Tool how to build an Eco Home

Education and Culture DG ‘Youth in Action ‘Programme Youth YOUTH AND LIFELONG LEARNING FOUNDATION SOLIDARITY TRACKS

HOW TO BUILD AN

HOME

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w w w . t a m o n o p a t i a . o r g

“Having a place means that you know what a place means...what it means in a storied sense of myth, character and presence but also in an ecological sense...Integrating native consciousness with mythic consciousness�

Gary Snyder

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Contents Introduction Definition of Eco building Bioclimatic design/arhitecture Natural Building Materials Ecohome model making guide Example Building part Ecohome example Lefkada, Greece What means raw-brick or adobe? what is a brick?

Electricity Wind turbine Solar water heater Energy saving lamp with led Biogas system production Collecting Water Gardening 3

Introduction The concept of the family house or «home» conveys a primal value as regards the life of the human being. This place of human anchorage denotes an emotional bond, a resort full of resource and a cell permeable and open to the world outside. The home is an object worth each and every care. It is there where we live the most important moments of our life. It narrates the family history, the history of every person connected to it and even the history of the earth.

Nowadays, our way of life and the way by which we build our homes have considerable consequences for our health as well as for the well-being of the planet. Given all this, it has become a necessity to promote another type of house-building, one that is ecological and economical in terms of energy consumption, one that respects the environment & the local cultures, one that helps us really engage in a lifestyle which actively promotes the sustainable development.

In order for us to lead a healthy and environment-conscious life and to preserve the life of the future generations on this planet, it is absolutely necessary that we raise the young people’s awareness and to make the future generations commit themselves to the causes of environmental protection and sustainable development.

In this context, we set up a training program which brought together 32 young people and educators of young people who engage themselves in youth’s organization and come from 12 countries (European & Mediterranean). Our Training lasted 10 days, was held at the city of Lefkas (Lefkas island, Greece) with a view to act and interact in the field of the non-formal education for youth in matters «eco-Buildings».

This training course “Building together our Euro med eco-home” was supported from the E.E.’s program «Youth in action» as well as by the «Youth & Life Long Learning foundation».

During those 10 days we put a collective effort to build an ecological home using mainly clay and straw. We equipped that house with an autonomous electricity fully based on the appended solar panels as well as with a system of producing and consuming bio-fuel.

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Drawing on the theoretical & practical achievements of this program, we compiled this technical & pedagogical guide titled «How to build an Eco-Home» where the whole theory about eco-building is put to practice. Youth workers and the young people themselves may get inspiration from this work in order to set up various experimental workshop aimed to raise the awareness of and inform the young people of their local communities. We hope that this work will contribute the promotion of a “green” lifestyle and construction techniques as well as of the civilian’s ecological consciousness!

We can, individually or collectively, diminish our negative imprint on the environment and serve the nature!

Solidarity Tracks Team

Dedicated:

to all those who have contributed to this manual’s creation…

to all those who have supported our project…

to all those who are thoughtful of the coming generations and of the future of our planet…

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Bioclimatic design/ architecture Definition

• Basic principles • Passive House

environmental sources for heating cooling and lighting of buildings

Basic principles The Building sector is responsible for almost 40% of the total final energy consumption

• economic burden due to high cost of energy • atmospheric pollution (CO2) – greenhouse effect Reduction of energy consumption can be achieved by simple methods and techniques • use of an appropriate building design • energy efficient systems and technologies

Bioclimatic architecture

• Design of buildings based on local climate aimed to provide thermal and visual comfort • Use of solar energy and other environmental sources • Passive solar systems that utilize 6

• Heat protection in winter-and summertime / proper insulation of building ”envelope”, air-tightness of openings • Protection through shading • Improved indoor air quality, comfortable environment throughout the year • Exploitation of solar energy • Systems and passive cooling techniques • Natural lighting • Acoustic protection

Microclimate improvement

• Strategic planning of the building in order to make best use of: Sun Prevailing winds Ambient temperature Humidity

Exploitation of solar energy

• Absorption of solar energy during winter: maximized/minimized during summer

• Proper orientation – looking out on the south is the most appropriate • Proper sizing of openings v Passive applications that collect sunlight

• Ventilation with heat recovery

Thermal protection of buildings

• Proper insulation of building envelope • Appropriate design of the openings / ways to prevent from escaping from the house heat • Proper arrangement of internal spaces (rooms used more frequently must be placed in the south) • Shading protects the building from overheating in summer time

