This might be true but misses the point; the vast majority of homes we’ll have in 2050; even a majority of the homes will have by the end of the century have already been built. The big gains will come from retrofitting our existing housing stock to make it carbon neutral not from new builds. This doesn’t mean the latter are unimportant and houses such as the one in the video can act as inspiration for change. Ultimately though we need to improve what we’ve already got; by far and away the most sustainable route
Exactly first step get a air tight test done like Robert recent video. Second step improve insulation and tighten gaps. Third step electrify everything in the existing house which means generation and usage. These are realistic goals for most people that have their own home. For people that less fortunate then we have to rely on governments or charities to get this job done. Surely rich people can find charities to provide energy efficiency for people less fortunate
I don't think that's the point at all. Years ago I watched video on a net zero retrofit of a small urban house in Toronto. Fantastic video, proves all the naysayers wrong. But I don't want that house, I don't want that lifestyle. But I'd love to live on sunshine coast of BC in beautiful custom home. Too much of the messaging around sustainability is religious, what can I give up to be good environmentalist. You don't need to be an ascetic to help save the planet. You can have a hot tub and take your dog paddle boarding and still make the world a better place. The point of the video is to inspire change. Not everyone change is a million dollar house with view, but if that inspires you to blow a bit extra insulation in the attic, replace some windows, and upgrade to a heat pump; well that's progress.
I'd agree but some existing homes just need to be torn down and new ones built in their place. I'm currently living in a concrete formed block of masionettes built in the sixties, which means adding effective insulation is difficult, it has a disused drying area underneath which means the concrete floors are always cold, especially in a cold windy Scottish winter. I doubt I could add a heat pump as their would be no where to put it, same goes for solar and also for any kind of ev car charger as it has a communal car park separate from the building.
Beautiful! We've renovated (2010) an old concrete house with straw bales, insulated roof, insulated windows, solar thermal water heater & storage, PV (producing 4 times more electricity than we use, selling the surplus electricity to the grid for a good tariff), no organic waste for us and for a few more families (feeds the chickens). The house and our family are proudly carbon negative 💪🏼
My excess solar energy is purchased by BC Hydro for $0.06 per kWhr, which is considered the wholesale rate. That is not a good tariff considering the installed cost of the system, and considering that we pay $0.095 for the first 1,350 kWhr in a 2 month billing period and $0.141 for usage above that amount. Maybe you are grandfathered into a higher rate. BC Hydro is not encouraging people to generate much more energy that they use.
@@douggoodman3914 That's a pretty decent tariff compared to what we're currently on in the UK and Europe. My current tariff is around $US 0.40/kWh import and 0.04/kWh export, but I could get around $US 0.12 export on other tariffs if I could switch. What we don't have but should is a tiered system like you have. It's really unfair for those who have their thermostats set high to be paying the same price as those who are struggling to have any heating on at all when, on a day such as today when it's sunny and windy, we could get by on solar plus wind plus nuclear. We're at a tipping point for UK tariffs over the next few years. The UK has enough offshore wind capacity under construction to fill the 3GW of gas that we're currently using, and we've got something like 40GW of future wind projects planned, which will completely change our energy market. Over to the other recent Fully Charged vid on Vehicle to Grid for how that'll pan out.
It’s a shame as I don’t see much on this channel that I can afford. I’m a UK worker in an upper tax bracket and still everything is out of my budget. I understand new tech is always expensive but surely there’s versions of some of this stuff more appropriate. Greener tech is like an illusion that’s it’s always just in arms reach. It seems deliberate in order to keep it niche so millionaires will spend tons to be better than everyone. I remember green tech homes being trendy 30 years ago.
Ha ha, and when you're a millionaire like many in Hollywood, you get a pass. There you can make huge, atmosphere-damaging fireballs and explosions and fires for entertainment. AND you get a pass, because you are the right sort. Being the right sort gets you all the carbon swaps you want.
Just goes to show, everything is possible, if you have loads of money… the vast majority do not have that level of funds available. They also live on old stock housing. I think that, even if the property you’re reviewing is as high end as this, there needs to be explicit examples of things all the ‘normal’ people may be able to adopt… and afford.
Love the home… and I think I was clear in my offers for improvement on content. If we are to change the world, I would think we need to enable everyone to aspire for a greener way of living.
The house is net zero but not sustainable. Such lavis housing is for the few. Consuming excessively and parading their smugness. Every favel dweller has a smaller carbon footprint than these...........
Please have a look at some of the net zero homes being built in europe. They are far cheaper and are being built at scale. I am in the process of buying a standard 2 bed flat in the UK that I hope in time I can convert to all electric. My first two jobs are switching the remaining lights to LED and fitting waste water heat recovery in the shower room. I will be doing the changeover on a shoestring budget so changes will happen as I can afford them.
Will you make some videos to document your progress? I prefer shoestring TH-cam videos to ones like this that look like they were made to pitch at a bbc2 or channel 4 commissioner (light on content and heavy on fancy camera work).
@@mrfr87 Hi. The block is early 70s and all gas. I'll have to do it piecemeal but the gas boiler is 20 years old so if I'm going to make the change it is a good time to do it when the boiler would need replacing anyway.
This is very impressive and it should be considering this looks like a high end net zero property, but I would really like to see and I think others do too is to see what a low end affordable net zero property would look like for ordinary people.
The whole idea that a dethatched single family home is something to aspire to needs to die. No matter how 'carbon neutral' each house is, the land and infrastructure required for these low density dwellings makes them completely unsustainable. Owning this kind of home is not a right, or even a privilege. It's an extravagant and wasteful luxury that comes at a huge cost to both society and the environment.
I would recommend insulating the pipes and using high efficiency pumps once the old ones ain't doing the job anymore, that is mandatory here in Germany since idk 10+ years.
I guess one of the weaknesses of this step system is that even very basic and affordable improvements don't get made if it's already "good enough" for step 4. It's wild how far behind they are in NA.
Your proactive acknowledgement that this home is beyond the means of the overwhelming majority is appreciated. That said, innovation happens at the bookends . Those of modest means find ways to make do and economize, reducing costs along with carbon, while the wealthy - those with a sense of noblesse oblige, like these folks - enable investments in new tech that may ultimately be scaleable.
What innovation though? Nothing here is particularly innovative or even new. This house wouldn't even meet the minimum efficiency standard in most northern European countries and lacks some fairly basic and comparatively affordable features that would bring it closer to being truly sustainable. I mean they even think that not using gas is noteworthy, as if induction hasn't been superior in every way for literally decades.
I mean, by that logic. Imagine the energy saving if we all as a society lived in tents in the forest exposed to the elements and went back to the stone ages for shits and giggles.
@@VMYeahVN Ridiculous argument and you likely know it is.Humanity is not sustainable if we all lived in houses such as this. Whatever the claims of net zero for this building, the resources consumed by this house are enormous and are far beyond what is reasonably needed for a good standard of living.
@@mentality-monster Literally no one said every house has to be like this. It's just an example of one type. It's really not as serious as you're making it out to be. All I'm saying is this one type of house existing doesn't mean we can't also be working on more affordable ones. I'm saying this one video is allowed to be about this more extravagant one. Like the way some of you are freaking out is like if someone made a video about rock music and all the comments were like omg what about dance music. And it's like the existence of the rock music video doesn't do any harm to the other genres, fucking relax.
I think one of the biggest take aways from this episode should be that a single slope south facing roof should become a design standard as it allows a solar array to make maximum use of the available space for generation.
To be honest, some commercial buildings and houses have made the choice of also having a number of panels West-facing as well, to collecting those summer “evening” rays 🥰
As opposed to these people who have a single slope North facing roof, with a PV array on it. Judging by the few visible shadows and the massive windows for passive solar gain(very expensive non-dispatchable heat) on the opposite side of the house, the solar array is on the north facing roof. How does that work at 49 or 50 degrees north latitude? Many utilities/ states are ending net metering. Be ready to transition to on-site uses of PV, for DHW, space heat and EV charging.
And in Britain, the slope of the roof needs to be steeper, perhaps about 50°. This will allow more generation in midwinter, when maximum midday Sun elevation is only about 15°, whilst giving a slightly lower level of generation in midsummer, when maximum Sun elevation is about 60° at noon.
@@peteinwisconsin2496 maybe the main elevation is west facing for solar gain and the roof slope east facing for partial sun for the pv array. It wouldn’t make a lot of sense to have pv on a north facing elevation, no?
