American and Canadian houses are notoriously new. At the
oldest they are only about 300 years, a blink in the time span of human
history, and of course with the previous economic demand for bigger, better,
quickly-build houses, the concern for energy conservation has been next to
null.
With Europeans on some of the forefronts
of waste conservation and eco-car manufacturing,
there are also major differences in the European housing system. With homes
that can be over 300 years old, they are not only well built, but also built
without the modern commodities of indoor electricity, water and heating. So
what do the Europeans do in this scenario?
The
add-ons to the normal European house include a water heater equipped with a
timer and a “boost.” This timer determines when the heater is active. Instead
of constantly heating unused water, this energy-saver only heats water either
during a certain pre-set hour of the day, or when the boost is set. This boost,
however, is only temporary, heating water immediately, but only for a two-hour
time span, at max.
In
the same fashion of energy-conservation, many outlets, especially in the
kitchen, use switches to turn the power to the outlet on or off. Instead of
“vampire” appliances like the stove or microwave, which don’t run all the time
but still use energy when off, these switches turn the energy from the switch
off, preventing the drain on energy these appliances can cause. As a byproduct
both of electricity being installed in the building long after it was first
built, and as a necessity when living in a city with a heavy power grid. But in
the end this novelty is a ingenious way to save on unnecessary energy usage.
Other
features of the houses are smaller rooms. Originally part of the reason for
this was more compact building, but in the long run smaller rooms help conserve
heat. In addition, each room has its own heating unit, helping each person to
control their own personal climate without having to heat or cool the entire
building.
Of
course many of these features need more attention than the appliances in a
traditional American household, and naturally takes some getting used to, but
in the end you feel better knowing how much energy these little techniques
save.