Natural lighting

• Direct and indirect light exploitation in order to ensure adequate comfort conditions in the interior during all seasons depending of building type

Passive house

• Fulfils all the bioclimatic design principles • Heating energy demand of 15 kWh/ m2 • Indoor temperature of 20 – 21 C • Basic passive house solutions • Super insulation • Airtight building envelope, no thermal bridges • Highly efficient windows 7

Technologies/materials U value:

refers to the measure of the rate of heat loss through a material Exterior wall 0.07–0.1 W/m2K Base floor 0.08–0.1 W/m2K Roof 0.06–0.09 W/m2K Window 0.7–0.9 W/m2K Solid window 0.6–0.8 W/m2K Entrance door 0.4-0.7 W/m2K

Typical building element sections

Heat recovery ventilation

Ground to air heat exchanger

Low U-value windows

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Natural Building Materials Uses, Properties, and Sources of Natural Building Materials: a detailed list by Michael G. Smith

Clay Uses:

Binder in all earthen building materials, including cob, adobe, rammed earth, light-clay, earthen floors and plasters, daub, alis paint Properties:

Sticky when wet; bonds to many other materials; expands when wet; shrinks and cracks when dry; absorbs water; soft when wet, hard when dry; malleable; many kinds and colors

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Sources:

1.Harvest a clay-rich soil from site excavation, road cuts, river or stream banks, ponds, etc.

2.Purchase powder in bags (white Kaolin is very good for paints and plasters) 3.Purchase potter’s clay (off cuts often available free from ceramics studios) What to look for:

For many applications (cob, adobe, etc.) a low-purity clay soil is fine. Subsoils (low organic content) from many places are good. For some apps (especially plasters, paints, slip for light clay) a fairly pure source is desired.

Use commercial source or high clay de-

posits from river banks, etc. Be careful of environmental impact of harvesting from wetlands.

Straw Uses:

Fiber in cob, adobe, light-clay, daub,

clay wattle, earthen plaster, earthen floors; laid in walls; insulation; thatching

What to look for:

Most grain straws (rice, wheat, oats, barley, etc.) are good. Rice straw especially high strength. All straw must be fresh or stored dry; it loses fiber strength if it gets wet; don’t use moldy straw ever. Bales for building should be very tight. For some apps (clay wattle, cob corbeling, and especially thatching), long straw is important. For others (plasters, finish floors) you need short straw; chop with chipper, compost mulcher, weed whacker, or machete and screen.

Sand

Properties:

High tensile strength; good insulation (contains air); absorbs water; encourages migration of water; breaks down rapidly when wet; light weight Sources:

1.Buy direct from grower (organic sometimes available) 2.Buy from feed store (loose straw often available free if you pick it up from the floor) 3.Grow and harvest your own (this may be the only option when very long straw is needed, as for thatching, since commercial grain varieties are short and often chopped up during harvest) 10

Uses:

Aggregate in cob, adobe, rammed earth, mortars, plasters.

Properties:

Hard (high compressive strength); stable (does not expand or shrink); does not hold water or deteriorate when wet; heavy.

Sources:

1. Buy from sand and gravel yard (main sources are river banks; quarries; or sometimes glacial deposits) 2. Harvest and screen from creek or river banks 3. Harvest from beach What to look for:

For structural apps (cob, rammed earth, mortars, floors, base plasters) fairly coarse, angular sand is best.

Sand made by crusher is roughest, then river sand. A wide range of particle sizes is good. Don’t use fine beach or dune sand except for highly polished finish plasters and floors.

gregate in earthen floors, cob, rammed earth Properties:

Hard (high compressive strength); stable (does not expand or shrink); does not deteriorate when wet; lots of air space needed for drainage; heavy Sources:

1. Buy from sand and gravel yard (main sources are river banks, quarry, or sometimes glacial deposits) 2. Harvest and screen from creek or river banks What to look for:

Gravel Uses:

Drainage (rubble trench, French drain, under adobe floors); sometimes ag-

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For drainage, use coarse clean gravel (1.5” to 3” best), round river or glacial gravel is best (but be aware of environmental impacts of harvesting); “cut rock” from quarry is OK.

