OA 020 Zero energy house | papercrete

Papercrete is one of the best, if not the best affordable insulations ever invented. There are different recipes for it. The recipe depends on where you want to use it and how. The rule of thumb is generally that you can go to maximum 90% paper and 10% bounding material.  This bounding material (the most…

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OA 021 Zero energy house | Strawbale

With strawbale I have to admit I have a love hate relationship. It made top 3 on my list however most of the people use it wrong. Except it’s initial price and extraordinary insulating properties everything works against it. It’s one of the riskiest materials to use. Strowbale might rotten easily, molds, mice will live…

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OA 022 walipini | aquaponics | aeroponics

Place of warmth. Walipini means “place of warmth”.  In the Andes/Bolivia was quite popular to grow vegetables in these constructions. The main idea is simple. You dig a hole in earth and you cover it with glass, nylon or something similar. The sun will heat up the earth during daytime. In the nighttime: the accumulated…

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OA 023 zero energy house | Arduino

Arduino and raspberry pi are small computers that cost roughly between 30-60$. There are similar products on the market but we won’t mention them here. When we mention Arduino in this website we mean this and similar products. You can attach various sensors, controllers and robotics to them. The sky is the limit. I have…

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OA 024 zero energy house | green wall – hedge

Read this article first about security. Chose from the myriad of various sensors and plant a classy hedge. Smart hedge:) Just think about the cost. It will be 1000 times more secure. Seriously, the above-mentioned article first. The hedges maintenance would cost little in the long run. It might last hundreds of years and the…

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OA 025 zero energy house | Shou Sugi Ban

Shou Sugi Ban is a technique to burn wood. Initially the Japanese used cedar. Cypress, pine, douglas fir, chestnut, oak is also popular alternatives. What’s the catch? After burning it …it will be “immune” of UV rays. Insects and mold won’t attack it. It’s like a desert. Nothing to eat there. I am trying to…

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OA 026 zero energy house | rammed earth

Rammed Earth might look like the “ultimate luxury” however it’s made from earth. The Chinese wall was made from this material. Rammed earth resist thousands and thousands of years. It’s made from sand, gravel and clay. In the past they added stabilizers like lime and animal blood. Nowadays the most frequent stabilizers used are lime,…

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OA 029 organic farms | extreme climate

What about a sustainable farm? In the 80’s people didn’t “get” computers. Tv, radio dominated everything. Now they are dinosaurs. YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram is the new Abc, Cnn, Bbc. In the food industry it will happen the same. The new big thing: the Facebook, the Snapchat, the Pinterest will be meal-worms, crickets, bugs, fish, snails,…

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OA 030 Azero energy house | hempcrete

Hempcrete is the future of building materials. In a few decades most will build with this material. Hempcrete is all natural and it’s quite strong. Hemp grows way faster than wood. It’s price will outcompete anything in the market. The only problem with is the fallowing. It’s to good.  Resist time and it’s insulation properties…

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