The Greenhouse is a block of green apartments in a Northern English city called Leeds, in the United Kingdom. They're the most environmentally friendly apartments in the UK, giving out less than 45% of carbon thats permitted under building regulations that were recently updated in 2010. This building is loaded with lots of thermal solar panels upon the roof which in turn heat the water for the inhabitants of the apartments and it has an aquifer based 250ft underground which also is able to heat up water.
The building is carbon negative, meaning it makes more energy than it uses. The British government is striving for these types of structures and it seems that the Greenhouse is only the first of its kind. This particular building has won many awards for the innovations, and one particularly is an award for its insulation. The particular areas are incredibly big, with high ceilings, and at the beginning you do not notice any of the environmentally friendly characteristics of the building. The entire building has been developed with the environment in mind though, because the taps are aerated, this means they use 25% less water but they still have the same pressure as regular faucets. The floor surfaces are made using bamboo, and recycled tires are employed for the underlay in the bedrooms.
To keep the building warm during the cold months and cool in the summertime the building has made use of an external insulation. Nevertheless all the green aspects have not taken away from the attractiveness of the building since it sports a beautiful brick style.
Possibly the most interesting thing concerning the Greenhouse is actually the 32 inch TV. This is simply not your standard TV because it is linked to an incredibly fast Internet connection and additionally, it operates as your doorbell plus it sends you train and bus schedules Then when you would like to watch television, yes, it really functions like a TV too. But hang on it can so much more. This part is really remarkable, it actually keeps a record of just how much electric you have been consuming and just what your monthly bill is going to be. Those who live there really enjoy this extra function. At this point a lot more people are able to control their electricity and water bills more efficiently
As an example, if you wanted to fill up a bath tub with warm water youd need 120 liters of water. To be able to take a good hot bath it costs 1 dollar and 20 cents. Now filling a bath every single day is around thirty six bucks monthly. And how much for a whole 12 months? The purchase price can really mount up fast.
There is, in my opinion, a slightly creepy factor to these apartments, since the developers are continually monitoring and accumulating electricity and hot water consumption all of the time so that they can then compare the average usage in between each apartment.
One big plus with knowing how much water and electric you happen to be using is that you could alter your consumption. The good thing is that you may keep track of your energy use and also see just where your wasting energy, and once you can see exactly where it is being wasted it is possible to change things to prevent the waste down the road.