For aggregate, quarry rock is good,

crack or crumble). Some kinds (sand-

mixed sizes are good. “Road base” is an engineered mix of aggregate sizes.

stone, etc.) break naturally into flat pieces, making them especially easy to stack. Alternatively, consider recycled concrete chunks (“Urbanite”).

Stone Uses:

Foundations; walls; sometimes filler in cob; flat flagstone for floors and walkways.

Properties:

Hard (high compressive strength); stable (does not expand or shrink); does not deteriorate when wet; heavy Sources:

1.Harvest your own (cheap but laborintensive process) 2.Buy direct from quarry 3.Buy from masonry supplier (many choices, but expensive) What to look for:

For foundations and walls, a hard, sound stone is desired ( for it doesn’t 12

Round Wood Uses:

General structure: posts, beams, rafters; cut short for cordwood masonry; wattle; railings and decorative Properties:

High tensile strength; easy to cut and fasten; flexible when thin; prone to rot when wet Sources

1. Harvest from wooded areas, especially former clear cuts 2. Logging “waste” 3. Coppice (cut back certain tree species to encourage growth of straight, flexible, shoots)

What to look for

Sources:

1. Buy from sustainable mill 2. Buy from building supply 3. Mill your own What to look for:

Should be rot-free. Be aware that most commercial lumber is harvested very unsustainably. Treated wood products are highly toxic.

Wood Chips Wood should be free of rot. Remove bark. Some woods (redwood, cedar, locust-tree, etc.) much more rot-resistant. Soft woods (conifers, alder, etc.) easier to work. Hard woods (oak, maple, madrone, etc.) more durable. Coppicing requires intensive management.

Uses:

Fiber for light-clay

Milled Wood Uses:

General construction: structure, floors, ceilings, furniture, etc.

Properties:

High tensile strenght; easy to cut and fasten; extremely versatile; prone to rot when wet

Properties:

Short fiber; prone to rot when wet Sources:

1. Run logging slash or milling waste through chipper 2. Free from road crews What to look for:

It should be coarse and relatively free or bark and leaves.

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Sawdust Uses:

Insulation; additive to mortar for cordwood Properties:

Light weight and insulative; absorbs moisture; breaks down when wet

workability and water resistance; absorbs moisture; breaks down when wet Sources:

By-product of saw mill or woodworking What to look for:

It should be clean (free or dirt and bark). Sawdust from furniture shops, etc. may contain glues and chemicals.

Sources:

Collect it from stable or pasture What to look for:

Horse manure fiber slightly longer than the one of cow. Use either very fresh and soft, or dry but still green inside.

If hard, can be grated through a screen or mixed with a paint mixer in water. Do not use if moldy.

Manure (of cow or horse excrements)

Bamboo

Fiber for earthen plasters and floors

Structural: trusses, etc.; pins for straw bale; wattle; decorative

Uses:

Properties:

Very fine fiber; enzymes enhance 14

Uses:

Properties:

Very high tensile strength; flexible; fast-growing; it cracks in dry conditions; short-lived unless protected Sources:

1.Grow your own 2.Harvest from established groves 3. Buy from supplier (usually imported from Asia) What to look for:

Many different varieties and qualities. Proper harvesting, storage, treatment and joinery require knowledge and care.

Reeds

Uses:

Thatching Properties:

Very weather-resistant; long-lived Sources:

Harvest from wetlands What to look for:

Only certain species are appropriate for thatching. Huge quantities needed.

Harvesting by hand very labor-intensive.

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ECO HOME

model making guide What is architectural house model?

An architectural model is a type of a scale model, tangible (sometimes called also physical) representation of a structure built to study aspects of an architectural design or to communicate design ideas to clients, committees, and the general public. Architectural models are a tool which may be used for show, presentation, fundraising, obtaining permits, and sale purposes.

Rough study models can be made quickly using cardboard, wooden blocks, polystyrene, foam, foam boards and other materials. Such models are an efficient tool for three-dimensional understanding of a design, used by architects, interior designers and exhibit designers. For a highly detailed presentation model, architects would employ a professional model maker, model making company or students working for credit.

Purpose?

Architectural models are used by architects for a range of purposes: • Quick, ad hoc models are sometimes made to study the interaction of building`s volumes, or to get an idea of how the buildings look from 16

different angles. Designing a building using rough models can be a very open-ended and practical method of exploring ideas.

• Models are an efficient method for exhibiting and “selling“ a design.

