Living in the house of the future
Anyone who knows me will attest that I am a fan
of good design, in whatever form it takes. I've recently moved into a new flat
and it's the first time I've had the opportunity to live in a completely modern
building. Apart from having all the mod-cons as standard (built-in
fridge/freezer, dishwasher, washer/drier, power-shower, to name but a few), the
house has some pretty nifty design features that I thought were worth commenting
on, and so I did.
This first thing I noticed was how warm it is.
Despite having the heating off and the windows open most of the time, the flat
seems to maintain a more or less constant temperature of 20-21ºC.
Considering that it's more like 16º or 17º outside, this is pretty
good, and seems to be due to a clever layout, which ensures that any heat lost
from the hot water boiler and kitchen areas (which are more or less central in
the building) goes towards warming the rest of the house. Indeed, the corridors
connecting the flats keep extremely warm (sometimes uncomfortably so), and as
they lack any form of ventilation other than the ubiquitous fire doors, also
help to retain lost heat.
Combined with
the fact that we live on the first floor and are surrounded by other apartments,
this should help to keep heating bills down during the winter, which is just as
well because our central heating system is electric, rather than gas. The
radiators are of the relatively efficient flat panel variety and are
individually thermostatically controlled, driven by a central timer unit. I find
it odd that there is no gas supply, given that it's such a new building, but
this is probably an attempt to keep the cost of construction down, rather than
out of concern for energy efficiency or running costs. There is, however, a
water meter (standard on all new builds), which I'm told works out cheaper than
paying fixed water rates, although with my long showers in the morning and
Heike's baths, that remains to be seen (of course, these are shared wherever
possible!). The water boiler itself is very large and efficient, taking just
over an hour to heat from cold, and retaining its warmth throughout the day,
which is nearly as good as having hot water on
demand.
Some of the more novel features
of the house are the kitchen garbage disposal unit (nice touch), a complicated
system of fans that circulates fresh air throughout the building (great once you
figure out what all the switches do), and the
piece de
resistance, the keyless entry gates and TV
phone link. Instead of keys, we have magnetic key fobs that, when held up to the
security keypad will automatically unlock the front door or security gates. It's
very cool, especially when you drive in the main entrance and unlock the gates,
which then open automatically (of course!). Even better, in addition to the
standard entry phone there is a video link which—get this—shows up
on on of the TV channels so that you can see who's calling! (Oh, did I mention
there's integrated TV and satellite feeds to each
apartment?)
Indeed, the house is well
served for electronic gadgetry of all kind. The fridge-freezer has an
electronically controlled thermostat, the washing machine tells you exactly how
long it will be before your clothes are ready (and dried, if you don't mind the
energy bills), and there is a copious quantity of mains and telephone sockets
positioned at strategic points throughout the flat. This is a godsend if, like
me, you have a plethora of computers and audio equipment to connect. I've also
set up my own wireless broadband network (I'm hoping the signal might stretch to
the communal garden area—a work still in progress—but that may be a
little ambitious…), stereo, TV, of course, and am working on a 5.1
surround sound system that has been cobbled together from various bits of audio
equipment that I've accumulated over the years. The TV functions as a centre
speaker, my stereo amplifier and speakers are the front stereo pair and my
BlueSky monitoring system provide the rear and sub-bass. I'll let you know how
it all sounds when it's finished, but initial signs are
encouraging!
Although the house has a
few concessions to energy efficiency, primarily low energy lightbulbs in the
bathroom, hall and bedroom areas, the relatively small windows (one in each of
the main rooms) mean that lights have to be kept on even during the day.
Combined with the aforementioned gadgetry, and electric cooking and heating, it
is alarming just how much power is required. This, and the fact that there is
little or no storage space, even in the kitchen area where most of the built-in
units conceal some kind of hi-tech appliance (all made by Bosch
incidentally—those Germans have really got it sussed) are the only real
downsides that I can find. However, in these days of Ikea free-standing
furniture, storage isn't so much of a problem, and in any case, there's always
the airing cupboard.
All in all, I'm
very impressed with the house. Aside from a few minor grumbles, it's a slick and
well executed design with some great technological conveniences. At the same
time, this is clearly a conventional house that has a few energy saving
features, rather than one that was designed for energy efficiency from the
ground up. Larger windows, a gas cooker, sensible heating system (underfloor?),
and low energy lighting throughout would substantially cut down the energy
requirements, but all these cost money, which is the name of the game in
property development. Still, it's one of the nicest places that I've ever lived,
and I consider myself very lucky, especially given that I no longer have a
regular source of income. It's tough being a student in York, you
know…
Posted on Tuesday - August 02, 2005 at 08:30 AM
