ᐅ How can you bypass energy-saving regulations and avoid bureaucratic hassle?

Farilo schrieb:
(If you mean me: please don’t be oversensitive now.
I’m not insulting anyone. Think about it.)



...

A statement is not an insult...!

It’s not a problem if you don’t know much about something... according to the headline, you want to bypass something you don’t understand, and I could also quote Lumpi now, but I won’t.
I don’t know either [emoji23]

Good night!

ypg schrieb:
A statement is not an insult...!

Good night!

I never claimed that you personally insulted me either
Good night

Mycraft schrieb:
Mr. Fischer is a populist, there’s nothing more to say about that...

Okayy...

Mycraft schrieb:
Nowadays, building or renovating houses can be done without insulation, solar panels, or mechanical ventilation with heat recovery

Perfect! That’s where I want to be.
(Some comments actually sounded exactly the opposite. Not everyone! But some posts gave the impression that ultra-insulation is mandatory.)

Mycraft schrieb:

But then these have to be well planned and the materials carefully selected.
That increases construction costs because it extends the lead time since you have to do some calculations and put some brainpower into it...
Most clients don’t want that... most want to keep the double burden as low as possible... so they stick to proven methods like masonry + insulation

Wow! That doesn’t sound like most users here in the forum! Many of you seem quite knowledgeable about this topic and have experience from your own work. At least, that’s the impression I get. (Who am I to judge that accurately...) All the more surprising why not many actually apply it?!

I have plenty of time. Just short on brainpower for now. But that will come in time! LOL
I will take a look at various materials for my extension. Let’s see what’s possible.

Mycraft schrieb:
The thread title is more than pointless... insulation has always been good and useful... you just have to use your head...

I admit the title was poorly chosen!
If I had known so many people here would feel hurt or attacked by it, I definitely wouldn’t have chosen it that way.

It also depends on how, when, where, and for how much insulation is applied. Insulation can certainly make sense. If you believe Mr. Fischer, it often doesn’t at all.

With that said...

Good night

I have two houses right next to each other here. One is a 2015 aerated concrete block house without mechanical ventilation, but with layers of Styrofoam insulation meters thick. The other is a 1960s autoclaved aerated concrete house with no energy retrofit.

This year, I don’t want to leave either building open even for a second unnecessarily. Otherwise, both buildings will overheat in the same way. The only difference is that the new house, sealed tightly, stays around 25°C (77°F), while next door it almost reaches 30°C (86°F).

Proper thermal insulation is therefore not only important in winter but also crucial for protecting against heat in summer.

If I open the windows during the day in both houses, the result is the same at first: warm, warm, warm.

However, the mechanical ventilation system means you don’t have to open windows at night. I don’t have this system, so I open the windows.

But what’s the argument against a monolithic insulation approach or a timber frame construction if you don’t want a big Styrofoam block?

Farilo schrieb:
It seems I’ve clearly stepped on some toes here. I didn’t realize that the issue was so sensitive for some.

That’s because you criticize insulation without understanding the physics behind it... but you’re getting there slowly.

Farilo schrieb:
Insulating a facade from the outside with a meter-thick layer of polystyrene or something similar just doesn’t match my idea of a house.

You might be surprised, but very few houses have insulation that thick... it’s more often the solid structures without insulation that end up looking like bunkers...

Farilo schrieb:
Nevertheless, I want to pay a fair price for fair performance. And you only get that price-performance ratio if you do some research and don’t just go with the first option.

Everyone here wants that... and standard insulation solutions usually perform quite well in terms of price-performance ratio, more than you might think...

Farilo schrieb:
So with these ‘enterprise-technology’ houses, you can leave a patio door open for 2-3 hours without it becoming disproportionately inefficient?

No, why wouldn’t you? As others have said, in winter, yes... but that applies regardless of how the house is built.

Farilo schrieb:
Daytime open door in summer = moisture comes in.
Nighttime open door in summer = moisture leaves.

If that’s true, then what’s the point of all this insulation?

For winter, okay. Let’s see...

Hey, 100 points! You’re starting to understand...

Farilo schrieb:
Winter daytime open door = very cold and bone dry -> heating and expensive. Insulation would then be even more counterproductive, since cold air can’t easily escape and therefore must be warmed up by a high energy input?

No, because the cold air warms up in a few minutes since the house is warm inside... The house is insulated, so furniture, walls, people, etc. are all part of the heating system... everything inside has a much higher temperature than the cold outside air. Of course, energy is needed to warm the cold air, but this happens relatively quickly and efficiently. In a house from around 1900, you have cold walls, which leads to the well-known problems.

Farilo schrieb:
How does the argument hold up that natural stone absorbs heat more slowly during the day but also releases it more slowly, so the stored warmth can also enter the house, saving heating costs? Is that nonsense?

No, that’s not nonsense... that’s exactly how it works.

Farilo schrieb:
On the other hand, a well-insulated house doesn’t let solar radiation or heat inside and therefore can’t transfer it?

Actually, you have windows... so the heat enters in large amounts. That’s why Passive Houses usually face south, often with a full glass facade.

Farilo schrieb:
I think I need to train as a mason, natural scientist, physicist, mathematician, and biologist. Otherwise, I won’t get it.

Yep, that’s the only way to fully understand it all.

Farilo schrieb:
Perfect! That’s where I want to be.
(Some of the comments sounded the complete opposite. Not all, but some gave the impression that ultra insulation was mandatory.)

As I said, that’s certainly possible... with an aerated concrete block, for example, you can do a lot without adding a millimeter of insulation.

Farilo schrieb:
Wow! That actually doesn’t sound like most of the users here! Several here seem very knowledgeable on the subject, at least from what it seems. (Who am I to judge that realistically...). It’s even more surprising that more don’t implement it?!

Not everyone who is active here daily fits my description; that’s the broad majority—people who just go to the contractor and say “Build me a house.”

Personally, I see absolutely no problem with insulation... why would I build a bunker if I can achieve the same results with just a couple of centimeters of insulation on the facade?

Farilo schrieb:
I admit the title was poorly chosen!

Changed!

Farilo schrieb:
. If you believe Mr. Fischer, it often simply doesn’t.

Just don’t listen... his personal ambition simply doesn’t allow him to recognize properly executed facades as good.

Long story short. I’m not going to convince you. I will tell you what is possible under the energy saving regulations without using expanded polystyrene (EPS) and without advanced ventilation systems. A cellular concrete wall, Ytong or similar, at least 30 cm (12 inches) thick. Then plaster. Or a 24 cm (9.5 inches) block, some fiberglass insulation, and a brick facade. With a small air gap in between. Windows are double or triple glazed but with passive ventilation, look up RegelAir. In the bathroom, possibly a Maico exhaust fan, manually controlled via the light switch. Hot water heating with radiators, if you find underfloor heating too warm. This kind of house is not completely airtight, not fully wrapped in insulation, and yet easily approved by the building authorities (building permit / planning permission). We are building it, and there have been zero issues with the building department.