Completely agree with the take home. This house is a luxury thing. It is good that the family are doing something to reduce their footprint but the reality is a large house out of town takes far more resource than high density housing. The industry needs to change to make a difference
People who can afford to are going to build where they want to build. Trying to force them to do otherwise is a waste of time and energy, not to mention authoritarian. There are plenty of ways to build far more efficiently, no matter where it is, by utilizing basic building science. The onus is on designers, builders and regulators to ensure that ALL future buildings meet higher efficiency standards.
I feel like Fully Charged really missed the mark on this one. Calling it net zero might be technically true, but is quite misleading when it relies on 'saving credits' over summer and spending them over winter when demand is much higher. Also, while they don't go into details, it seems like this house isn't even built to the minimum requirement of new houses in countries like Denmark. No ventilation with passive heat exchange (such as Genvex), no limit to the windows (making the house warm on sunny summer days which requires more cooling), no air pressure testing?? Never mind the opening shots of the cleared forests that made way for these low density, single family homes. An analysis of migrating to net positive by this step system could have been an interesting video, but highlighting this house as some sort of amazing achievement seems particularly off-colour in these financial times. Not to mention how much better it could be even with technologies from 15 years ago. While existing buildings are retrofitted with post-insulation, moisture barriers, solar, and improved heating, new buildings need to be FAR BETTER than 'technically net zero but only if the electricity from the grid in winter is renewable', and detached single family dwellings with road infrastructure need to be condemned as an extravagant and wasteful luxury, not held up as the (North) American dream everyone should aspire to.
Fantastic thank you !!! The home owner exlains that to achieve Step 5 comliance, you need to start with a "clean sheet of paper" and start with the aim of achieveing that ! That makes perfect sense ! For many of us, however, we are at the very opposite end of that spectrum, we have pre-built homes, many of us are in flats. Our opportunities for clean sheet of paper thinking are limited. Can you please look more at retro-fiitting insulation, taking a pre-build, flats with no or limited space for a heat pump towards some net zero standard !??
Important to highlight the difference between net zero carbon and net zero energy. Just because you produce more than you use doesn't make you carbon neutral/negative. If you have to dip into the grid when it's at it's most dirty it can cost you a large chunk of carbon.
This is gold, to see this happening, i believe this has to go back to how they design building estates where there is hundreds of homes involved. Well done keep up the positive drive
Judging by the few visible shadows and the massive windows (south facing?), your solar panels are on a north facing roof. How does this make more sense than ditching the clerestory windows and building a more traditional roof with south facing solar panels?
This is great to see more people doing this. I've been involved with the wiring for passive houses for an architect friend of mine over recent years, and I would definitely recommend it if you can afford it.
To answer the question posed in the title; "A large roof pointing toward the sun, and regulations allowing electricity to be traded with the grid." For sure, other design decisions helped, but this it would seem is the heart of the matter. We could do with more directness, more realism, in the reporting. This house has enormous generation capacity which is great, but it's not like a secret that's been unlocked. I admire the owners for having the focus and determination, and good for them for achieving this house. I imagine that it took a lot of work and perseverance. The Fully Charged Show criticises misleading corporate marketing and slanted political messaging a lot, take care not to slip into a similar habit yourselves.
👏 this couple helping set an example for everyone else. Yes it costs money that most don’t have but we have to start somewhere and the sooner the better. Can’t stop pushing forward if we don’t want to be stuck where we are.
Actually, clearing forest on an island to build 'technically net zero' single family low-density dwellings is not the way forwards, and is exactly the kind of thing that WILL keep us stuck where we are, especially if the system relies on over-producing in summer and being subsidised in winter. This is ultimately just wealthy people greenwashing their unsustainable lifestyles to clear their conscience.
So, California just got rid of their net metering law because it wasn't financially viable. To make it work, they are requiring a battery storage system, which makes a lot of sense - that utility companies don't have absorb so much of a hit as a grid intertied solar house all of the sudden needs a large amount of power (sun goes behind a cloud). I don't know if the utility wants to be able to pull power from your battery as they need it to balance out the system. I'm sure there will be more information coming soon.
This is, SO FAR removed from where we are here in the UK, and I understand the example of what can be done, with builders and planners etc is a luxury that just seems decades away in this country. We have already seen many examples of such designs in previous videos. But for us living in a 1963 bungalow, our reality involves buying five sheets of polystyrene 2.40m x 1.2m by 10cm think and sticking it to the walls of our bedroom, cost £236. That's the reality of UK home owners trying to save energy and money in the long run. We need to take action now, so all this fluffy show room designs really doesn't wash with us. If you want reality come here to mid Wales, and we will show you reality in action that demonstartes 5 years of determination to the change!! So far we have cut our carbonfoot print by 50%.
I think that If you are insulating and heating one room, letting the rest get cold, you risk pulling the dew point where moisture condenses inside your home and setting up a damp problem down the road. Have you worked out that this won't be an issue or maybe you work around it by heating your whole home but heating it to a lower temperature outside the bedroom?
@@AndrewHelgeCox We are not heating just one room, and we are aware of the dew point. Our measures are tempary, but we could not get anyone to give us the best insulation solution to our property which is unique in its construction. But thanks anyway for your concern!
@@XTiDesignTutor How do you know their finances? Even if people are wealthy, everyone wants to save more energy and money, or want to help the environment. People like them are trying to when lots of people don't, so why are some people just being negative and jealous? Why do you watch this channel then? This channel shows lots of pricey tech like cars.
What happened to this channel? Luxury unsustainable homes and luxury unsustainable cars? I remember watching videos about stuff like the Twizy, now it's big ships with 100kWh batteries.
Genuinely find these properties amazing but like a vast majority of folks it all boils down to how much money you have to start with. Granted that cash will go a long way once you’ve been able to build in efficient heating systems, solar, good insulation as well as smart use of double or triple glazing, but you need a sizeable budget.
Hi Rob, i am aiming to go full electric but wanted to check if you are aware of the following product as a replacement for hot water bioler/tank: Schuller Aquafficient Eco+ air source water heater. Unlike heat pump no external unit required so in theory a great idea combined with IR panels heating and hot water shall be sorted, thx
@@AndrewHelgeCox How do you know what car they have? How was your comment of just complaining, vilifying people, or being jealous help to discuss about helping the environment? You're just reinforcing the bad stereotype of environmental extremists. Should no one help the environment if they're not perfect? Then people shouldn't complain if people don't care to help the environment.
@@user-gu9yq5sj7c Anyone is allowed to have what they want in the West, as long as it is legal. But putting something forward as "green" that obviously is not as green as even a normal house is absurd. It's called "green washing".
Did they consider using SIPS panels ? I used them exclusively and reduced building time 50-75 % and costing far less than the conventional stick frame construction. What about incorporating "flat plate" collectors or evacuated tubes for hot water ? Just some thoughts. Thank you and happy holidays !
I'm guessing that solar may be better in such an extreme climate for heating the water, as there will be plenty of snowy, cloudy days where the solar water heating won't do a thing.
@@jamesengland7461 Not a particularly extreme climate on Bowen Island. While it is snowing there at the moment, there aren't very many snow days there per year.
Inspirational project, and I so envy them their net metering, aka grid as battery. That makes so much sense! Please keep doing these episodes. I enjoy the car reviews, but this is big picture stuff.
That's beautiful - but a bit ironic to highlight the net zero house of somebody but then fail to mention the fact that this person has also spent decades working in, and made their money for said house, from fossil fuels (oil sands and coal mining)...
Is this really news worthy? I'm in my second net zero home. In many places it is not that difficult. My first net zero was a conversion. Even before solar my currently house is rated at about 55% less energy. I didn't get any incentives, but there is a solar tax credit that should materialize next year.
It's a bizarre video for Fully Charged. The house wouldn't even meet the minimum standards in most of Northern Europe, and I'm not sure who it is aimed at.
@@armaduzo2601 You can't assume everywhere is like your country. Other places are behind on or not very knowledgeable about what saves energy or helps the environment most efficiently.
We need to underline that our global environmental problems require us to consume less. A large house and a huge solar array for two people makes net zero but it would be way better to use those resources in much smaller and more efficient homes that use much less energy per person. I notice that moving to levels 4 and 5 relies on incentives rather than regulations. I wonder if this is realistic. Most people I know in BC can't be bothered to seal the leaks around doors and windows, even though they complain about the cost of heating. It would be interesting to know how much progress we have made in BC on improving the efficiency of existing homes, and how much effect the rebate programs have had.
I believe in some heat pump systems a backup boiler is designed in to handle extreme situations. Think the current weather bomb over Northe America right now. So it may have been put in as a precaution. And to head off your next "Huh?!?!", if it is used sparingly, the property can still be net-zero. For example, the carbon credit for the exported summer energy outweighs the carbon cost of the gas.
