Should invest in an ecological house?
Buy a new house built according to the principles of environmental sustainability and energy efficiency still costs a little more than using traditional techniques, but the surplus can be demolished in a few years, if you add to this a prudent use of 'property. "The present scenario is very different from what anyone could have imagined just a few years ago," reflects Carmine Prinzo, responsible technical area of La Ducale (real estate development company of the group Tecnocasa), which is overseeing HABITARIA (pictured above), real estate project Residential Class A Paullo located in east of Milan.
"The progress has been made on technologies for materials permit the construction of buildings with high energy efficiency and the use of natural products for the most part at a price that ranges from 12% (for Class B or energy consumption between the 30 and 50 kWh per square meter per year) to +18% (class A, ie less than 30 kWh per year per square meter) with respect to a construction made with traditional techniques. " A gap of almost half compared to the price recorded on the market only three or four years ago. "Moreover this additional cost is largely due to greater care in the choice of finishes of the crucial elements for domestic consumption," adds Prinzo. To begin installation of geothermal heat pumps, which derives the energy needed for heating through the ground water or the ground, as well as by the presence of photovoltaic panels on building roofs. "Two interventions that allow you to reset the condominium costs," says the manager of La Ducale
The rest you can make the adoption of active solar technologies (such as solar collectors) or passive (mass storage and management of convective air flows), as well as the implementation of home automation systems in the apartments and the use materials, paints and coatings with low pollution impact. "The variables involved, the location of the dwelling family habits make it difficult to estimate the return on investment necessary to live in a house eco-friendly and energy efficient," he adds, "but the timing of thumb can swing from three to seven years. "
Not to mention the impact that a choice like this has on the environment as a whole: today 31% of electricity and 44% of the thermal energy (fuel) is used in residential applications. Most of these energy sources is intended for air conditioning of rooms (heating in winter and cooling in summer), with a significant portion represented by household appliances. And, above all, with a tendency of this dial to grow, in the light of new devices always launched on the market.
Gabetti, who is finishing his first residential class A near Murta Maria (Olbia), has developed Tekneco for a simulation of the construction costs that it helps to have a clearer picture of the situation. "The purchase of a site is no different," says Massimiliano Miceli, general manager of The Gaiana, Gabetti company which is building the project, "and the same goes for the design. Can be estimated in more than 200 euro per square meter in the construction phase, which together make up 5% of the total or a little more. " As the largest burden for manufacturers translates into a higher cost to consumers is, however, difficult to say: "In the current market conditions the real criteria is whether it is possible to sell a property within a reasonable time (three to four months) : objective at hand only if you build it according to criteria of energy efficiency. " A situation that in some cases pushes manufacturers to sell the homes of the highest class even at the same cost of traditional: "That's because the real estate company moved on to final consumers the savings on financial burdens," he concludes.
22/11/2010
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Translated via software
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Source:
Italian version of ReteIngegneri.it