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“Having a place means that you know what a place

means...what it means in a storied sense of myth,

character and presence but also in an ecological

sense...Integrating native consciousness with mythic

consciousness”

Gary Snyder

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Contents

Introduction

Definition of Eco building

Bioclimatic design/arhitecture

Natural Building Materials

Ecohome model making guide Example

Building part

Ecohome example Lefkada, Greece

What means raw-brick or adobe? what is a brick?

Electricity

Wind turbine

Solar water heater

Energy saving lamp with led

Biogas system production

Collecting Water

Gardening

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IntroductionThe concept of the family house or «home» conveys a primal value as regards the life of the human being. This place of human anchorage denotes an emotional bond, a resort full of resource and a cell perme-able and open to the world outside. The home is an object worth each and every care. It is there where we live the most important moments of our life. It narrates the family history, the history of every person connected to it and even the history of the earth. Nowadays, our way of life and the way by which we build our homes have considerable consequences for our health as well as for the well-being of the planet. Given all this, it has become a necessity to promote another type of house-building, one that is ecological and economical in terms of energy consumption, one that respects the environment & the local cultures, one that helps us really engage in a lifestyle which actively promotes the sustainable development.In order for us to lead a healthy and environment-conscious life and to preserve the life of the future generations on this planet, it is ab-solutely necessary that we raise the young people’s awareness and to make the future generations commit themselves to the causes of environmental protection and sustainable development.In this context, we set up a training program which brought together 32 young people and educators of young people who engage them-selves in youth’s organization and come from 12 countries (European & Mediterranean). Our Training lasted 10 days, was held at the city of Lefkas (Lefkas island, Greece) with a view to act and interact in the field of the non-formal education for youth in matters «eco-Buildings».This training course “Building together our Euro med eco-home” was supported from the E.E.’s program «Youth in action» as well as by the «Youth & Life Long Learning foundation». During those 10 days we put a collective effort to build an ecological home using mainly clay and straw. We equipped that house with an autonomous electricity fully based on the appended solar panels as well as with a system of producing and consuming bio-fuel.

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

Dedicated: to all those who have contributed to this manual’s creation… to all those who have supported our project… to all those who are thoughtful of the coming generations and of the future of our planet…

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Definition • Basic principles • Passive House

The Building sector is re-sponsible for almost 40% of the total final energy consumption• economic burden due to high cost of energy• atmospheric pollution (CO2) – greenhouse effect

Reduction of energy consumption can be achieved by simple methods and techniques • use of an appropriate building de-sign • energy efficient systems and tech-nologies

Bioclimatic architecture• Design of buildings based on lo-cal climate aimed to provide thermal and visual comfort• Use of solar energy and other envi-ronmental sources • Passive solar systems that utilize

environmental sources for heating cooling and lighting of buildings

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

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

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

Bioclimatic design/architecture

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

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

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

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

• Ventilation with heat recovery

Technologies/materialsU value: refers to the measure of the rate of

heat loss through a materialExterior wall 0.07–0.1 W/m2KBase floor 0.08–0.1 W/m2KRoof 0.06–0.09 W/m2KWindow 0.7–0.9 W/m2KSolid window 0.6–0.8 W/m2KEntrance door 0.4-0.7 W/m2K

Typical building element sections

Heat recovery ventilation

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Ground to air heat exchanger

Low U-value windows

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

ClayUses:

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

Properties:

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

Sources:

1.Harvest a clay-rich soil from site ex-cavation, road cuts, river or stream banks, ponds, etc.2.Purchase powder in bags (white Kaolin is very good for paints and plasters)3.Purchase potter’s clay (off cuts of-ten available free from ceramics stu-dios)

What to look for:

For many applications (cob, adobe, etc.) a low-purity clay soil is fine. Sub-soils (low organic content) from many places are good. For some apps (es-pecially plasters, paints, slip for light clay) a fairly pure source is desired. Use commercial source or high clay de-

Natural Building Materials

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

StrawUses:

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

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

Properties:

High tensile strength; good insulation (contains air); absorbs water; en-courages migration of water; breaks down rapidly when wet; light weight

Sources:

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

What to look for:

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

Sand

Uses:

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

Properties:

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

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Sources:

1. Buy from sand and gravel yard (main sources are river banks; quar-ries; or sometimes glacial deposits)2. Harvest and screen from creek or river banks3. Harvest from beach

What to look for:

For structural apps (cob, rammed earth, mortars, floors, base plasters) fairly coarse, angular sand is best. Sand made by crusher is roughest, then river sand. A wide range of par-ticle sizes is good. Don’t use fine beach or dune sand except for highly polished finish plasters and floors.