I am from Ontario and my dream home would be one using ICF and then solar panels for generating electricity and also some plans for collecting rain water. But for that might have to move up North to make it affordable. And I feel a Carbon negative home is a far better idea then driving electric cars as by the time they start becoming Carbon neutral they are already at the end of their lifetime cause of them batteries.
We visited our aunt and uncle on Bowen island some 10 years ago. They mentioned loosing power every winter because trees fell on the wires due to weight of snow. Is loss of power still a problem? And how do they deal with it? - or was the away in February really about that. Just leaving in winter.
Would be a lot more interested in how to lower the carbon footprint of an existing home. Particularly with heating and electricity prices as high as they are, more information on how people can improve the house they are already living in would be more useful than showing how wealthy people can spend lots of money to get a virtue signaling "eco home". The number of people that can afford a new build net zero house is very small compared to the number of people living in older homes that have a massive carbon footprint and massive heating bills.
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Good that, currently, BC Canada is favorable to use just solar panels, that all excess production can be turned into credit. In Latvia, EU, houses can only have up to 10KW solar systems before they are considered a micro generator, and need to pay extra taxes for it, like a company. Also the excess generated energy gets charged for transmitting back to the grid, and then when you need that energy back you again pay transmission, so it’s pretty much useless without batteries.
My first thought was, "I guess only wealthy people can do this, what use is this to me?" But considering that the top 1% of global income earners are responsible for 15% of carbon emissions, my second thought was high income families are EXACTLY the group that should be decarbonizing first and fastest. So...bravo.
You probably enjoy lots of products that produced waste and pollution. People can't enjoy a house like this? People have to have nothing to perfectly care for the environment? There's people saying "you're the carbon environmentalist want gone."
Dan you should do an episode on PassivHaus as a comparison to this as this is almost a 'cheat' in some ways by off-setting the high energy use with a battery of solar panels and not everyone can afford an array like that on their roof.
What's with the gas boiler? You spend all this effort on building a sustainable home with vast solar panels and heat pump and then you put a gas boiler in it? Or is it just for backup when the grid fails in a storm?
Yes , a super house and brilliant adoption of modern hi tech standards . There are two basic things that stand out here . The local power supplier giving credits for power generation that is fed back into the grid - lucky in BC . in California the PC,s are reducing , even abolishing the feed in tariff and new rules are being implemented about installation , i.e. no home installs and severe inspections of any of these , should they manage to overcome the regulatory hurdles .The second is there are no batteries in the system to store energy ? The consumer is locked in to the PC and this restricts future energy independence . It is becoming apparent that PC,s are working against solar installs as it is affecting their income and the shareholders dividends .Many countries are bringing in more regulations on subsidies parts of Ca are actually placing a monthly charge to solar homes to offset the cost of electricity to non solar homes ! I have just finished a house build where off grid was the priority , this pre empted the efficiency levels used in construction and fittings . With no grid to fall back on it was imperative to have an efficient design and standard of insulation , there is no , "never mind , switch over to grid power " so every aspect of the house had to be highly , individually , efficient . I respect what the owners have achieved with this beautiful house , (and dream location ) and wish them enjoyment in it . My thoughts are that it is not particularly difficult to design and build a net zero/ Passive house and would like to encourage anyone thinking along these lines not to be swayed by the potential complexities and jump in !
Great story Dan. Impressive place to live. Could you do a heat pump story for the UK at some point? They seem to be hit and miss, so I’d like to understand the science behind what makes a well designed system and in what areas they are best suited. I live in a rented house with gas, so a heat pump is out of the question. I’ve just had the old Ideal Mexico boiler replaced with a Worcestershire Bosch unit. It is hydrogen ready, but I gather the pipe work would have to be replaced, as hydrogen tends be be damaging to the existing gas mains.
Very interesting video and an example of how a forward-thinking and versatile utility can inspire a more sustainable living space. BC Hydro's 'batteries' of stored water negate the need for house batteries (unless you are concerned about outages - which typically do not last long in BC).
I would like to see a three-story home in the UK designed around net zero techniques but also using some tiny home principles so the footprint and land needed are less so further reducing the costs. I like the idea of energy credits here in the UK as well so we don't all need a home battery as most people still work 9-5 so can't make the best use of any excess solar without one.
Would this be a detached house you're talking about? Insulating a 3-story house is much harder than a 2-story one, so would rather opt for 2 stories and make it a bit wider if possible. Also stairs would take up quite a bit of space too if you made it 3 stories.
@@swecreations I also like the factory build design, reduces time and costs on site. I worked on a project as an apprentice, bathroom was lowered in via crane complete. I'd love to work with a designer as I have some ideas on the interior but how everything would fit together is beyond me. Looking at CAD software makes my head hurt 😬
@@markreed9853 I think you would love my house. Built 14 years ago, with a ground-source heat pump that's just as efficient as the one used in the video (he really cheaped out just getting an air-to-air unit), it's a 2 story souterrain/slope house, 200 square metres in size, we built the bottom floor ourselves, and then the entire top floor was made in a factory and lifted on top of the house with a giant crane. Super efficient insulation and triple pane windows. House was also built with exhaust air recirculation, meaning 90% of the energy from the old air flowing out of the house is put back into the fresh air coming in, meaning little to no waste. We also put in a solar panel (the super efficient water heating kind, not the ones that make electricity) on top of the 80 sq metre detached garage, meaning we get free hot water throughout most of the year. In 2020 we installed 15kw of solar panels on the garage and house, which produces around 14000kwh of electricity per year, we imported it and installed most of it ourselves, so total cost was only around 7000€. We run it all on carbon free electricity (since Sweden's electricity pretty much already is), but we paid extra for 100% instead of 99% carbon free, but since we produce enough electricity through the new solar panels for both the house and 3 electric cars we don't pay anything for it anyways :D
@@swecreations yes, sounds amazing, I'm only renting but from what I've seen here fitting heat pumps is very expensive even though the government is giving a £5,000 Grant in the UK. Our problem here is that current housing stock need quite an upgrade to make a heat pump efficient enough here to recoup the extra costs. On another note, one of my cousins lives in Stromstad with his family and my uncle used to live in Sundsvall but sadly died a few years ago just before I was going to visit, so I've never been.
@@markreed9853 Well that sounds very weird, we paid around 8000€ for our ground source heat pump 14 years ago, it would have paid itself back many times over in that time. With a £5000 grant I really don't understand why everyone doesn't do that. You can get small air heat pumps with a mini split for a smaller 50 sq metre apartment or cottage for less than 2000€ installed here.
Would love to hear actual monthly costs of running a heat pump air con for us based people. We hear all about efficiency but is the monthly bill cost actually showing that?
That really depends on the costs of the alternative. If you live on an island and don't have mains gas, the alternative is probably oil, which is expensive. If you can get gas, is it a third the price of your electricity? Prices vary widely by region, which is why the SCOP is important for working out if it's cheaper for you.
For us (Dutch household, two adults, about 108 m2 ‘living space’ on 3 stories) Our gas usage went down from 1200 m3 per year to about 300 m3 per year. This alone is a saving of about €2700 in one year! Then we have two highly efficient Daikin AC’s with heatpump (one in living room, one in bedroom). Of course our electric bill went up, but we have solar panels to compensate for that. All in all this should save us about €5800 in this first year (because of the crazy high energy prices).
You can make predictions from the amount of energy you normally produce from burning gas to heat your home. Average gas usage in UK for most regular household is ~ 12000 kWh (thermostat 18.5 C in winter). Since ASHP uses 1 unit of electricity to produce 3 units of heat, you can approximate that you will need 4000 kWh of electricity to produce those 12000 kWh with an ASHP. At a current unit price of £0.35/kWh and a cost spread over the entire year, that would amount to £116/month (0.35x4000/12). But what is important to realise is that by going all electric, your overall energy usage per year would go from a typical ~15000kWh/year for a UK house to maybe around 8000kWh, so basically ~40% reduction. Which is massive, even though supplier are charging us more and more... solar panels and battery storage to back it all up is the way to go 👍🏻
There was no discussion of embodied energy. This is not a story of a net zero home, it's just throwing money at a new build for the green washing feels.
Guys, I'm really happy that people in this comment section are so smart and don't buy this fairy tale. That gives me hope. The video is trash. I hope you come up with some solutions for ordinary people fast..
So? You probably enjoy lots of products that produced waste and pollution. If people weaponize using the environment to browbeat people that they can't enjoy things like a nice house or that they have to be "perfect enough" then that makes people not want to care about the environment.