Many people, including developers and would-be house buyers, cannot visualise a design in three dimensions (3-D) from two-dimensional (2-D) drawings. An architect may employ small-scale physical models, or digital computer models, to help explain his/her ideas.

• A model may be useful in explaining a complicated or unusual design to the building team, or it may act as a focal point for discussion within the designing teams such as architects, engineers and town planners.

• Models are also used as show pieces, for instance as a feature in the reception of a prestigious building, or as part of a museum exhibition (for example scale replicas of historical buildings).

Eco-house model making Step by step: Tools: Paper knife, pva glue, ruler, pencil, smal weights, wood drill, saw.

Materials for architectural model making:

Cardboard (recycled material sheet boxes of A4 paper), 3mm wood sticks, clay, plastic straws, natural straw, wood base.

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Client or home architect gives to model maker home project drawings.

doors proportions, kitchen and bathroom installations, water collection system. d. Colours: walls from clay and straw mixture, roof in green colour. e. Model purpose: showing projectdestination to builders, ‘’Building together our Euro-Med eco-home’’ participants, local people, etc., promoting a debate about results.

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In building project are shown real sizes in meters. Model should be on scale 1:30, which means that all sizes have to be reduced 30 times smaller, or you can make a copy of a drawing on necessary scale (1:30)

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Model maker clarifies the customer requirements and wishes as regards model size, materials, colours, level of detail, model purpose. a. Model scale: 1:30 b. Materials: Cardboard, 3mm wood sticks, clay, plastic straws, natural straw, wood base palette. c. Level of detail: visible proportional to the wall thickness, windows and

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First step of model making is details drawing on used material.

You can do it with pencil alternatively mark necessary points with needle or paper knife. When it is done with paper knife you can cut out details. If paper or cardboard is thick (thicker than 1mm) or cardboard has more layers, then, probably, you have

to repeat cuts while all layers are cut. Always keep your knife sharp to perform quality cut lines.

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Cardboard usually consist from two straight paper layers outside and from one corrugated paper between.

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Cut from cardboard model base and top of the walls.

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Wall thickness size in model is 16mm, cardboard is 1mm thick, for easier wall fixing on the cut wall base and top you should cut out 14mm rectangles and glue them on wall bases where is 1mm on each side for outside and inside wall layers gluing.

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To bend cardboard you have to cut one of outside paper layers, than you can make corners or curved lines, for making curved lines should make more then one cutting.

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are fixed on baseline.

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When model walls are ready we can put on prepared cardboard top of the

walls.

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Around cut and glued 14mm rectangles start gluing the prepared model wall parts on the base of the walls. Cut windows places according to plan sizes.

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Set wall parts in place and put weights on them till glue is solidified and parts

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Now we turn to kitchen and bathroom installations, like toilet, fridge, sink, shower.

Kitchen and bathroom installations are maded by drawings from cardboard and glued onto model floor.

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Roof construction will be made of round cardboard.

Glued in a specific angle the perpendicular cardboard triangles will

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Saw parcels from a bigger wood palette or find readymade palette of convenient size for the house model. Place the house model on wood palette and mark pillar on hole places.

16 give the shape of the circle.It is necessary to draw roof tiles, print them on green paper and cut in 16 parts in triangles of required size for roof surfaces.

Facade will be made by using clay and chopped hay. At the beginning, smear with fingers clay on wall, then hay while clay is wet.

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Drill holes for base of pillars, around walls and one in middle. Cut colons from 3mm wood sticks in the wall size plus drilled hole depth. Insert prepared wood sticks in drilled holes and glue them perpendicular to the base with pva glue.

Around the roof edge make water collection system out from plastic straw.

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Cut straw at about 3cm lengths. Make a vertical incision on the prepared straw pieces. Cut straw pieces in half, leaving not cut about 7mm ends to be able to fix them on roof edge.

Eco-house model is ready.

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ECO HOME example Lefkada Greece

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What does a raw-brick or adobe mean? What is a brick?

A

dobe is a compound building material made of mixing earth, sand, straw and water and wrought by hand in such a manner that oneblock earthen walls can be formed. There is no need of moulds, concrete or machinery. On the other hand, a (conventional) brick is a brick of earth that has been dried in the sun.

