A home in Japan is redefining energy efficiency. Built for a young family on the Furano Plateau, the house is covered in solar panels.
It generates almost twice as much energy as it needs, Florian Busch Architects said.
The unique building sits among rice paddies and asparagus fields, with Mount Furano-Nishi and the Tokachi Mountains providing spectacular scenery. The area, in Nakafurano, Hokkaido, is known for its powder-snow winters and gorgeous summers.
In addition to the solar panels, which are draped over the home like two blankets, builders installed a water-source heat pump system with underfloor heating. With windows between the solar skins, the structure resembles a barn that's been split open, as a GIF on the FBA website shows. Fifty-six panels produce 23 kilowatts.
The goal for the owners of House W was to create a building independent from the electrical grid that could stand up to the winter weather.
One hundred years after Le Corbusier said, "A house is a machine for living in," FBA worked to make this project, at 1,754 square feet, "a plant for living with."
Hence the louvers, or slats, on the windows, which are movable to block sunlight in summer and allow it in during winter.
The architects noted that while many people are moving from the countryside to cities, this family went the other way.
"Seeking the countryside makes sense, but only in ways which are not increasing our per capita carbon footprint," they wrote. "The key is how we engage with, not exploit, our natural environment."
Such construction is gaining a foothold in the industry as homeowners, businesses, and industries look to lower their environmental impact as the planet rapidly warms. Incorporating solar panels in the design phase rather than as an afterthought is a step forward, while heat pump efficiency also enables people to save money on energy bills while producing power without costly heat-trapping gas emissions.
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