[Graeme]

Honda's Smart Home isn't such a dumb idea

Honda and UC Davis mash together our two biggest carbon emitters, the house and the car.
All the big boys are into smart homes these days; GE, Bosch, and Google all make the thermostats, heat pumps, sensors and equipment needed to run these marvels. Honda makes cars, not gadgets, so they could pick and choose their technologies, and have built a home on the campus of UC Davis that deals with our biggest problem: CO2 from our buildings and cars. I have expressed a preference for dumb homes, worrying about cost and complexity, but this one hits a smart balance.

For one thing, they paid attention to the basics. The best way to reduce your cooling costs is to keep the heat out in the first place, so they carefully studied the sun angles and shading, using passive solar design. The house is built from FSC certified lumber, metal roofs, to a very high standard, according to Green Building Advisor:

treehugger

[GHung]

There's a cool little video at the http://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/hondas-smart-home-isnt-such-dumb-idea.html link showing seasonal use of passive solar, very much the way I designed our home. Simple use of orientation, windows and overhangs makes an enormous difference in heating/cooling requirements and lighting. I'm not sure why this isn't code.

The home also uses what I term offset framing; "Double stud wall construction. Above-grade exterior walls are made from two 2x4 stud walls on 24-in. centers designed to eliminate thermal bridging except at the fire blocking. The 9 1/2-in. wall cavities are insulated with cellulose (R-31)." I designed this into our house.... 18 years ago. An 'enlightened' architect friend of mine hadn't even heard of this idea until I showed him about 2 years ago. In our home, the inner and outer studs, on 24" centers, are offset 12" on 8" plates. It made the inspector crazy until he figured out what I was doing.

Most of these ideas have been around for decades. Too bad our home designers/builders have been a bit slow on the uptake. Missed opportunities......

[BobInget]

I've built a few solar houses too.
Instead of double (2x4) framing, try standard 2x6 framing,-- Then, either inside or out, here's a chance to use up all those slightly bent, cracked or crooked 2x4's. Nail up those puppies on 24" centers Horizontally. This is a cheaper way to avoid 90% cold contact through framing. Opt for inside nailing and there is no need to drill studs for wiring or plumbing. If you go outside, code permits waterproof (blue) foam for that extra insulation space. Tape all the cracks, then wrap that sucker.

One more tip that I've used for thirty years with great success. Avoid robberies, home intrusions, cold wind, by simply following Commercial Codes, having all your outside doors--- ta da-- Open Out.
Wind closes doors tighter. With proper stops any solid core door will slow down any intruder. (try to kick IN any door opening out, provided you are outside). If you ever need to exit the home in a hurry you suddenly
remember why Commercial Code call for this door positioning. In the old days, doors opened in because
snow could pile up and trap a person in the cabin till May Day, so build in lots of roof overhang.

Happy Mayday.

[Graeme]

OPEN SOURCING HONDA SMART HOME

In the three months following our launch, the response to Honda Smart Home has been truly amazing. We’ve hosted over a thousand visitors in Davis including architects, builders, researchers, academics, media, policymakers and enthusiastic members of the public. And we’ve received inquiries and proposals from businesses all across the world looking to get involved in green building.

Many of the people and companies we’ve met with wanted to know how they could incorporate what we’ve demonstrated into their own projects, or build upon what we’ve learned in their own research. We want nothing more than to facilitate this effort, so today, we’re releasing a batch of files the get the process rolling. By visiting the “downloads” section above, you will now find several files available:

Architectural Plans – We worked with Lim Chang Rohling & Associates to create a beautiful form that incorporates passive design, and Monley Cronin, Inc. to build it. Although the details of our design have been fine tuned to take advantage of the sun and weather at our site, I hope that any interested individuals are able to use our plans as a starting point to create their own sustainable homes around the country. This download contains PDFs as well as the 2D and 3D CAD data to facilitate the design process.

Interior Design & Plans – Love the tile we chose in the bathrooms? Or the efficient appliances in the kitchen? Thanks to MAK Design+Build, we were able to spec local and sustainable materials throughout the home – a critical part of the holistic design process. It can be daunting to find furniture and materials that you feel good about, so if you are building or renovating your home, please take a look at these files which list all of our interior materials and where to find them.

Mechanical & Plumbing Plans – Some of the most innovative work we’re doing on this project involves the ground source heating and cooling. Many researchers have expressed an interest in building upon this work, and these plans are a great starting point.

We’d love to hear from you! Please contact us at [email protected] if you incorporate any of our work into your own project, or if you have any ideas or questions. If you send us something really cool, we’ll feature it here.

earthtechling