Building by means of adobe is one of many methods for building edifices using raw earth, which is the most widespread building material on planetary scale. Adobe (or raw brick or mud brick) outperforms the conventional bricks and the relating techniques (moulded earth, compressed bricks and the like) in terms of both simplicity of construction and planning freedom. Given that no moulds or rectilign casts are needed, the adobe is an ideal material for somebody to create organic forms, curvilinear walls, arches, arcades, vaults. Building by use of adobe, you live an experience of mobilizing the whole of your senses towards achieving an aesthetic effect which much resembles that of mud-sculpture.

Which is the endurance of the adobe-built edifices?

How do they behave in the rain-stricken areas?

T

here are tens of thousands of comfortable adobe-built buildings in England, which have been in continuous use for over 5 centuries. The mediaeval 10-storey “skyscrapers� of Yemen are made up partly of adobe. The

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same holds for the building of Taos Pueblo in New Mexico, which has been uninterruptedly inhabited for 900 years. In addition, a great part of the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt as well as of the Great Chinese Wall is made up of earth. As a result, your earthen building is able to easily outlive by far a building made of concrete, which is designed for 50 years of “useful life”. As with every other constructive method, the mud-built edifices require stable roofs and solid groundwork in order to be protected from the decay provoked by water (rainfalls). A traditional means of such protection is to have the adobebuilt-walls covered with a layer of quick-time (wainscoting) which is windand rain-proof, regardless of the fact that in England, adobe walls not covered with quick-lime have weathered very well for centuries.

What about earthquakes?

B

uildings made of adobe or raw brick are credited with a history of endurance even in earthquake-stricken areas. Contrary to the common bricks which are held (bound) together mainly thanks to their weight, the adobe walls are equipped with an invisible 3-D network of intertwined straw, structured by thousand of individual particles, which provide the construction with heightened overall enduring capacity. An adobe-built cottage (villa) of 19th century at Nelson (N.Zealand) has survived in one of the most active seismically areas of the world, resisting the shock of 2 severest earthquakes without suffering the least breaking, whilst the nearby housed fell to pieces.

The curvedness and the gradual slimming of the adobe-walls adds to their resisting capacity.

Can we build a big, ordinary, square house by using adobe?

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t is absolutely feasible. It can be constructed as big in size as someone wishes, though it is recommended that quality should have precedence over size. Do you wish a building which is at the same time an objet d’art or simply want lots of square meters? It is always possible that you are able to construct a square-edged (or rectilinear) house, yet this will cost you extra time, effort or money. Pure squares are not found in the natural environment, as a result their construction for housing purposes requires great carefulness,

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and this holds whether we square off a tree trunk or chopping and chipping a stone to render it square. The earth’s tendency for curved and plastic shapes grants the adobe-built edifices an aesthetic quality which would be difficult to achieve otherwise.

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How much does an adobe-built construction cost?

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he raw brick is one of the cheapest building materials that you might ever imagine. The earth masses from the digging of the groundwork often prove to be sufficient for constructing the walls. By showing inventiveness and providence, the expenditure for the rest (doors, windows, floors and the like) can be drastically undercut!

The overall budget for a mud-built edifice will be a function of the size, plan, your own creativity and organizational ability as well as of your willingness to personally take part in its construction. Most of us, who are employees or workers, tend to pay for somebody else to build our house or even contract loans and pay instalments to banks that lend us money and help us to build it imposing their restrictive terms on us. If we decide to build ourselves a house, we can fabricate our own materials and proceed by slow still careful steps, which means that the cost for building it will amount to one-tenth of the price of purchasing it!

How fast can I construct a “mud-built” house?

C

onstructing a solid house of this kind takes long, no matter which materials you will have chosen, still under dry weather conditions can you build a two-storey high wall within a month. A determined would-be owner who builds by himself is expected to move into a presentably sizable adobe house in less than a year’s time. Once an adobe wall has been built, it is ready and sound needing no more than a quick-lime layer on its surface.

Tubes and cables are put in their proper place right from the outset, rendering plaster boards, makeshifts and additional dying unwanted. For all this simplicity, it would be pointless to make a “race of speed” out of this building process and would destroy all that enjoyment which is always engendered when constructing “in the natural way”…

As opposed to the conventional methods of constructing, which incur frantic

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rhythms, electric tools/machinery, and unavoidable mistakes and accidents, building with adobe constitutes a peaceable, contemplative and rhythmed physical exercise. This type of building can become swifter, easier and more entertaining when it is carried out in company. In such a case, it can be matched with works where the local community may take part, with building festivities and various practical workshops.