Should have came to my house on Vancouver island. I have built it myself but also did beyond what they did to this house by also doing exterior insulation on the home and the foundation. All the usuals like heat pump and low energy everything. No natural gas or propane. 100% electric. I haven’t done solar panels mostly because our electricity is already from renewable hydro electricity. So going solar wouldn’t really lower my carbon footprint.
My 1905 house uses far less energy than this and I've got 40kW of solar on the roof. This is a fancy expensive house and the hot water hydronic system would have cost a bomb.
Watch Kirsten Dirksen. There are tiny homes. You also don't know how much the house of the people in this video cost. Even is it was more expensive so what? People aren't allowed to make videos like these? How was your comment of just complaining and being jealous help the environment or energy?
Even if I couldn't afford something I still learned from and enjoyed the video. Watch Kirsten Dirksen tiny homes then. Then maybe you shouldn't watch this channel cause they show lots of pricey things.
Not every video has to be attainable to everyone. That expectation doesn't make sense and is limiting. If every video was just cheap things for everyone then we wouldn't get to see the greatest and new innovation that often is more expensive. I wouldn't want to miss out on that cause it hurts some people that they can't afford everything in every video. This channel is full of pricey things like cars. People can watch other videos of cheaper things. Like Kirsten Dirksen tiny houses.
An important message from this video was the adoption of significantly improved building regulations by builders, state and utilities. Until we have an equivalent building framework in the U.K. there is no pressure for builders to do better. The adoption of standards that get progressively better each year will help train builders in the standards as they use them.
So I live in a house build in 1934 and got it fully insulated, up to energy class A, neutral on electricity production and usage, and am going to go without gas heating next year. I bet my footprint is only a fraction of these people's. According to my calculations we will be independent off fossil fuels, with a heat pump, with a total electricity consumption of 6000kwh per year, while generating 7500kwh per year. So it'll be a net zero, energy producing house, build in 1934.
Generation figures are excellent. I think if you can afford too then you should do. We don’t worry too much when we buy a car and it loses 50% of it’s value in 3 years. So spending on property is a wise move IMO. Well done.
If anyone in the UK would like a zero-carbon house, or as near as possible if the building already exists you’ll probably need an architect. All MUST be ARB registered like myself. Why not save a lot of money by spending a bit?😊
Great house, excellent design, but totally unaffordable for most people. And U.K. regulations are a nightmare if you want to install more than 4 kW of theoretical capacity ofSolar PV panels.
Stunning example. Let’s see some retrofits in the U.K. Victorian, Edwardian & inter war houses are our nightmare. We need to find those answers in an economic & sustainable way. The issue is this needs to prove to be available across all income brackets. I guess that’s where the policymakers & innovative company comments were rightly directed.
Carbon costs of construction and installation need to be analysed. (And of course we should all be pursuing the changes that we can make to reduce carbon dioxide production)
Dan if there's any way for you to present past to current residential thermal storage and its history from the 1940's onward I think it could be A very unexpected asset in moving many homes in the United States to using Mass as a type of energy battery storage to reduce cost and even increase Energy Efficiency over transmitting solar power for example through the power grid. Such power could be used in place reducing the demand on investor owned utilities here in the states. In my home state the public utility is resisting allowing sales of residential thermal storage for fear that home solar installations would use that power without the utility being able to monetize it. In other states that have cooperatively owned electric generation they're encouraging their members to put in thermal storage because it reduces the demand and fluctuations on their grid. See the tri-state Electric Cooperative in Colorado for example.
Nice video, byy don't really need a home batterut I would forego the "shake cam" you used while interviewing the owners. It's a needless distraction. If their service is reliable, I would agree that they don't really need a home battery, since it would be spending thousands to save a few dollars of electricity. If, on the other hand, they're at the end of the line and service goes off frequently, then sure, get one.
I don't see what's wrong with enjoying some things. If caring about the environment means people can't enjoy things then that will chase people away from caring about the environment. There's already some environmental extremists who won't let people enjoy things or even have survival needs like heating, and expect everyone to eat vegan. And do you have hobbies and products just for enjoyment? Cause lots of things are made with waste or pollution. So according to you it seems like you have double standards.
I don't get the title? They even say its a step 4 house(40% more efficient). Not a step 5 which would be net zero ready. You can clearly see the natural gas or propane boiler in the mechanical room with 636 venting. Efficient homes are great and needed but this video is misleading.
So the key here is, first, be a millionaire. The second is to build an eco friendly home because you are concerned about energy bills. Oh wait, if you're millionaire, you never worried about energy bills in the first place!
I think it's more that they want to live a lavish lifestyle and buy themselves a clean conscience. I guess if you are going to clear some forest to make low density single family dwellings, making them technically net zero is not the worst option, even if it relies on the peasants subsidising your electricity in winter because you over-produced in summer.
@@armaduzo2601 How do you know about them? What if they wanted to help the environment? Some people push or even browbeat people to care for the environment. Now people vilify people for caring for the environment? Their house didn't look fancy to me. It looked like a regular house. Why did you try to take away from the message of the video on caring about the environment and energy efficiency to shoehorning complaining about how you're a "peasant" that has nothing to do with the video?
There may be a way around the grid dominating how much solar you can use. If the solar is to charge a battery then the grid has nothing to say about how much you use. I have 10kW of solar on my house. It’s enough to charge 2 electric cars and run up the batteries 25kWh for a weeks worth of home use.
@@guygillmore2970 I have grid connection and battery. The battery is 25kWh and is connected to a UPS style charger/inverter. If it runs down I charge it off the grid at best time of day to get a cheap rate.
This might be true but misses the point; the vast majority of homes we’ll have in 2050; even a majority of the homes will have by the end of the century have already been built. The big gains will come from retrofitting our existing housing stock to make it carbon neutral not from new builds. This doesn’t mean the latter are unimportant and houses such as the one in the video can act as inspiration for change. Ultimately though we need to improve what we’ve already got; by far and away the most sustainable route
Look up EnerPHIT
Exactly first step get a air tight test done like Robert recent video. Second step improve insulation and tighten gaps. Third step electrify everything in the existing house which means generation and usage. These are realistic goals for most people that have their own home. For people that less fortunate then we have to rely on governments or charities to get this job done. Surely rich people can find charities to provide energy efficiency for people less fortunate
I don't think that's the point at all. Years ago I watched video on a net zero retrofit of a small urban house in Toronto. Fantastic video, proves all the naysayers wrong. But I don't want that house, I don't want that lifestyle. But I'd love to live on sunshine coast of BC in beautiful custom home. Too much of the messaging around sustainability is religious, what can I give up to be good environmentalist. You don't need to be an ascetic to help save the planet. You can have a hot tub and take your dog paddle boarding and still make the world a better place. The point of the video is to inspire change. Not everyone change is a million dollar house with view, but if that inspires you to blow a bit extra insulation in the attic, replace some windows, and upgrade to a heat pump; well that's progress.
I'd agree but some existing homes just need to be torn down and new ones built in their place. I'm currently living in a concrete formed block of masionettes built in the sixties, which means adding effective insulation is difficult, it has a disused drying area underneath which means the concrete floors are always cold, especially in a cold windy Scottish winter. I doubt I could add a heat pump as their would be no where to put it, same goes for solar and also for any kind of ev car charger as it has a communal car park separate from the building.
Nah, tear it all down and throw it out, build fresh on top of that 👌
Beautiful! We've renovated (2010) an old concrete house with straw bales, insulated roof, insulated windows, solar thermal water heater & storage, PV (producing 4 times more electricity than we use, selling the surplus electricity to the grid for a good tariff), no organic waste for us and for a few more families (feeds the chickens). The house and our family are proudly carbon negative 💪🏼
We might need to talk Daniel
@@fullychargedshow take a crew down there please!
My excess solar energy is purchased by BC Hydro for $0.06 per kWhr, which is considered the wholesale rate. That is not a good tariff considering the installed cost of the system, and considering that we pay $0.095 for the first 1,350 kWhr in a 2 month billing period and $0.141 for usage above that amount. Maybe you are grandfathered into a higher rate. BC Hydro is not encouraging people to generate much more energy that they use.
@@douggoodman3914 That's a pretty decent tariff compared to what we're currently on in the UK and Europe. My current tariff is around $US 0.40/kWh import and 0.04/kWh export, but I could get around $US 0.12 export on other tariffs if I could switch.
