According to an approximate calculation, the self-sufficient house would save Italian families about four thousand euros a year.
Clean and accumulable energy.
As far as electricity is concerned, saving today, with only photovoltaic panels and on-site use of electricity production, could be € 1,500 a year for 20 years. The off-grid dwelling, literally “outside the network”, does not consume natural resources and does not pollute. Electricity is produced thanks to renewable sources in the area where the structure is built: sun, wind, water, geothermal energy, are stored inside buildings thanks to hydrogen, which can function as a storage for the moments when it does not shine the sun or do not pull the wind. Hydrogen is naturally obtained from demineralized water through electricity and is then stored in low pressure tanks that keep it in a liquid state. This molecule acquires a triple value: energy accumulator, gas for boilers or ovens for domestic use and fuel for hybrid vehicles.
Heating and thermal energy.
Hydrogen in combination with solar and biomass energy can completely replace natural gas or LPG with savings starting from 1,000 euros a year. Thanks to the solar panels with vacuum tubes, which cover the roof of the off-grid dwellings, the heat can be conveyed and circulated within the domestic heating system. The thermal energy obtained from the sun can be stored in seasonal accumulations, useful for winter heating with a radiant or floor system and for the supply of cooling systems.
Self-service water and savings.
An average family can spend up to 40 euros a month on water. The greatest consumption is in the use of waste water and in personal hygiene, sectors where it is possible to purify off-grid and reuse the resource. In fact, with a phytodepuration system consisting of a tank three meters high, four meters wide and one meter deep, the domestic wastewater is collected and purified thanks to the triggering of the purification principle which is activated naturally in the aquatic environments and in the wetlands . Through this system it is possible to save over 40,000 liters of drinking water, purify waste water and reuse it to discharge the toilets, thus closing the water cycle. The temperature of the water, kept constant at about 15 ° C throughout the year inside the cistern, also allows greater ease of cooling and heating, keeping energy consumption to a minimum. The same water is purified through filters or UV treatments of natural sterilization, or demineralized through the evaporation process or with special resin filters.
Waste as raw material.
The compostable fraction of waste can be used directly for the creation of home gardens, with an estimated saving of about 80 euros a month in the purchase of vegetables. In addition, the rates for waste collection go to Italy from € 120 to € 530 a year: only a part of these materials are organic (25-30%), but we could assume a reduction in the collection and its costs, for now not calculable. Also the biomasses of the phytodepuration tank can be reused both to restore the organic content of the agricultural lands or of the gardens, and to feed the water purification bacteria.