How could I learn more about the adobe buildings?

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he only recommendable way thereabout is for someone to try to build by himself. Building by use of raw bricks is monumentally simple. Participating in a 7 day workshop, you may learn how to choose the materials, how to make the proper mixture and build a wall. People who had been apprentices in short-time practical workshops, even without previous experience, acquire the enthusiasm and the confidence required so that they could launch their own adobe-building’s projects.

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Useful technical plans

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ELECTRICITY

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Wind turbine

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Crank shaft

Tube fixing blades Clipring

Flat shape in hard wood

The blades are not mentioned in the diagram to avoid the clutter.

The hub of the bike assure the rotating of the turbine by the wind The platform is used to hold the vane, Crank shaft and pump

Cable or metal stem

Rolling

Bicycle Hub Fixation by clamping collar

Wind turbine pumping A

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Tube fixing blades

Rolling tube 30mm

Tube 34mm

Clipring

Metal stem

Crank shaft Rolling

Bicycle Hub Fixation by clamping collar

Flat shape in hard wood

Wind turbine pumping B

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Wind turbine pumping

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Horizontal rotation

Blade Aluminium

Fixation by clamping collar

Blade Aluminium

Clipring

Angle in Aluminium

Weather vane Aluminium

Cable to operate the bilge pump

Crank shaft Rolling

Bicycle Hub

Wind turbine pumping C

Wind D400 Energy Wind

Ene Diode

Matt

V.DC

Connector Regulating unit 6TB

Discharge resistance

6TB - + - + - +

Charge

Accumulators 12v 44

Closed electrical system Wind/Sun

Sun

ergy

V.DC

Digital display

Breaker

Panel solar-panelled

Digital display V.DC

V.AC

Digital display Converter 12v/220vAc

Breaker switch

V.DC

Digital display 45

12v in use

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SOLAR WATER HEATER

Solar water heater The sun brings you comfort, independence and economy.

Every day, it helps to protect your environment.

To produce a large part of your hot water, you just need an equipment which converts the solar radiation into heat.

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Solar water heater Once you have made the initial investment, it allows you to achieve significant energy savings.

Solar energy is a clean and natural energy: without smoke and without noise.

It creates no toxic or dangerous waste (exhaust gases, residues etc.) avoiding the release of pollutant gases, such as Co2, into the atmosphere.

This is a big step towards energy independence. In sunshine periods, it amply satisfies your needs in hot water.

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2

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1 Solar sensor 2 Primary circuit 4

3 Heat exchanger 4 Storage tank 5 Entry of cold water 6 Circulator 7 Regulator 8 Temperature sensor 9 Tank sensor 10 Auxiliary boiler

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7 9

3

6

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Solar water heater Pedagogical Experience: Take a plastic flexible and coiled hose and put on the floor with water inside.

Let it in the sun for an hour or two.

Then, you find that the temperature of the water flowing from the pipe has been raised (the darker the colour of the hose the hotter the water gets).

And if you place a simple flat glass on the coiled pipe, the water becomes white-hot. The solar water heater works on these principles. This is a robust and reliable systeme in order to maximize the slightest ray of sunshine.

Cold water in Hot water out

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Solar water heater The Solar sensor: it is composed of a plate and black metal tube which receive solar radiation and heat.

It is the absorber: is the heart of solar system. These elements are placed under glass in a rigid box and thermally insulated at the back and the sides.

The glass lets enter the sunrays and the heat, like in a small greenhouse.

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Solar water heater The primary circuit: it contains some litters of liquid (water containing antifreeze, used in radiators of cars) enclosed in a sealed circuit. Browsing the sensor placed in the sun, the liquid heats before flowing into to the storage tank.

Through a heat exchanger, solar calories are transmitted to the water in the tank.

Cooled in passage, the primary liquid returns back to the sensor; so the daylight will still be existing.

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Solar water heater The solar boiler: it is a well isolated metal tank, which ensures the supply of hot water. The hot water that is removed, is replaced immediately with an equal amount of cold water. If the sun shines, the primary liquid plays then its role as heater, within few minutes. If there is not enough sunshine, or not at all sun, an extra circuit takes over to replenish the stock of hot water thus ensuring the continuity of service hot water supply in winter.

This is often an extra electrical resistance placed in the upper part of the tank.