What we don't have but should is a tiered system like you have. It's really unfair for those who have their thermostats set high to be paying the same price as those who are struggling to have any heating on at all when, on a day such as today when it's sunny and windy, we could get by on solar plus wind plus nuclear. We're at a tipping point for UK tariffs over the next few years. The UK has enough offshore wind capacity under construction to fill the 3GW of gas that we're currently using, and we've got something like 40GW of future wind projects planned, which will completely change our energy market. Over to the other recent Fully Charged vid on Vehicle to Grid for how that'll pan out.
Step 1: Be a millionaire.
and most people like u commenting on every youtube videos wont ever be
@@backstabber3537 So I guess that applies to you as well
Need more than a million to build that near Vancouver.
It’s a shame as I don’t see much on this channel that I can afford. I’m a UK worker in an upper tax bracket and still everything is out of my budget. I understand new tech is always expensive but surely there’s versions of some of this stuff more appropriate. Greener tech is like an illusion that’s it’s always just in arms reach. It seems deliberate in order to keep it niche so millionaires will spend tons to be better than everyone.
I remember green tech homes being trendy 30 years ago.
Ha ha, and when you're a millionaire like many in Hollywood, you get a pass. There you can make huge, atmosphere-damaging fireballs and explosions and fires for entertainment. AND you get a pass, because you are the right sort. Being the right sort gets you all the carbon swaps you want.
Just goes to show, everything is possible, if you have loads of money… the vast majority do not have that level of funds available. They also live on old stock housing. I think that, even if the property you’re reviewing is as high end as this, there needs to be explicit examples of things all the ‘normal’ people may be able to adopt… and afford.
Nothing is free @David Wedderkop
@@MrGMawson2438 and ‘free’ was mentioned where in my observation?
It literally says "dream home" in the title. What were you expecting?
Love the home… and I think I was clear in my offers for improvement on content. If we are to change the world, I would think we need to enable everyone to aspire for a greener way of living.
The house is net zero but not sustainable. Such lavis housing is for the few. Consuming excessively and parading their smugness. Every favel dweller has a smaller carbon footprint than these...........
Please have a look at some of the net zero homes being built in europe. They are far cheaper and are being built at scale.
I am in the process of buying a standard 2 bed flat in the UK that I hope in time I can convert to all electric. My first two jobs are switching the remaining lights to LED and fitting waste water heat recovery in the shower room. I will be doing the changeover on a shoestring budget so changes will happen as I can afford them.
Will you make some videos to document your progress? I prefer shoestring TH-cam videos to ones like this that look like they were made to pitch at a bbc2 or channel 4 commissioner (light on content and heavy on fancy camera work).
I am surprised it’s not already electric as only very large flats can justify the installation of even the smallest gas boiler.
@@mrfr87 Hi. The block is early 70s and all gas. I'll have to do it piecemeal but the gas boiler is 20 years old so if I'm going to make the change it is a good time to do it when the boiler would need replacing anyway.
This is very impressive and it should be considering this looks like a high end net zero property, but I would really like to see and I think others do too is to see what a low end affordable net zero property would look like for ordinary people.
The whole idea that a dethatched single family home is something to aspire to needs to die. No matter how 'carbon neutral' each house is, the land and infrastructure required for these low density dwellings makes them completely unsustainable. Owning this kind of home is not a right, or even a privilege. It's an extravagant and wasteful luxury that comes at a huge cost to both society and the environment.
This is great, Dan. Now - Show a 20 - 30 y/o level one house being brought up to level 4 and/or net zero. What it takes and what it costs.
I Love the Newfoundland !
I would recommend insulating the pipes and using high efficiency pumps once the old ones ain't doing the job anymore, that is mandatory here in Germany since idk 10+ years.
I guess one of the weaknesses of this step system is that even very basic and affordable improvements don't get made if it's already "good enough" for step 4. It's wild how far behind they are in NA.
Your proactive acknowledgement that this home is beyond the means of the overwhelming majority is appreciated. That said, innovation happens at the bookends . Those of modest means find ways to make do and economize, reducing costs along with carbon, while the wealthy - those with a sense of noblesse oblige, like these folks - enable investments in new tech that may ultimately be scaleable.
What innovation though? Nothing here is particularly innovative or even new. This house wouldn't even meet the minimum efficiency standard in most northern European countries and lacks some fairly basic and comparatively affordable features that would bring it closer to being truly sustainable. I mean they even think that not using gas is noteworthy, as if induction hasn't been superior in every way for literally decades.
@@armaduzo2601 At least it's more people like in this video trying to live eco-friendly and energy efficient. When a lot of people don't.
imagine the energy saving that could have been made had this building been smaller....
Like any other house
Or if they didn't clear forest on an island to make room for low density rural dwellings. :(
I mean, by that logic. Imagine the energy saving if we all as a society lived in tents in the forest exposed to the elements and went back to the stone ages for shits and giggles.
@@VMYeahVN Ridiculous argument and you likely know it is.Humanity is not sustainable if we all lived in houses such as this. Whatever the claims of net zero for this building, the resources consumed by this house are enormous and are far beyond what is reasonably needed for a good standard of living.
@@mentality-monster Literally no one said every house has to be like this. It's just an example of one type. It's really not as serious as you're making it out to be. All I'm saying is this one type of house existing doesn't mean we can't also be working on more affordable ones. I'm saying this one video is allowed to be about this more extravagant one. Like the way some of you are freaking out is like if someone made a video about rock music and all the comments were like omg what about dance music. And it's like the existence of the rock music video doesn't do any harm to the other genres, fucking relax.
Looking forward to Fully Charged getting into building a "net zero" community housing project!!
Now THAT I definitely want to see.
I think one of the biggest take aways from this episode should be that a single slope south facing roof should become a design standard as it allows a solar array to make maximum use of the available space for generation.
To be honest, some commercial buildings and houses have made the choice of also having a number of panels West-facing as well, to collecting those summer “evening” rays 🥰
As opposed to these people who have a single slope North facing roof, with a PV array on it. Judging by the few visible shadows and the massive windows for passive solar gain(very expensive non-dispatchable heat) on the opposite side of the house, the solar array is on the north facing roof. How does that work at 49 or 50 degrees north latitude?
Many utilities/ states are ending net metering. Be ready to transition to on-site uses of PV, for DHW, space heat and EV charging.
Definitely agree
And in Britain, the slope of the roof needs to be steeper, perhaps about 50°. This will allow more generation in midwinter, when maximum midday Sun elevation is only about 15°, whilst giving a slightly lower level of generation in midsummer, when maximum Sun elevation is about 60° at noon.
@@peteinwisconsin2496 maybe the main elevation is west facing for solar gain and the roof slope east facing for partial sun for the pv array. It wouldn’t make a lot of sense to have pv on a north facing elevation, no?
Completely agree with the take home. This house is a luxury thing. It is good that the family are doing something to reduce their footprint but the reality is a large house out of town takes far more resource than high density housing. The industry needs to change to make a difference
People who can afford to are going to build where they want to build. Trying to force them to do otherwise is a waste of time and energy, not to mention authoritarian. There are plenty of ways to build far more efficiently, no matter where it is, by utilizing basic building science. The onus is on designers, builders and regulators to ensure that ALL future buildings meet higher efficiency standards.
I feel like Fully Charged really missed the mark on this one. Calling it net zero might be technically true, but is quite misleading when it relies on 'saving credits' over summer and spending them over winter when demand is much higher.
Also, while they don't go into details, it seems like this house isn't even built to the minimum requirement of new houses in countries like Denmark. No ventilation with passive heat exchange (such as Genvex), no limit to the windows (making the house warm on sunny summer days which requires more cooling), no air pressure testing?? Never mind the opening shots of the cleared forests that made way for these low density, single family homes.
An analysis of migrating to net positive by this step system could have been an interesting video, but highlighting this house as some sort of amazing achievement seems particularly off-colour in these financial times. Not to mention how much better it could be even with technologies from 15 years ago. While existing buildings are retrofitted with post-insulation, moisture barriers, solar, and improved heating, new buildings need to be FAR BETTER than 'technically net zero but only if the electricity from the grid in winter is renewable', and detached single family dwellings with road infrastructure need to be condemned as an extravagant and wasteful luxury, not held up as the (North) American dream everyone should aspire to.
Fantastic thank you !!! The home owner exlains that to achieve Step 5 comliance, you need to start with a "clean sheet of paper" and start with the aim of achieveing that ! That makes perfect sense ! For many of us, however, we are at the very opposite end of that spectrum, we have pre-built homes, many of us are in flats. Our opportunities for clean sheet of paper thinking are limited. Can you please look more at retro-fiitting insulation, taking a pre-build, flats with no or limited space for a heat pump towards some net zero standard !??