GravelUses:

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

gregate in earthen floors, cob, rammed earth

Properties:

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

Sources:

1. Buy from sand and gravel yard (main sources are river banks, quar-ry, or sometimes glacial deposits)2. Harvest and screen from creek or river banks

What to look for:

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

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For aggregate, quarry rock is good,

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

StoneUses:

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

Properties:

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

Sources:

1.Harvest your own (cheap but labor- intensive process)2.Buy direct from quarry3.Buy from masonry supplier (many choices, but expensive)

What to look for:

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

crack or crumble). Some kinds (sand-

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

Round WoodUses:

General structure: posts, beams, raft-ers; cut short for cordwood masonry; wattle; railings and decorative

Properties:

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

Sources

1. Harvest from wooded areas, espe-cially former clear cuts2. Logging “waste”3. Coppice (cut back certain tree spe-cies to encourage growth of straight, flexible, shoots)

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What to look for

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

Milled WoodUses:

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

Properties:

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

Sources:

1. Buy from sustainable mill2. Buy from building supply3. Mill your own

What to look for:

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

Wood ChipsUses:

Fiber for light-clay

Properties:

Short fiber; prone to rot when wet

Sources:

1. Run logging slash or milling waste through chipper2. Free from road crewsWhat to look for:

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

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SawdustUses:

Insulation; additive to mortar for cordwood

Properties:

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

Sources:

By-product of saw mill or woodwork-ing

What to look for:

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

Manure (of cow or horse

excrements)Uses:

Fiber for earthen plasters and floors

Properties:

Very fine fiber; enzymes enhance

workability and water resistance; ab-sorbs moisture; breaks down when wet

Sources:

Collect it from stable or pasture

What to look for:

Horse manure fiber slightly longer than the one of cow. Use either very fresh and soft, or dry but still green inside.If hard, can be grated through a screen or mixed with a paint mixer in water. Do not use if moldy.

BambooUses:

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

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Properties:

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

Sources:

1.Grow your own2.Harvest from established groves3. Buy from supplier (usually imported from Asia)

What to look for:

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

Reeds

Uses:

Thatching

Properties:

Very weather-resistant; long-lived

Sources:

Harvest from wetlands

What to look for:

Only certain species are appropriate for thatching. Huge quantities needed. Harvesting by hand very labor-intensive.

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ECO HOMEmodel making guideWhat is architectural house model? An architectural model is a type of a scale model, tangible (sometimes called also physical) representation of a structure built to study aspects of an architectural design or to com-municate design ideas to clients, com-mittees, and the general public. Archi-tectural models are a tool which may be used for show, presentation, fun-draising, obtaining permits, and sale purposes.Rough study models can be made quickly using cardboard, wooden blocks, polystyrene, foam, foam boards and other materials. Such models are an efficient tool for three-dimensional understanding of a design, used by architects, interior designers and ex-hibit designers. For a highly detailed presentation model, architects would employ a professional model maker, model making company or students working for credit.Purpose?Architectural models are used by ar-chitects for a range of purposes:

• Quick, ad hoc models are some-times made to study the interaction of building`s volumes, or to get an idea of how the buildings look from

different angles. Designing a building using rough models can be a very open-ended and practical method of exploring ideas.• Models are an efficient method for exhibiting and “selling“ a design. Many people, including developers and would-be house buyers, cannot visualise a design in three dimen-sions (3-D) from two-dimensional (2-D) drawings. An architect may em-ploy small-scale physical models, or digital computer models, to help ex-plain his/her ideas.

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

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

Eco-house model making Step by step:

Tools:Paper knife, pva glue, ruler, pencil, smal weights, wood drill, saw.Materials for architectural model making:

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

1Client or home architect gives to model maker home project drawings.

2Model maker clarifies the cus-tomer requirements and wishes as regards model size, materi-

als, colours, level of detail, model purpose.a. Model scale: 1:30b. Materials: Cardboard, 3mm wood sticks, clay, plastic straws, natural straw, wood base palette.c. Level of detail: visible proportional to the wall thickness, windows and

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

3In building project are shown real sizes in meters. Model should be on scale 1:30, which means that

all sizes have to be reduced 30 times smaller, or you can make a copy of a drawing on necessary scale (1:30)

4First step of model making is de-tails drawing on used material. You can do it with pencil alter-

natively mark necessary points with needle or paper knife. When it is done with paper knife you can cut out de-tails. If paper or cardboard is thick (thicker than 1mm) or cardboard has more layers, then, probably, you have

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

5Cardboard usually consist from two straight paper layers out-side and from one corrugated

paper between.