On other models, the booster is a boiler (gas, oil ...) disposed downstream of the tank, or a second flask provided with an electric heater.

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Solar water heater The circulator: it is an electric pump that sets in motion the primary fluid, when its temperature exceeds the water of tank.

The solar water heaters "in Thermosyphon" are devoid of pump (and control device): The coolant circulate thanks to the density difference between the liquid and the water of the tank. While it grows hot, therefore less dense than the stored water, the primary liquid rises naturally by Thermo-circulation.

Differential regulation: it compares at any time the temperature of the sensor and that of the bottom or the middle of the tank. If the tank is warmer, regulation stops the operation of the circulator. Yet when the sensor is hotter than the tank, the circulator is automatically turned ON, and the liquid transfers its heat to the water of the tank.

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Energy saving lamp with LED 1 cm

1 cm 1 cm

1 cm

10 cm

17 cm

2 cm

2 cm 3 cm

3 cm 7 cm 15 cm

1 cm

1.3 cm

8 cm

3 cm

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1 cm

6 cm

8 cm 1 cm

Reflector plan 1 cm

13.2 cm

2.3

2.3

2.3 cm

2.3 cm

9 cm

3 cm

1 cm

2.3 cm

1 cm

3 cm

1 cm

2.3 cm

1 cm

Lame sticker pasted on cardboard Folding

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1 cm

1 cm

2.3 cm

cm 2.3

cm 2.3

9 cm

1 cm

1 cm

cm

cm

Energy saving lamp ( box plan ) 15 cm

8 cm

1 cm

3 cm

Right flank

Hight

6 cm

Front face

3 cm

8 cm

1.3 cm

3 cm

Down

Hole to insert the switch

Plywood box, diameter 0.5 mm

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Left flank 3 cm

Energy saving lamp ( box plan )

Fixation hole

Support by-wall plywood 10 mm in diameter

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Mounting the LED diodes HL

Led 1

-

Accumulator 12 volts

You can use for this mounting: white diodes LED HL and resistances that have 220 ohm as value for each diode

R 220.

Led 2

R 220.

Led 3

R 220.

+

Led 4

R 220.

Led 5

R 220.

Led 6

R 220.

+

-

Flat

Cathode

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Energy saving lamp with LED

Rocker switch

Wooden case

Wooden support

White LED HL Aluminum reflector

Aluminum reflector

Wooden case

Wooden support Fixation hole

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Biogas system production

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WC

50 cm

Biogas digester

119 cm

Biogas is a mixture composed primarily from methane (50-70%), and dioxide carbon (Co2), with varying quantities of water vapor and sulphide of hydrogen (H2S).

100 cm

61 75 cm

60 cm

60 cm

Compost release

Pit out

Biogas system production

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Waste inlet

Wall with full brick

Terre

( diameter 50 mm )

PVC intel tube Digester

Handle Trap Mixing vessel Screw Plug

Organic material inlet ( Animal or vegetable )

Basic foundation of brick and reinforced concrete

Digester

Trap

Digested sludge out

COMPRESSED EARTH

Concrete turret Concrete dome

Copper tube

Gas pressure gauge

By-pass valve

Gas meter

Biogas under pressure

COMPRESSED EARTH

Output biogas

Clay

Out pit

Compost outlet

Biogas system production

100 cm

100 cm

160 cm

50 cm

50 cm

35 cm

COMPRESSED EARTH

Copper tube 75 cm

360 cm

Digester

238 cm

35 cm

55 cm

COMPRESSED EARTH

50 cm

Biogas

Biogas outlet

75 cm

Trap

80 cm 113 cm

50 cm

75 cm

63 cm

140 cm

GROUND

78 cm

Out pit

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Biogas system production

65 cm

63

90cm

64

GROUND

Ofset 45째

Ofset 45째

PVC Intel tube ( diameter 50 mm )

Input WC

Bypass tube T

Handle Trap Mixing vessel Screw Plug

Organic material inlet ( Animal or vegetable )

TANK holding 2000 litters ( Digester )

Ofset 45째

Ofset 45째

COMPRESSED EARTH

Turret of the tank Dome of the tank

Copper tube

Pressure - gauge

Gas meter Bypass valve

Biogas under pressure

Biogas outlet

Compost outlet

GROUND

Digested sludge out

Trap

Outpit

Biogas system production

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PVC tube

Offset PVC 45째

Y PVC

120 cm

130 cm

Plastic tank holding 1100 litters

Turet of the tank

Offset PVC 45째

Offset PVC 45째

Biogas system production (with tank)