Important to highlight the difference between net zero carbon and net zero energy. Just because you produce more than you use doesn't make you carbon neutral/negative. If you have to dip into the grid when it's at it's most dirty it can cost you a large chunk of carbon.
Beautifully produced video but I’m looking forward to your tours of more accessible homes in the UK.
This is gold, to see this happening, i believe this has to go back to how they design building estates where there is hundreds of homes involved. Well done keep up the positive drive
10:42 blue flames on the side of the house?
Very good considering the size of the house, I just wish the technology was available to all at a good price.
Judging by the few visible shadows and the massive windows (south facing?), your solar panels are on a north facing roof. How does this make more sense than ditching the clerestory windows and building a more traditional roof with south facing solar panels?
Very interesting. Can we have more content about sustainable homes please, especially pre-fabricated homes. 👍
Yes, homes like the one that Matt Ferrell from the TH-cam channel Undecided has commissioned to be prefabricated for him.
This is great to see more people doing this.
I've been involved with the wiring for passive houses for an architect friend of mine over recent years, and I would definitely recommend it if you can afford it.
To answer the question posed in the title; "A large roof pointing toward the sun, and regulations allowing electricity to be traded with the grid." For sure, other design decisions helped, but this it would seem is the heart of the matter. We could do with more directness, more realism, in the reporting. This house has enormous generation capacity which is great, but it's not like a secret that's been unlocked. I admire the owners for having the focus and determination, and good for them for achieving this house. I imagine that it took a lot of work and perseverance. The Fully Charged Show criticises misleading corporate marketing and slanted political messaging a lot, take care not to slip into a similar habit yourselves.
Does this house offset the carbon that was expelled to build it? Wouldn't that be a true Net Zero house?
I think in time it will. It's better than buildings that don't, which people will keep building things anyways.
👏 this couple helping set an example for everyone else. Yes it costs money that most don’t have but we have to start somewhere and the sooner the better. Can’t stop pushing forward if we don’t want to be stuck where we are.
Actually, clearing forest on an island to build 'technically net zero' single family low-density dwellings is not the way forwards, and is exactly the kind of thing that WILL keep us stuck where we are, especially if the system relies on over-producing in summer and being subsidised in winter. This is ultimately just wealthy people greenwashing their unsustainable lifestyles to clear their conscience.
Great presenter! Respectful and smart, the opposite of that other young irritating fella on the show.
So, California just got rid of their net metering law because it wasn't financially viable. To make it work, they are requiring a battery storage system, which makes a lot of sense - that utility companies don't have absorb so much of a hit as a grid intertied solar house all of the sudden needs a large amount of power (sun goes behind a cloud). I don't know if the utility wants to be able to pull power from your battery as they need it to balance out the system. I'm sure there will be more information coming soon.
This is, SO FAR removed from where we are here in the UK, and I understand the example of what can be done, with builders and planners etc is a luxury that just seems decades away in this country. We have already seen many examples of such designs in previous videos. But for us living in a 1963 bungalow, our reality involves buying five sheets of polystyrene 2.40m x 1.2m by 10cm think and sticking it to the walls of our bedroom, cost £236. That's the reality of UK home owners trying to save energy and money in the long run. We need to take action now, so all this fluffy show room designs really doesn't wash with us. If you want reality come here to mid Wales, and we will show you reality in action that demonstartes 5 years of determination to the change!! So far we have cut our carbonfoot print by 50%.
Yes, it's ironic that the people showboating their 300k property are ironically those who never have to worry about energy bills in the first place.
I think that If you are insulating and heating one room, letting the rest get cold, you risk pulling the dew point where moisture condenses inside your home and setting up a damp problem down the road. Have you worked out that this won't be an issue or maybe you work around it by heating your whole home but heating it to a lower temperature outside the bedroom?
@@AndrewHelgeCox We are not heating just one room, and we are aware of the dew point. Our measures are tempary, but we could not get anyone to give us the best insulation solution to our property which is unique in its construction. But thanks anyway for your concern!
@@XTiDesignTutor How do you know their finances? Even if people are wealthy, everyone wants to save more energy and money, or want to help the environment. People like them are trying to when lots of people don't, so why are some people just being negative and jealous? Why do you watch this channel then? This channel shows lots of pricey tech like cars.
What happened to this channel? Luxury unsustainable homes and luxury unsustainable cars? I remember watching videos about stuff like the Twizy, now it's big ships with 100kWh batteries.
I agree, but sadly I think most of the home improvement videos have already been done, and they can only review the cars that are available.
Well yt-rs grow, get sponsors, or are able to review bigger products. Don't people want yt-rs to grow?
Genuinely find these properties amazing but like a vast majority of folks it all boils down to how much money you have to start with. Granted that cash will go a long way once you’ve been able to build in efficient heating systems, solar, good insulation as well as smart use of double or triple glazing, but you need a sizeable budget.
If you have the budget for this, you are the group of people who never worried about energy bills in the first place.
Hi Rob, i am aiming to go full electric but wanted to check if you are aware of the following product as a replacement for hot water bioler/tank: Schuller Aquafficient Eco+ air source water heater. Unlike heat pump no external unit required so in theory a great idea combined with IR panels heating and hot water shall be sorted, thx
That house, and all the things in it, probably cost more in CO2 then my existing house will use in my lifetime.
Yep, lots of concrete poured just to make a nice wide surface to drive their SUVs up.
So no one is allowed to have medium or big houses? You probably have lots of products for enjoyment that produced waste or pollution too.
@@AndrewHelgeCox How do you know what car they have? How was your comment of just complaining, vilifying people, or being jealous help to discuss about helping the environment? You're just reinforcing the bad stereotype of environmental extremists. Should no one help the environment if they're not perfect? Then people shouldn't complain if people don't care to help the environment.
@@user-gu9yq5sj7c What?
@@user-gu9yq5sj7c Anyone is allowed to have what they want in the West, as long as it is legal. But putting something forward as "green" that obviously is not as green as even a normal house is absurd. It's called "green washing".
Did they consider using SIPS panels ? I used them exclusively and reduced building time 50-75 % and costing far less than the conventional stick frame construction. What about incorporating "flat plate" collectors or evacuated tubes for hot water ? Just some thoughts. Thank you and happy holidays !
I'm guessing that solar may be better in such an extreme climate for heating the water, as there will be plenty of snowy, cloudy days where the solar water heating won't do a thing.
@@jamesengland7461 Not a particularly extreme climate on Bowen Island. While it is snowing there at the moment, there aren't very many snow days there per year.
I'm amazed they don't have at least one small battery for power outages. Just enough to keep the refrigerator and a couple lights going.
I bet that they do have a small back up battery, just not a whole house system.
So is the hot tub and sauna a good use of energy?
Inspirational project, and I so envy them their net metering, aka grid as battery. That makes so much sense! Please keep doing these episodes. I enjoy the car reviews, but this is big picture stuff.
That's beautiful - but a bit ironic to highlight the net zero house of somebody but then fail to mention the fact that this person has also spent decades working in, and made their money for said house, from fossil fuels (oil sands and coal mining)...
This is true. Have checked LinkedIn, he has had a very successful career in mining.
And his house is a vegetable.....
Perhaps he’s realised the error of his ways and started to do something different. I wonder how he would answer your comment.
But Vulgarians need homes too. Mine is a frunk in a Model 3!
Good demonstration of what can be done with vison and commitment to do things differently
Very impressive. But part of the issue is building 4000sqf houses. The 2nd R is Reduce.
Is this really news worthy? I'm in my second net zero home. In many places it is not that difficult. My first net zero was a conversion. Even before solar my currently house is rated at about 55% less energy. I didn't get any incentives, but there is a solar tax credit that should materialize next year.
It's a bizarre video for Fully Charged. The house wouldn't even meet the minimum standards in most of Northern Europe, and I'm not sure who it is aimed at.
@@armaduzo2601 British people with old rubbish houses, where regulations are more of a suggestion rather than a law, based on the quality of some.
@@armaduzo2601 You can't assume everywhere is like your country. Other places are behind on or not very knowledgeable about what saves energy or helps the environment most efficiently.
We need to underline that our global environmental problems require us to consume less. A large house and a huge solar array for two people makes net zero but it would be way better to use those resources in much smaller and more efficient homes that use much less energy per person. I notice that moving to levels 4 and 5 relies on incentives rather than regulations. I wonder if this is realistic. Most people I know in BC can't be bothered to seal the leaks around doors and windows, even though they complain about the cost of heating. It would be interesting to know how much progress we have made in BC on improving the efficiency of existing homes, and how much effect the rebate programs have had.
