Marie Granmar and Charles Sacilotto, a Swedish husband and wife, built an eco-sustainable, efficient, self-heating greenhouse near Stockholm, reducing the cost of the bill. The couple owned a 90-square-meter summer vacation home on one of the islands in the archipelago surrounding the Swedish capital.
They then renovated it by building a greenhouse around it, using 4mm thick glass panels for a total of 200 square meters, integrating the whole building and the surrounding space.
THE ADVANTAGES OF AN ECO-RESPONSIBLE HOUSE
With an initial investment of only 80,000 euros, the couple managed to eliminate not only heating costs, but also food costs.
In fact, there are several measures that make it an ecologically sustainable building in all respects:
- thermal insulation
- the use of solar energy
- the presence of a compost production plant
- the use of a wastewater treatment system that allows for the irrigation of the surrounding vegetable garden and the production of fruits and vegetables even out of season.
The idea of the house "caged" in a greenhouse to exploit the sun's rays is not really original, as it had already occurred a few years ago to the Swedish architect Bengt Warne who built Naturhus.
It is precisely his principles that have been used by the couple Granmar - Sacilotto for the realization of this practical example.
The heating of the greenhouse house is guaranteed thanks to a space between the external glass panels and the walls of the house. The presence of the cavity avoids heat loss and produces heat inside the house.
But the house built by the Swedish family also adds the possibility of running a vegetable garden where you can grow products from Mediterranean regions that usually need a milder climate to grow, such as tomatoes, grapes and figs, having them available all year round and at km 0.
Naturhouse also has its own wastewater recycling system. The water is, in fact, purified thanks to the large flowerbeds of the greenhouse and enriched with nutrients that facilitate the growth of fruits and vegetables.
Another advantage of the house is that the outdoor areas of the house, once exposed to the weather, are now located inside the greenhouse, so they can be used year-round.
THE GREENHOUSE HOUSE, A TYPE OF BUILDING ADAPTED TO DIFFICULT CLIMATES
The first greenhouse prototype, however, dates from 1976 and was built near Stockholm, in Saltsjöbaden.
In short, it is a type of building that is spreading rapidly, especially in Sweden and Germany, because of the very harsh winters in northern Europe.
In these countries, heating costs are very high indeed, which is why residents and planners are striving to reduce costs and also air pollution, given the great attention paid to the environment.
While suitable for harsh climates, the greenhouse solution is not suitable for countries in the Mediterranean area like ours, where the mild climate and high solar radiation would create excessive internal overheating.
In the same category