The Rotating Solar Energy House

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
Joined
May 9, 2000
Messages
75,399
Talk about your green houses, this one wins hands down. A German architect designed this house to follow the sun and generate more than needed power to run the house, naturally lighting and cooling the house as it turns. If you speak German, you are good to go on the YouTube video, if not, just look at the pretty pictures. :cool:

heliotropeLink.jpg
 
But at 2 million it's ridiculous. I bet a stationary house of that size with nothing but the panels moving would have cost half as much and been almost as efficient Or better yet eliminate heating and cooling all together and build the house into the side of a south facing hill and put the solar panels above it with a larger array of stationary panels to eliminate all the extra maintenance..
 
obviouslytom said:
Running the plumbing up to that thing must have been a nightmare
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First thing that came to mind... YOU CAN'T DO IT! As I don't know a single plumbing fixture that has a swivel in it (something about needing to be water tight :D). Read the article and it says it reuses waste water and toilet stuff is turned into compost but I'm curious how water gets into the house at all. It could work if the plumbing was actually on a fixed axis but it doesn't look like that's the way it is.
 
Its possible the water comes up in a pipe in the exact center. I mean, its not easy but if the whole damn house rotates, its not a show stopper is difficulty getting water going to stop you?
 
I have a hard enough time remebering where I put my keys. It doesn't help if the whole house keeps moving around.
 
A fifty dollar hose reel contains all the parts necessary to get water into the building. I doubt the rest of the plumbing was much of a challenge either.
 
I still say while the whole house rotating is neat there are much more practical and cost effective ways to make a house of similar square footage and efficiency much cheaper,

For example a quality berm style in earth home only carrier a 20% price premium per sq/ft and cuts heating and cooling usage and thereby energy costs by a significant degree. Almost nothing; because 50% or more of all residential energy usage if for heating and cooling Stationary solar panels are much more cost effective; because of the extra installation and maintenance costs of a tracking array, unless in a very large installation. This seems more like some guy with a lot of imagination and little sense had either too much money or too much funding.
 
I didn't read the story, but he seems to be German. He did it because he can. That is the only reason needed :)
 
The house looks like an early warning radar station. Fugly as hell on the outside. but i love the interior and changing views

Still, i'd rather have a conventional house with a rotating solar panel.
 
Skirrow said:
The house looks like an early warning radar station. Fugly as hell on the outside. but i love the interior and changing views

Still, i'd rather have a conventional house with a rotating solar panel.
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That's a bad thing I guess when there's another war. Your house looks like a Military Target!
 
Wow what a genius Idea. Now instead of just buying a solar tracker for your panels, you can buy one to track your whole house. There might be some truly great innovations in there somewhere. Too bad they are wasted on impracticality.
 
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