Wait... A net zero home with 24kW of solar and yet it still has a gas boiler?? That little detail should probably have been mentioned.
Yepp, that was weird to see.
I believe in some heat pump systems a backup boiler is designed in to handle extreme situations. Think the current weather bomb over Northe America right now. So it may have been put in as a precaution. And to head off your next "Huh?!?!", if it is used sparingly, the property can still be net-zero. For example, the carbon credit for the exported summer energy outweighs the carbon cost of the gas.
Great informational video, thanks for sharing!
I am from Ontario and my dream home would be one using ICF and then solar panels for generating electricity and also some plans for collecting rain water. But for that might have to move up North to make it affordable. And I feel a Carbon negative home is a far better idea then driving electric cars as by the time they start becoming Carbon neutral they are already at the end of their lifetime cause of them batteries.
Still requires energy from the grid in winter. All great if your country has 100% renewable power in the winter but many don't even get close.
We visited our aunt and uncle on Bowen island some 10 years ago. They mentioned loosing power every winter because trees fell on the wires due to weight of snow.
Is loss of power still a problem? And how do they deal with it? - or was the away in February really about that. Just leaving in winter.
@fullychargedshow is it possible to get details on what else was installed on this property please?
You mentioned that in winter you might generate 10 or 20 kilowatt hours but use 90. How does that qualify as "net zero ?
Would be a lot more interested in how to lower the carbon footprint of an existing home. Particularly with heating and electricity prices as high as they are, more information on how people can improve the house they are already living in would be more useful than showing how wealthy people can spend lots of money to get a virtue signaling "eco home".
The number of people that can afford a new build net zero house is very small compared to the number of people living in older homes that have a massive carbon footprint and massive heating bills.
Good that, currently, BC Canada is favorable to use just solar panels, that all excess production can be turned into credit. In Latvia, EU, houses can only have up to 10KW solar systems before they are considered a micro generator, and need to pay extra taxes for it, like a company. Also the excess generated energy gets charged for transmitting back to the grid, and then when you need that energy back you again pay transmission, so it’s pretty much useless without batteries.
My first thought was, "I guess only wealthy people can do this, what use is this to me?" But considering that the top 1% of global income earners are responsible for 15% of carbon emissions, my second thought was high income families are EXACTLY the group that should be decarbonizing first and fastest. So...bravo.
What a house ... net zero? How much co2 did it cost building ...and maintain it?
You probably enjoy lots of products that produced waste and pollution. People can't enjoy a house like this? People have to have nothing to perfectly care for the environment? There's people saying "you're the carbon environmentalist want gone."
Dan you should do an episode on PassivHaus as a comparison to this as this is almost a 'cheat' in some ways by off-setting the high energy use with a battery of solar panels and not everyone can afford an array like that on their roof.
What's with the gas boiler? You spend all this effort on building a sustainable home with vast solar panels and heat pump and then you put a gas boiler in it? Or is it just for backup when the grid fails in a storm?
Yes , a super house and brilliant adoption of modern hi tech standards . There are two basic things that stand out here .
The local power supplier giving credits for power generation that is fed back into the grid - lucky in BC .
in California the PC,s are reducing , even abolishing the feed in tariff and new rules are being implemented about installation ,
i.e. no home installs and severe inspections of any of these , should they manage to overcome the regulatory hurdles .The second is there are no batteries in the system to store energy ? The consumer is locked in to the PC and this restricts future energy independence .
It is becoming apparent that PC,s are working against solar installs as it is affecting their income and the shareholders dividends .Many countries are bringing in more regulations on subsidies parts of Ca are actually placing a monthly charge to solar homes to offset the cost of electricity to non solar homes !
I have just finished a house build where off grid was the priority , this pre empted the efficiency levels used in construction
and fittings .
With no grid to fall back on it was imperative to have an efficient design and standard of insulation , there is no , "never mind , switch over to grid power " so every aspect of the house had to be highly , individually , efficient .
I respect what the owners have achieved with this beautiful house , (and dream location ) and wish them enjoyment in it .
My thoughts are that it is not particularly difficult to design and build a net zero/ Passive house and would like to encourage anyone thinking along these lines not to be swayed by the potential complexities and jump in !
Yes unlike the uk where they steal your power uk politicians take notice
Great story Dan. Impressive place to live. Could you do a heat pump story for the UK at some point? They seem to be hit and miss, so I’d like to understand the science behind what makes a well designed system and in what areas they are best suited. I live in a rented house with gas, so a heat pump is out of the question. I’ve just had the old Ideal Mexico boiler replaced with a Worcestershire Bosch unit. It is hydrogen ready, but I gather the pipe work would have to be replaced, as hydrogen tends be be damaging to the existing gas mains.
Net zero operational perhaps... How much thought was given to materials and embodied emissions?
This is brilliant, thanks for sharing this guys
Very interesting video and an example of how a forward-thinking and versatile utility can inspire a more sustainable living space. BC Hydro's 'batteries' of stored water negate the need for house batteries (unless you are concerned about outages - which typically do not last long in BC).
I would like to see a three-story home in the UK designed around net zero techniques but also using some tiny home principles so the footprint and land needed are less so further reducing the costs. I like the idea of energy credits here in the UK as well so we don't all need a home battery as most people still work 9-5 so can't make the best use of any excess solar without one.
Would this be a detached house you're talking about? Insulating a 3-story house is much harder than a 2-story one, so would rather opt for 2 stories and make it a bit wider if possible. Also stairs would take up quite a bit of space too if you made it 3 stories.
@@swecreations I also like the factory build design, reduces time and costs on site. I worked on a project as an apprentice, bathroom was lowered in via crane complete. I'd love to work with a designer as I have some ideas on the interior but how everything would fit together is beyond me. Looking at CAD software makes my head hurt 😬
@@markreed9853 I think you would love my house. Built 14 years ago, with a ground-source heat pump that's just as efficient as the one used in the video (he really cheaped out just getting an air-to-air unit), it's a 2 story souterrain/slope house, 200 square metres in size, we built the bottom floor ourselves, and then the entire top floor was made in a factory and lifted on top of the house with a giant crane. Super efficient insulation and triple pane windows.
House was also built with exhaust air recirculation, meaning 90% of the energy from the old air flowing out of the house is put back into the fresh air coming in, meaning little to no waste. We also put in a solar panel (the super efficient water heating kind, not the ones that make electricity) on top of the 80 sq metre detached garage, meaning we get free hot water throughout most of the year.
In 2020 we installed 15kw of solar panels on the garage and house, which produces around 14000kwh of electricity per year, we imported it and installed most of it ourselves, so total cost was only around 7000€.
We run it all on carbon free electricity (since Sweden's electricity pretty much already is), but we paid extra for 100% instead of 99% carbon free, but since we produce enough electricity through the new solar panels for both the house and 3 electric cars we don't pay anything for it anyways :D
@@swecreations yes, sounds amazing, I'm only renting but from what I've seen here fitting heat pumps is very expensive even though the government is giving a £5,000 Grant in the UK. Our problem here is that current housing stock need quite an upgrade to make a heat pump efficient enough here to recoup the extra costs. On another note, one of my cousins lives in Stromstad with his family and my uncle used to live in Sundsvall but sadly died a few years ago just before I was going to visit, so I've never been.
@@markreed9853 Well that sounds very weird, we paid around 8000€ for our ground source heat pump 14 years ago, it would have paid itself back many times over in that time. With a £5000 grant I really don't understand why everyone doesn't do that. You can get small air heat pumps with a mini split for a smaller 50 sq metre apartment or cottage for less than 2000€ installed here.
Would love to hear actual monthly costs of running a heat pump air con for us based people. We hear all about efficiency but is the monthly bill cost actually showing that?
That really depends on the costs of the alternative. If you live on an island and don't have mains gas, the alternative is probably oil, which is expensive. If you can get gas, is it a third the price of your electricity? Prices vary widely by region, which is why the SCOP is important for working out if it's cheaper for you.
For us (Dutch household, two adults, about 108 m2 ‘living space’ on 3 stories)
Our gas usage went down from 1200 m3 per year to about 300 m3 per year. This alone is a saving of about €2700 in one year!
Then we have two highly efficient Daikin AC’s with heatpump (one in living room, one in bedroom). Of course our electric bill went up, but we have solar panels to compensate for that.
All in all this should save us about €5800 in this first year (because of the crazy high energy prices).