6Cut from cardboard model base and top of the walls.

7Wall thickness size in model is 16mm, cardboard is 1mm thick, for easier wall fixing on the cut

wall base and top you should cut out 14mm rectangles and glue them on wall bases where is 1mm on each side for outside and inside wall layers glu-ing.

8To bend cardboard you have to cut one of outside paper layers, than you can make corners or

curved lines, for making curved lines should make more then one cutting.

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9Around cut and glued 14mm rec-tangles start gluing the prepared model wall parts on the base of

the walls. Cut windows places accord-ing to plan sizes.

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

are fixed on baseline.

11When model walls are ready we can put on pre-pared cardboard top of the

walls.

12Now we turn to kitchen and bathroom installations, like toilet, fridge, sink, shower.

Kitchen and bathroom installations are maded by drawings from card-board and glued onto model floor.

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15Saw parcels from a bigger wood palette or find ready-made palette of convenient

size for the house model. Place the house model on wood palette and mark pillar on hole places.

16Drill holes for base of pil-lars, around walls and one in middle. Cut colons from

3mm wood sticks in the wall size plus drilled hole depth. Insert pre-pared wood sticks in drilled holes and glue them perpendicular to the base with pva glue.

17Around the roof edge make water collection system out from plastic straw.

13Roof construction will be made of round cardboard. Glued in a specific angle the

perpendicular cardboard triangles will

give the shape of the circle.It is nec-essary to draw roof tiles, print them on green paper and cut in 16 parts in triangles of required size for roof sur-faces.

14Facade will be made by us-ing clay and chopped hay. At the beginning, smear with

fingers clay on wall, then hay while clay is wet.

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

17Eco-house model is ready.

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ECO HOMEexample Lefkada Greece

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What does a raw-brick or

adobe mean? What is a brick?

Adobe is a com-pound building ma-terial made of mixing

earth, sand, straw and wa-ter and wrought by hand in such a manner that one-block earthen walls can be formed. There is no need of moulds, concrete or ma-chinery. On the other hand, a (conventional) brick is a brick of earth that has been dried in the sun.Building by means of adobe

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

Which is the endurance of the adobe-built edifices? How do they behave in the rain-stricken areas?

There are tens of thousands of comfortable adobe-built buildings in Eng-land, which have been in continuous use for over 5 centuries. The medi-aeval 10-storey “skyscrapers” of Yemen are made up partly of adobe. The

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

What about earthquakes?

Buildings made of adobe or raw brick are credited with a history of endur-ance even in earthquake-stricken areas. Contrary to the common bricks which are held (bound) together mainly thanks to their weight, the ado-

be walls are equipped with an invisible 3-D network of intertwined straw, structured by thousand of individual particles, which provide the construc-tion with heightened overall enduring capacity. An adobe-built cottage (villa) of 19th century at Nelson (N.Zealand) has survived in one of the most active seismically areas of the world, resisting the shock of 2 severest earthquakes without suffering the least breaking, whilst the nearby housed fell to pieces. The curvedness and the gradual slimming of the adobe-walls adds to their resisting capacity.

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

It is absolutely feasible. It can be constructed as big in size as someone wishes, though it is recommended that quality should have precedence over size. Do you wish a building which is at the same time an objet d’art

or simply want lots of square meters? It is always possible that you are able to construct a square-edged (or rectilinear) house, yet this will cost you extra time, effort or money. Pure squares are not found in the natural environment, as a result their construction for housing purposes requires great carefulness,

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

How much does an adobe-built construction cost?

The raw brick is one of the cheapest building materials that you might ever imagine. The earth masses from the digging of the groundwork often prove to be sufficient for constructing the walls. By showing inventive-

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

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

Constructing a solid house of this kind takes long, no matter which ma-terials you will have chosen, still under dry weather conditions can you build a two-storey high wall within a month. A determined would-be

owner who builds by himself is expected to move into a presentably sizable adobe house in less than a year’s time. Once an adobe wall has been built, it is ready and sound needing no more than a quick-lime layer on its surface. Tubes and cables are put in their proper place right from the outset, render-ing plaster boards, makeshifts and additional dying unwanted. For all this simplicity, it would be pointless to make a “race of speed” out of this building process and would destroy all that enjoyment which is always engendered when constructing “in the natural way”…As opposed to the conventional methods of constructing, which incur frantic

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

How could I learn more about the adobe buildings?