100 cm

Inlet pit

130 cm

Hole in the earth

cm

60 c

m

130 cm

0 20

100 cm

100 cm

130 cm

Plastic tank

70 cm

100 cm

100 cm

Outlet pit

Biogas system production

70 cm 20 cm

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10 0c m

67

Tank

Biogas system production

Collecting Water

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69 Collecting rainwater

Aqueduct

Rainwater

Irrigation

Collecting Water

Gardening

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I. WHY IS THE GARDENING A PART OF THE

‘SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT’?

Similar to Eco-building, Gardening can be considered as an equally important part of the ‘Sustainable development’ of our World, if not even more important, because food is on the top list of the basic things we need to survive.

Good, healthy, nutritious food enables us to have an active and productive lifestyle, thus we can focus on the things we like to create and develop. To be healthy is good, but usually we don’t appreciate this fact that much. Hippocrates said: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”. And so, consuming good food can keep us healthy and happy.

Local is better To create a vegetable garden near the place of the eco-home was the most appropriate decision we could think of. It is a good idea in so many ways!

Local food means: -

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Less energy for transportation; No need of chemicals to preserve the food for a long time; No need of packaging with plastic, metal or other materials; Easy to grow the native plants for the specific place – less effort, less care; Always fresh – pick up from the plant right before consumption.

Diversity of food sources

Nowadays we realize that the more diversity we have in one system, the more stable the system is. This applies to the food sources, too. If we have many small gardens and farms and if people live in relatively small communities, they establish good relationships between them. And if the people want to apply the ideas of the Sustainable development, they can do this easily just by taking responsibility for themselves and by helping the others, if such help is needed. So, if we create abundance by producing food enough for ourselves and even more - to share, we create a stable system.

Growing food with care

When big companies take over the food production, some serious problems inevitably occur. If, for instance, a company wants to have a profit, it has to compete with other companies, which often results in lowering the quality of the food by using dangerous chemicals like herbicides, pesticide and preservatives; or by producing good-looking, but tasteless and unhealthy food.

Growing food for ourselves is quite the opposite of that. The whole paradigm is changing when we think of our health and well-being. We tend to use less dangerous or even environmental-friendly materials and substances in the gardening; we use manure instead of artificial fertilizers; and so on‌ 72

II. CARE FOR THE EARTH. CARE FOR THE PEOPLE - THE PERMACULTURE APPROACH

In our garden, we decided to apply some of the methods which Permaculture suggests; but first let’s explain what ‘Permaculture’ is. The brief explanation: ‘Permaculture’ comes from the words ‘permanent’ and ‘agriculture’. The term was invented by two Australians: Bill Mollison (known as the father of Permaculture) and David Holmgren back in the mid-1970’s. Here is one of the definitions of Permaculture: “Permaculture is a branch of ecological design, ecological engineering, and environmental design which develops sustainable architecture and self-maintained agricultural systems modeled from natural ecosystems. The aim of Permaculture is to helps creating consciously designed landscapes which mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature, while yielding an abundance of food, fiber and energy for provision of local needs. People, their building and the ways in which they organize themselves are central to Permaculture.”

III. HOW WE CREATED OUR GARDEN

Using the principles of Permaculture, we first designed the place – we decided where the paths and the raised beds for the plants will be, how long and wide they should be, how to position the plants and how they will interact with each other. Once the plan was ready, we started by cleaning the place from the wild plants, then we measured and created the beds. The soil on the place wasn’t very rich, so we added quite a large amount of old manure and on top of it we put a thick layer of straw. The straw is for protecting the soil underneath from the erosion caused by the rain, the wind and the sun. (There is a lot of information about the benefits of using straw in the garden, which you can find on the Internet). Finally, on top of the straw, we assembled the irrigation system and we planted our vegetables.

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References: Technical drawings: ABBES Mohamed Ali

ECO HOME

Renewable Energy Guide - For Youth Trainers and Trainees Lefkas - Greece, May 2010

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ECO HOME This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

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SOLIDARITY TRACKS

Education and Culture DG

Youth

‘Youth in Action‘ Programme

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www.tamonopatia.org

YOUTH AND LIFELONG LEARNING FOUNDATION