What are sustainable ecological houses

Homes are one of the buildings where more time is spent and, consequently, they are also a type of property that has a great impact on the environment, both in the space they occupy and in the resources they consume. In this way, for several decades, architects have been implementing different ideas with which to turn houses into spaces that are more respectful with the environment and with available natural resources.

This highly efficient housing concept from an energy and water consumption point of view, as well as houses that are respectfully integrated into the natural environment in which it is located, are what is called a sustainable ecological house .

This type of housing is characterized by using technology to reduce its energy consumption as much as possible. In this sense, these are homes that usually have:

• Solar panels that make it possible to take advantage of photovoltaic energy from the sun.
• They are built appropriately to make the most of solar light and heat.
• They have tanks that allow collecting rainwater.
• Many of them also have a heating system that works from geothermal energy obtained from the heat of the ground.

On the other hand, in addition to being sustainable homes, they are also sustainable homes. That is, they are developed in a way that respects the environment in which they are located.. Instead of completely transforming the terrain, they adapt to the original nature and ecosystem, allowing a horizontal relationship to be established between the ecosystem and the house itself. This means that both plants and animals can continue their development in the environment, since the presence of the house does not lead to the destruction of their habitat. This is achieved through different aspects, such as adapting the architecture and the shape of the house to the available space, as well as the use of materials that have an impact on the environment, such as wood, or others that even reduce the negative impact. that could have previously, for example, making use of recycled materials .

Although there are many models of ecological and sustainable houses, one of the most popular is the so-called passivhaus or passive house. This concept was developed by Professors Bo Adamson and Wolfgang Feist in the 1980s. The concept defined a passive house as one that not only reduces its energy consumption to almost zero , without depending on an external energy supply, but was also capable of producing its own energy and, with the excess, pour it to public energy supply. In this way, passive houses are houses that eliminate external energy dependence, which makes their impact on the environment practically nil.

There are different versions of passive houses but, in all cases, we are dealing with ecological houses with a great sustainable value. Some of the aspects that are taken into account in this type of housing is the use of resistant and durable materials, at the same time that they are very good from an insulation perspective. This allows to reduce consumption in both air conditioning and heating , which leads to a lower impact on the environment. In fact, some of these houses have come to be positioned as positive energy generation homes, that is, they produce more energy than they demand. This is achieved with different methods, although the most common is that it is thanks to the use of solar panels and windmills.

Another element that sustainable ecological houses incorporate, and that allows them to further reduce their energy dependence, are mechanical ventilation systems. This type of system has a zero cost from an energy point of view, since it is achieved that the exterior ventilation passes to the interior by means of the wind itself and the difference between the interior and exterior pressure of the building, which allows to further reduce the energy dependence.

The prices of this type of housing are as varied as houses we can find. However, it must be taken into account that the savings that it entails in water, electricity and air conditioning, when living in one of these ecological homes is very high. In this way, although its initial cost may be higher, it is money that is more than amortized after a few years.

Many companies make standard homes that can be assembled in just under a week. In addition, these types of houses have such powerful insulation that they do not even require heating in winter. Although it has several models, one of the most commercialized homes can be purchased for € 30,000, to which should be added the cost of acquiring the land where it is going to be located previously.