Why didn’t we realize this before… Since a year or two there has been a working group of a number of collaborating scientists in Europe, under the wings of an international NGO (iiSBE) who are investigating what the ‘carbon budget’… Continue Reading
This is an extended version of a previous post on linked in, which had a lot of reactions.. {april 2019} When it comes to Embodied Energy, we are used to normalize this over the lifespan of a building (… Continue Reading
Rifkin some time ago wrote about the 0-marginal cost society. The book had a lot of attention. But cost is a complete different measuring unit as energy or greenhouse gasses. A 0-marginal cost society is not the same as a… Continue Reading
I frequently run into the dilemma that we, in the ‘energy-intensive world’, want to switch to a sustainable approach, and want to switch to renewable energy sources, but that we absolutely do not want to give up anything of our… Continue Reading
The Trias Energetica is one of the generic guidelines that has a wide adoption in the Netherlands since the nineties: it states that, in order of importance: 1 reduce energy demand, 2 use renewable energy 3 use fossil fuels as… Continue Reading
It is remarkable that the kg/m2 approach for buildings , as described in the previous article, is nearly completely absent. That is, nowadays. More then 100 years ago it was regularly used a a criterion in architectural competitions, the lower… Continue Reading
Recently I wrote about the Bitcoin, and other crypto currencies, as being the clothes of the emperor. They represent “ NOTHING”. Have no other value as ‘faith’. Which will become problematic, when it turns out there is no ‘heaven’. No… Continue Reading
Since quit a few years I am involved in mass retrofit projects for 0-energy performance, mainly with prefab panel based solutions. In the Netherlands, but also in Europe, recently among others within the EU H2020 project More-Connect, in which 5… Continue Reading
The Netherlands, as one of the first countries in the world, will have a mandatory material performance requirement for new buildings. Which is unique, after 25 years of pushing and trying. There will be a set ambition, though very low… Continue Reading
As I wrote more often, the Netherlands is focused on developing zero energy retrofits. Most of these initiatives address the whole house, packed in thick prefab elements, and powered by PV panels for the ( reduced) heating demand plus the… Continue Reading