Addition: House is from 1974, investment was about €10k including taxes
You can make predictions from the amount of energy you normally produce from burning gas to heat your home. Average gas usage in UK for most regular household is ~ 12000 kWh (thermostat 18.5 C in winter). Since ASHP uses 1 unit of electricity to produce 3 units of heat, you can approximate that you will need 4000 kWh of electricity to produce those 12000 kWh with an ASHP. At a current unit price of £0.35/kWh and a cost spread over the entire year, that would amount to £116/month (0.35x4000/12). But what is important to realise is that by going all electric, your overall energy usage per year would go from a typical ~15000kWh/year for a UK house to maybe around 8000kWh, so basically ~40% reduction. Which is massive, even though supplier are charging us more and more... solar panels and battery storage to back it all up is the way to go 👍🏻
We have one in a 750 sqft home. It’s been super affordable to run. Cost the same or less then the combined power and gas bill of our old home.
There was no discussion of embodied energy. This is not a story of a net zero home, it's just throwing money at a new build for the green washing feels.
Incredible to see this
Any chance of including a link to their experience that they had to write up as part of the funding?
Thanks for the vid.. I still have seen no news about booking tickets for the Fully Charged Show in Sydney.
Guys, I'm really happy that people in this comment section are so smart and don't buy this fairy tale. That gives me hope. The video is trash. I hope you come up with some solutions for ordinary people fast..
I may have misheard but did he say 90Kwh per day? Are they smelting iron?
Dream home says it all.
So? You probably enjoy lots of products that produced waste and pollution. If people weaponize using the environment to browbeat people that they can't enjoy things like a nice house or that they have to be "perfect enough" then that makes people not want to care about the environment.
Should have came to my house on Vancouver island. I have built it myself but also did beyond what they did to this house by also doing exterior insulation on the home and the foundation. All the usuals like heat pump and low energy everything. No natural gas or propane. 100% electric. I haven’t done solar panels mostly because our electricity is already from renewable hydro electricity. So going solar wouldn’t really lower my carbon footprint.
My 1905 house uses far less energy than this and I've got 40kW of solar on the roof. This is a fancy expensive house and the hot water hydronic system would have cost a bomb.
Be a millionaire. The end.
Watch Kirsten Dirksen. There are tiny homes. You also don't know how much the house of the people in this video cost. Even is it was more expensive so what? People aren't allowed to make videos like these? How was your comment of just complaining and being jealous help the environment or energy?
@@user-gu9yq5sj7c Relax.
Looks a bit pricey for most people
Even if I couldn't afford something I still learned from and enjoyed the video. Watch Kirsten Dirksen tiny homes then. Then maybe you shouldn't watch this channel cause they show lots of pricey things.
This is good to see, but most people see this as unattainable. You need to show things that most people can achieve and start them on the journey.
agreed. I've never been interested in the houses of millionaires even when the house is "green"
Not every video has to be attainable to everyone. That expectation doesn't make sense and is limiting. If every video was just cheap things for everyone then we wouldn't get to see the greatest and new innovation that often is more expensive. I wouldn't want to miss out on that cause it hurts some people that they can't afford everything in every video. This channel is full of pricey things like cars. People can watch other videos of cheaper things. Like Kirsten Dirksen tiny houses.
I'm not sure about the location of that heat pump...
Gotta love all the energy consuming opulence with monstrous square footage and hot tubs
An important message from this video was the adoption of significantly improved building regulations by builders, state and utilities. Until we have an equivalent building framework in the U.K. there is no pressure for builders to do better. The adoption of standards that get progressively better each year will help train builders in the standards as they use them.
And, as we have seen, ref Grenfell tower, you can't trust builders anyway despite legislation.
So I live in a house build in 1934 and got it fully insulated, up to energy class A, neutral on electricity production and usage, and am going to go without gas heating next year. I bet my footprint is only a fraction of these people's. According to my calculations we will be independent off fossil fuels, with a heat pump, with a total electricity consumption of 6000kwh per year, while generating 7500kwh per year. So it'll be a net zero, energy producing house, build in 1934.
Generation figures are excellent. I think if you can afford too then you should do. We don’t worry too much when we buy a car and it loses 50% of it’s value in 3 years. So spending on property is a wise move IMO. Well done.
If anyone in the UK would like a zero-carbon house, or as near as possible if the building already exists you’ll probably need an architect. All MUST be ARB registered like myself. Why not save a lot of money by spending a bit?😊
❤0:31 NICE black RAPTOR? 🤔
Great house, excellent design, but totally unaffordable for most people. And U.K. regulations are a nightmare if you want to install more than 4 kW of theoretical capacity ofSolar PV panels.
Stunning example. Let’s see some retrofits in the U.K. Victorian, Edwardian & inter war houses are our nightmare. We need to find those answers in an economic & sustainable way. The issue is this needs to prove to be available across all income brackets. I guess that’s where the policymakers & innovative company comments were rightly directed.
Carbon costs of construction and installation need to be analysed. (And of course we should all be pursuing the changes that we can make to reduce carbon dioxide production)
just watch an Ad for bc hydro.🤣
Dan if there's any way for you to present past to current residential thermal storage and its history from the 1940's onward I think it could be
A very unexpected asset in moving many homes in the United States to using Mass as a type of energy battery storage to reduce cost and even increase Energy Efficiency over transmitting solar power for example through the power grid. Such power could be used in place reducing the demand on investor owned utilities here in the states. In my home state the public utility is resisting allowing sales of residential thermal storage for fear that home solar installations would use that power without the utility being able to monetize it. In other states that have cooperatively owned electric generation they're encouraging their members to put in thermal storage because it reduces the demand and fluctuations on their grid. See the tri-state Electric Cooperative in Colorado for example.
Nice video, byy don't really need a home batterut I would forego the "shake cam" you used while interviewing the owners. It's a needless distraction. If their service is reliable, I would agree that they don't really need a home battery, since it would be spending thousands to save a few dollars of electricity. If, on the other hand, they're at the end of the line and service goes off frequently, then sure, get one.
I see a number of people promoting air 2 air heating and cooling rather than heat pumps. Can you please review a2a later?
I'd love to see more home and building eco videos!!! :) :)
"We care about sustainability"
*Also builds oversized house for two people with no kids.
I don't see what's wrong with enjoying some things. If caring about the environment means people can't enjoy things then that will chase people away from caring about the environment. There's already some environmental extremists who won't let people enjoy things or even have survival needs like heating, and expect everyone to eat vegan. And do you have hobbies and products just for enjoyment? Cause lots of things are made with waste or pollution. So according to you it seems like you have double standards.
I’d like to know the co2 impact of each video you make. I think Robert would like that too.
Net zero - passive house, what’s the difference?
Well at least a eco house won't do more harm. When lots of people don't care to make a eco home.
Step 2: Get BC Hydro to sponsor the build and a TH-cam video
Cost and loan is it possible for all without going to Dept
I don't get the title? They even say its a step 4 house(40% more efficient). Not a step 5 which would be net zero ready. You can clearly see the natural gas or propane boiler in the mechanical room with 636 venting. Efficient homes are great and needed but this video is misleading.
There is no mention of the amount of energy and carbon produced in building the house.
So the key here is, first, be a millionaire. The second is to build an eco friendly home because you are concerned about energy bills. Oh wait, if you're millionaire, you never worried about energy bills in the first place!
I think it's more that they want to live a lavish lifestyle and buy themselves a clean conscience. I guess if you are going to clear some forest to make low density single family dwellings, making them technically net zero is not the worst option, even if it relies on the peasants subsidising your electricity in winter because you over-produced in summer.
@@armaduzo2601 How do you know about them? What if they wanted to help the environment? Some people push or even browbeat people to care for the environment. Now people vilify people for caring for the environment? Their house didn't look fancy to me. It looked like a regular house. Why did you try to take away from the message of the video on caring about the environment and energy efficiency to shoehorning complaining about how you're a "peasant" that has nothing to do with the video?
We have customers who would love to put in more solar but are constrained by National Grid (UK) to 4kW [= one sixth of what is on this house]
There may be a way around the grid dominating how much solar you can use. If the solar is to charge a battery then the grid has nothing to say about how much you use.
I have 10kW of solar on my house. It’s enough to charge 2 electric cars and run up the batteries 25kWh for a weeks worth of home use.
@@PaulWetStuff not grid connected at all? Wow, what do you do with two weeks of gloom? (Like now!)
@@guygillmore2970 I have grid connection and battery. The battery is 25kWh and is connected to a UPS style charger/inverter. If it runs down I charge it off the grid at best time of day to get a cheap rate.
Looking forward to your social housing net zero plan
What an amazing greenwashed unsustainable home.
No breakdown of costs?