature comforts have to be sacrificed to save energy. For example, most solar panel installations will restrict the number of items you can use simultaneously. You may not be able to use the iron and the rice cooker at the same time. But that would affect your lifestyle and time management.

Indeed, a drastic reduction of energy consumption for operation could degrade health, safety, comfort and convenience. The ideal ‘renewable energy’ house should still retain these elements to the maximum degree.

This is a major challenge faced by so-called ‘smart house’ builders everywhere.

The LCCM house, completed just a month before the tsunami hit Japan in 2011, underscores the importance of these goals. I was taken on a tour of the house by senior BRI officials, who explained the significance of the technologies used throughout the house.

Starting with the obligatory solar panels for power generation and heating water, the four-person house features a raft of features that we will probably be able to see in future houses. Among the other features are: reserve power fuel cells; commercially grown wood from sustainable forests or plantations (already available on a large scale); ventilation towers for producing air current (minimises the need for air-conditioning, though the LCCM features a new type of air conditioner); LED lights (now being adopted widely) and even parabolic walls that aid air and light penetration. The house is managed by an ‘intelligent’ Home Energy Management System (HEMS).

The house can adapt to both summer and winter conditions with a few changes. The LCMM is now equipped with separate measurement devices for all operational parameters (electricity consumption, amount of light falling on the house and into rooms, water consumption, emissions etc.) but the HEMS will essentially integrate all these in the future.

Technologies

The smart house at the Panasonic Centre too features a host of technologies that eventually pave the way for zero emissions. In addition to some of the features found at the LCCM house, Panasonic has incorporated many of its energy saving electric and electronic devices into the house, including a bathroom suite which is currently available only in Japan and Taiwan. Renewable energies and recyclable materials are at the heart of this house, copies of which are likely to be commonplace in a couple of decades. Toyota too has built a similar smart house, though I could not visit it. Such models houses have been built in several other countries as well.

These houses are essentially long-term projects that will achieve zero emission status in 20-30 years.

They have proved that it is possible to live a ‘green life’ even with today’s technology, though there will be many more technological advances during the next two or three decades in terms of renewable energy, recycling, waste treatment, materials and household equipment. The latest plug-in hybrid cars can already provide power to a house in a two-way process.

High voltage Direct Current is making a comeback - it minimises losses during transmission. New solar and wind power technologies are taking shape. Most household appliances now feature energy saving inverters. LED and CCFL bulbs are getting more advanced and cheaper by the day. Tomorrow’s OLED televisions will consume even less power. Authorities in Sri Lanka should follow these examples and encourage local builders of houses, hotels and office buildings to give prominence to environmental sustainability. Some of the steps are so simple - such as allowing more natural light to come in - that they would not cost any additional money. Some, such as solar power, do require an additional outlay, but they pay off in a number of years.

The basic idea is that one can contribute to a greener world without necessarily putting up a whole model house like the LCCM. It also helps cut down on utilities’ bills and by extension, fuel bills on power generation. Projects such as the LCCM have given us points to ponder on living in an environmentally friendly way - a mission we can embark on right now, even if the results could take a few years to show up.