Please tell me more... how exactly does the brick compensate for the heat? Are you sure that bricks do not absorb heat? Is insulation bad for summer heat protection?
Stand in a prefab house in summer and then in a brick house at 40 degrees Celsius outside temperature in summer. In the prefab house, the heat builds up, which must be transported outside by an overpriced air conditioner. In the brick house, I do not have this problem at all because the brick cools sufficiently. Therefore, an air conditioner is not necessary at all. For the few weeks in summer, it's just overkill (investment vs. cost/benefit comparison). That is why I would never build a prefab house or even a low-energy house in southern Europe; why install an overpriced air conditioner, which aa) is scrap after 20 years, bb) constantly has to be maintained (filters), cc) still consumes electricity. All marketing. In Sweden, for example, the situation is different. There, I would have a prefab house built; because it is cold to very cold, especially in winter. In summer, max about 20 degrees Celsius. There, an air conditioner does not pay off; not even a prefab house, because there are already 140 m2 houses in red starting from 30,000 euros.
What happens to my indoor humidity when I open the windows and let the cold winter air in? Does it then go up? Yes? And humidifiers instead of ventilation in insulated new buildings? Because there is too little humidity there? Is a ventilation system, in your opinion, supposed to humidify indoor air?
That is the common misconception. You open the windows in winter because your throat itches and you are made to believe that the oxygen must be reduced. That's exactly where the problem lies. The problem is that the heating consumes the humidity in the room. Then comes the itching/discomfort in the throat, then you throw the windows wide open. By placing small humidifiers, I get enough moisture in the room and don't have to constantly open the windows—because the oxygen content is often sufficient. But it also depends on how you heat. If the stove/Bullerjan burns oxygen in the volume, I have to supply more; this works with a very small control, a fresh air duct + fan, without having to open the windows.
The total insulation causes rather mold formation in the corners, like a construction year '80 roller shutter-window combination element, where it drafts in the mounting cage. Unfortunately negligible when you relate the air conditioner + maintenance costs + energy costs to the additional heating consumption again. That means 1 ton more consumption per year of hardwood briquettes over 20 years of air conditioning is still cheaper. You can calculate that mentally. A suggestion intended to convince the builder: Yes, invest - then you can save. But if you relate the effort to the savings, you quickly realize you have burned a lot of money. And here comes the problem: after 20-25 years the entire system is outdated and the game starts over.
That is why winemakers in the Trieste area are switching back to clay pots. Why only? Already explained!
Could you possibly share your thoughts on the pension system? And the euro? Would certainly be interesting weekend reading
Yes, sure. Invest your money in gold, diamonds, commodity papers. Split everything. I wouldn't even take out life insurance. Deposit everything in banks temporarily. Deposit the other part in Swiss banks; rent safe deposit boxes; no investments, likewise no taxation/ tax offices can't check anything. Where there are no capital gains, there are no tax claims. Germany will become uninteresting anyway. Markets are shifting. You can forget about statutory pensions in 30 to 40 years (projections). Sure, there will always be a unified pension, but then only triple-digit for everyone? Those who think differently should invest diligently, consume, spend money, build overpriced houses? We don't live in Stalinism.
Conclusion: hopefully no one listens to your advice here...
Well, my mentor taught me the ABC of economics once. That is no longer taught in schools today and that is the beginning of megalomania and decadence. Whoever acts normal today is a bore. If you recklessly throw your money out the balcony, you are the king. (See banking crisis)
I am not a fan of Styrofoam insulation myself.. but what you are saying here is sometimes dangerous nonsense because you obviously have no clue about the subject... your experiences with your house from '78 cannot be transferred to a modern new building!
With a ventilation system and a well-insulated house, comfort also plays a certain role... You don't have to creep to the toilet freezing in winter or shiver while lighting the Swedish stove in the morning... and until the rooms warm up after 30 minutes, I would be out of the house again... Why do you always spend winter in Thailand? Is it perhaps uncomfortable in your cold, drafty building? ^^
I transfer a lot from building technology from 1980 to today. I have some expert videos that prove exactly that this Styrofoam insulation madness (subsidized + subsidized also on disposal in 20-25 years) + critique is justified. Why have the prices risen many times over the last few years? (see Sto, etc.)
Comfort is a thing. If you have to walk around in a t-shirt indoors all winter because it's simply trendy, you have to use more energy than if you wear a ticks breeding smock with deer horn buttons because then 20 degrees Celsius thermostat setting suffices. And one more thing. Every reasonable controller from 2012 can be timed. You don't have to creep shivering through the hallway, that also works with automatic setback. And if planners would design smaller rooms as standard and not living-kitchen combos where the couch smells after a garlic session... then you can quickly compensate a delta theta of 8 degrees Celsius with a stove/Bullerjan/Swede. But people are getting softer? Just camp outside in winter, that hardens you + wash your crotch off with cold seawater + normal soap in the morning?
In a new, almost airtight house, moisture constantly accumulates... When showering, cooking, through plants, through the inhabitants, through the building fabric, etc... The humidity is constantly rising... Now you have to know that warm air can store more moisture than cold air... When this warm air comes into contact with colder building parts and thus cools down, moisture can precipitate. That's why, for example, windows fog up on the inside because they were often the coldest surface in an old house... When this happens in/on a wall, it's a perfect breeding ground for mold...
When I even read almost airtight house, alarm bells ring for me... Since the 70s there have been wall fans, even exhaust devices for cooking areas as standard? To counteract condensation, the blinds are closed. So generally (electrified, by pushbutton, by remote control from the server).
The bigger problem is the total insulation. The local expert reports miserable mold infestations... not in old existing installations... no, mainly in renovated systems that have been just totally insulated with super windows + ultra insulation. No air can get in anymore, people want to save and boom, mold inside the house.
The problem is therefore not too little humidity but too much! That is why you have to air out quickly so that the cold, dry air from outside comes in and the humidity drops again... Since you can't/won't air out that often and that long, it makes sense to ensure via a ventilation system that this moist air leaves the house and fresh air comes in... In your old building you have the problem that it is practically ventilated permanently (because it is not airtight) and you get very dry indoor air... your beloved Swedish stove contributes to that... that's why you need a humidifier...
You also need a humidifier in a 300-year-old former farmhouse with central heating + local room thermostats. You can't regulate a wet towel on the radiator, but you can regulate a humidifier.
According to my argumentation, the problem is rather the extra insulation that hermetically seals the entire living space even more; see facade construction craze.
If you want air conditioning, then build 25 cm higher right away, plan for pipes and revisions in concrete ceilings (Styrofoam balls inside when the concrete is poured at 12; afterwards with fire protection). Otherwise, you hang around for hours again at a 30 x 30 hole. That's how it is.
Insight: A low-energy house only pays off for the planner because he can cash in on it.
Why do people build house sizes of 10 x 7.6, or simply reduce roof overhangs because it looks so great or more light (energy) comes in? The reason (according to a live interview at the trade fair, but only unofficial) is now: "... basically, they just want to save material, because one cubic meter less, one square meter less and they have a thousand euros more in their pocket - that's the real background.
Building is not a science. You have to know how to build. The Arabs cut the heads off builders if the house was no good. So much for warranty!