The only recommendable way thereabout is for someone to try to build by himself. Building by use of raw bricks is monumentally simple. Participat-ing in a 7 day workshop, you may learn how to choose the materials, how

to make the proper mixture and build a wall. People who had been appren-tices in short-time practical workshops, even without previous experience, acquire the enthusiasm and the confidence required so that they could launch their own adobe-building’s projects.

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Useful technical plans

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ELECTRICITY

39

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Closed electrical system Wind/Sun

+- +- - +

V.DCV.DC

V.DC

V.DC

Wind D400

Accumulators 12v

Diode

Dis

charg

e r

esi

stance

Breaker switch

Digital display

Connector

Bre

aker

Digital display

Digital display

Regulating unit

Energy

Energy

Charge

6TB

6TB

V.AC

Panel solar-panelled

Converter 12v/220vAc

12v in use

Matt

Digital display

Wind

Sun

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Closed electrical system Wind/Sun

+- +- - +

V.DCV.DC

V.DC

V.DC

Wind D400

Accumulators 12v

Diode

Dis

charg

e r

esi

stance

Breaker switch

Digital display

Connector

Bre

aker

Digital display

Digital display

Regulating unit

Energy

Energy

Charge

6TB

6TB

V.AC

Panel solar-panelled

Converter 12v/220vAc

12v in use

Matt

Digital display

Wind

Sun

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SOLA

R W

ATER

HEA

TER

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Solar water heaterThe sun brings you comfort,

independence and economy.

Every day, it helps to protect

your environment.

To produce a large part of your

hot water, you just need an

equipment which converts the

solar radiation into heat.

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Solar water heater

Solar sensor

Primary circuit

Heat exchanger

Storage tank

Entry of cold water

Circulator

Regulator

Temperature sensor

Tank sensor

Auxiliary boiler

2

3

5

6

7

8

9

10

1

4

Once you have made the initial

investment, it allows you to achieve

significant energy savings.

Solar energy is a clean and natural energy:

without smoke and without noise.

It creates no toxic or dangerous waste

(exhaust gases, residues etc.)

avoiding the release of pollutant gases,

such as Co2, into the atmosphere.

This is a big step towards energy

independence. In sunshine periods,

it amply satisfies your needs in hot water.

2

3

5

6

7

8

9

10

1

4

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Solar water heater

Solar sensor

Primary circuit

Heat exchanger

Storage tank

Entry of cold water

Circulator

Regulator

Temperature sensor

Tank sensor

Auxiliary boiler

2

3

5

6

7

8

9

10

1

4

Once you have made the initial

investment, it allows you to achieve

significant energy savings.

Solar energy is a clean and natural energy:

without smoke and without noise.

It creates no toxic or dangerous waste

(exhaust gases, residues etc.)

avoiding the release of pollutant gases,

such as Co2, into the atmosphere.

This is a big step towards energy

independence. In sunshine periods,

it amply satisfies your needs in hot water.

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3

5

6

7

8

9

10

1

4

Solar water heater

Cold water in

Hot water out

Pedagogical Experience:

Take a plastic flexible and coiled hose

and put on the floor with water inside.

Let it in the sun for an hour or two.

Then, you find that the temperature of

the water flowing from the pipe has been

raised (the darker the colour of the hose -

the hotter the water gets).

And if you place a simple flat glass on

the coiled pipe, the water becomes

white-hot. The solar water heater

works on these principles. This is a

robust and reliable systeme in order

to maximize the slightest ray of

sunshine.

50

Solar water heaterThe Solar sensor: it is composed

of a plate and black metal tube

which receive solar radiation and heat.

It is the absorber: is the heart of solar

system. These elements are placed

under glass in a rigid box and thermally

insulated at the back and the sides.

The glass lets enter the sunrays and the

heat, like in a small greenhouse.

51

Solar water heaterThe Solar sensor: it is composed

of a plate and black metal tube

which receive solar radiation and heat.

It is the absorber: is the heart of solar

system. These elements are placed

under glass in a rigid box and thermally

insulated at the back and the sides.

