Hello everyone,
Does anyone have experience with the company Eco-House?
The company promotes passive houses built with ecological building materials.
The materials are mainly wood, and a heat pump is used for heating the indoor air.
Two points concern me:
- How is the sound insulation in a wooden house? I was able to visit a show home, and it didn’t seem too loud. However, in such a show home, they usually install all kinds of components that would otherwise be very expensive.
- In summer, doesn’t the inside of such a well-insulated house get too warm quickly?
Thank you in advance for your answers.
Kira
Does anyone have experience with the company Eco-House?
The company promotes passive houses built with ecological building materials.
The materials are mainly wood, and a heat pump is used for heating the indoor air.
Two points concern me:
- How is the sound insulation in a wooden house? I was able to visit a show home, and it didn’t seem too loud. However, in such a show home, they usually install all kinds of components that would otherwise be very expensive.
- In summer, doesn’t the inside of such a well-insulated house get too warm quickly?
Thank you in advance for your answers.
Kira
6
6Richtige1 Oct 2009 15:54Hello KiraS,
There are many factors to consider when it comes to passive houses, which would be too extensive to cover here.
Sound insulation can be verified—pay attention to the Rw values of the building components and ask to see a soundproofing certificate.
For insulation, for example, exterior walls should have a U-value below 0.10 W/m2K (0.018 Btu/(h·ft²·°F)). Summer overheating can be managed with appropriate shading of the windows. External blinds or shutters are necessary to avoid thermal bridges in the exterior walls.
Regarding ventilation heating, keep in mind that the same temperature is maintained throughout the house, for example, bedrooms, kitchen, and bathroom all at 22°C (72°F). This may not suit everyone’s preferences.
There are many factors to consider when it comes to passive houses, which would be too extensive to cover here.
Sound insulation can be verified—pay attention to the Rw values of the building components and ask to see a soundproofing certificate.
For insulation, for example, exterior walls should have a U-value below 0.10 W/m2K (0.018 Btu/(h·ft²·°F)). Summer overheating can be managed with appropriate shading of the windows. External blinds or shutters are necessary to avoid thermal bridges in the exterior walls.
Regarding ventilation heating, keep in mind that the same temperature is maintained throughout the house, for example, bedrooms, kitchen, and bathroom all at 22°C (72°F). This may not suit everyone’s preferences.
Thank you very much…
I wanted to thank you for the responses.
They allowed us to address these points with the seller of Eco-House and get more detailed information.
I had misunderstood something, because we will have underfloor heating, not air heating. The heat pump only uses the indoor air to extract energy.
Regarding thermal insulation, the seller also mentioned that the windows will have external blinds, and the walls themselves are very good due to heavy materials. This was also confirmed to me by the family in the show home.
We have now decided on one of these Solaris houses. Maybe I will share our real experiences next year.
Until then
Kira
I wanted to thank you for the responses.
They allowed us to address these points with the seller of Eco-House and get more detailed information.
I had misunderstood something, because we will have underfloor heating, not air heating. The heat pump only uses the indoor air to extract energy.
Regarding thermal insulation, the seller also mentioned that the windows will have external blinds, and the walls themselves are very good due to heavy materials. This was also confirmed to me by the family in the show home.
We have now decided on one of these Solaris houses. Maybe I will share our real experiences next year.
Until then
Kira
Hello Kira,
The seller’s answers raise more questions for me because they don’t make any sense.
The heat pump only uses the indoor air to extract energy.
That’s the function of the heat recovery ventilation system, not the heat pump.
Or is the seller trying to sell a perpetual motion machine 😀
However, I’m afraid they are trying to sell you an air-source heat pump!
And regarding thermal insulation, the seller also said that the windows will have exterior blinds and that the wall itself is very good because it’s made of heavy materials.
The heat pump is a refrigeration machine, so it’s absolutely no problem to use it together with the ventilation system for cooling.
The windows themselves should have an appropriate U-value.
What is it?
The idea that heavy materials are very good for thermal insulation is nonsense.
They are better for soundproofing, but then the question would be which material is used and what the U-value of the wall is.
The company advertises passive houses built with ecological materials.
Just because a company advertises this doesn’t mean it is true.
If we’re talking about the company Eco-House International GmbH, I would be very skeptical, because the information on their website is outdated and incorrect. It still refers to KfW40, which hasn’t existed for years, and by mentioning KfW55 they seem to want to give the impression that they build according to the current 2009 Energy Saving Ordinance, but in fact it is the 2007 version.
Best regards
The seller’s answers raise more questions for me because they don’t make any sense.
The heat pump only uses the indoor air to extract energy.
That’s the function of the heat recovery ventilation system, not the heat pump.
Or is the seller trying to sell a perpetual motion machine 😀
However, I’m afraid they are trying to sell you an air-source heat pump!
And regarding thermal insulation, the seller also said that the windows will have exterior blinds and that the wall itself is very good because it’s made of heavy materials.
The heat pump is a refrigeration machine, so it’s absolutely no problem to use it together with the ventilation system for cooling.
The windows themselves should have an appropriate U-value.
What is it?
The idea that heavy materials are very good for thermal insulation is nonsense.
They are better for soundproofing, but then the question would be which material is used and what the U-value of the wall is.
The company advertises passive houses built with ecological materials.
Just because a company advertises this doesn’t mean it is true.
If we’re talking about the company Eco-House International GmbH, I would be very skeptical, because the information on their website is outdated and incorrect. It still refers to KfW40, which hasn’t existed for years, and by mentioning KfW55 they seem to want to give the impression that they build according to the current 2009 Energy Saving Ordinance, but in fact it is the 2007 version.
Best regards
About the company Eco-House International GmbH!
The heating system in the solaris KfW Efficiency House 55 standard is based on a resource-saving air-to-water heat pump.
There is no other type of heat pump that is less economical than an air-to-water heat pump. See the 2-year field trial in Lahr.
The heating system can be supplemented by a photovoltaic or solar thermal system.
How stupid do they actually think homebuilders are—since when does a photovoltaic system supplement heating!
Ah, and they also offer fuel cells... 😕
Wall U-value ≤ 0.15 W/m²K
Window U-value = 1.2 W/m²K, with an upgrade option of 0.77 W/m²K
Only in well-insulated low-energy houses does a ventilation system with heat recovery and reheating of the supply air become interesting, as the air volumes needed for heating and ventilation become comparable. It is possible to control the temperature of the incoming air from ventilation systems with heat recovery by room-specific reheating coils.
However, the above values do not correspond to a passive house.
The heating system in the solaris KfW Efficiency House 55 standard is based on a resource-saving air-to-water heat pump.
There is no other type of heat pump that is less economical than an air-to-water heat pump. See the 2-year field trial in Lahr.
The heating system can be supplemented by a photovoltaic or solar thermal system.
How stupid do they actually think homebuilders are—since when does a photovoltaic system supplement heating!
Ah, and they also offer fuel cells... 😕
Wall U-value ≤ 0.15 W/m²K
Window U-value = 1.2 W/m²K, with an upgrade option of 0.77 W/m²K
Only in well-insulated low-energy houses does a ventilation system with heat recovery and reheating of the supply air become interesting, as the air volumes needed for heating and ventilation become comparable. It is possible to control the temperature of the incoming air from ventilation systems with heat recovery by room-specific reheating coils.
However, the above values do not correspond to a passive house.
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