The glass lets enter the sunrays and the

heat, like in a small greenhouse.

Solar water heaterThe primary circuit: it contains some

litters of liquid (water containing

antifreeze, used in radiators of cars)

enclosed in a sealed circuit. Browsing

the sensor placed in the sun, the liquid

heats before flowing into to the storage tank.

Through a heat exchanger, solar calories

are transmitted to the water in the tank.

Cooled in passage, the primary liquid

returns back to the sensor; so the

daylight will still be existing.

52

Solar water heaterThe solar boiler: it is a well isolated

metal tank, which ensures the supply of

hot water. The hot water

with an equal

amount of cold water. If the sun shines,

the primary liquid plays then its role as

heater, within few minutes. If there is not

enough sunshine, or not at all sun, an extra

circuit takes over to replenish the stock of

hot water thus ensuring the continuity of

service hot water supply in winter.

This is often an extra electrical resistance

placed in the upper part of the

the booster is a boiler

(gas, oil ...) disposed downstream of the

tank, or a second flask provided with

an electric heater.

that is removed,

is replaced immediately

tank.

On other models,

53

Solar water heaterThe solar boiler: it is a well isolated

metal tank, which ensures the supply of

hot water. The hot water

with an equal

amount of cold water. If the sun shines,

the primary liquid plays then its role as

heater, within few minutes. If there is not

enough sunshine, or not at all sun, an extra

circuit takes over to replenish the stock of

hot water thus ensuring the continuity of

service hot water supply in winter.

This is often an extra electrical resistance

placed in the upper part of the

the booster is a boiler

(gas, oil ...) disposed downstream of the

tank, or a second flask provided with

an electric heater.

that is removed,

is replaced immediately

tank.

On other models,

Solar water heaterThe circulator: it is an electric pump that

sets in motion the primary fluid, when its

temperature exceeds the water of tank.

The solar water heaters "in Thermosyphon"

are devoid of pump (and control device):

The coolant circulate thanks to the density

difference between the liquid and the water

of the tank. While it grows hot, therefore less

dense than the stored water, the primary

liquid rises naturally by Thermo-circulation.

Differential regulation: it compares

at any time the temperature of the

sensor and that of the bottom or the

middle of the tank. If the tank is warmer,

regulation stops the operation of the

circulator. Yet when the sensor is hotter

than the tank, the circulator is automatically

turned ON, and the liquid transfers its heat

to the water of the tank.

54

Energy saving lamp with LED

6 c

m

1.3

cm

1 c

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8 c

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8 cm

15 cm

1 cm

1 cm

3 cm

17 cm

7 cm

2 cm

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1 cm

1 cm

10 c

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2 c

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55

Reflector plan

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56

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57

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58

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59

Energy saving lamp with LED

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60

Biogas systemproduction

61

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62

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63

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66

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CollectingWater

69

Collecting W

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70

Gardening

71

I. WHY IS THE GARDENING A PART OF THE ‘SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT’?Similar to Eco-building, Gardening can be considered as an equally important part of the ‘Sustainable development’ of our World, if not even more impor-tant, because food is on the top list of the basic things we need to survive. Good, healthy, nutritious food enables us to have an active and productive lifestyle, thus we can focus on the things we like to create and develop. To be healthy is good, but usually we don’t appreciate this fact that much. Hip-pocrates said: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”. And so, consuming good food can keep us healthy and happy.

Local is betterTo create a vegetable garden near the place of the eco-home was the most appropriate decision we could think of. It is a good idea in so many ways! Local food means:- Less energy for transportation;- No need of chemicals to preserve the food for a long time;- No need of packaging with plastic, metal or other materials;- Easy to grow the native plants for the specific place – less effort, less care;- Always fresh – pick up from the plant right before consumption.

72

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

Growing food with careWhen big companies take over the food production, some serious problems inevitably occur. If, for instance, a company wants to have a profit, it has to compete with other companies, which often results in lowering the quality of the food by using dangerous chemicals like herbicides, pesticide and pre-servatives; or by producing good-looking, but tasteless and unhealthy food.Growing food for ourselves is quite the opposite of that. The whole paradigm is changing when we think of our health and well-being. We tend to use less dangerous or even environmental-friendly materials and substances in the gardening; we use manure instead of artificial fertilizers; and so on…

73

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

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

74

References:

Technical drawings: ABBES Mohamed Ali

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

O HO

ME

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ECO

HOM

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

76

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