PHOTO: House Which Generates Power And Sells It

Goran Pichler saves money and stores energy with installed photo supply panels, thus lowering household expenses to the minimum.

At the end of the 80s, a house called Vega was constructed in a hamlet near Osijek, Croatia, a part of a project by architect Branko Lalovic, which saved 75 percent of energy because it drained all its energy from the Sun.

This idea delighted Goran Pichler as well, who decided to construct an energy independent home on his own.

- I was thrilled by the concept of living in a house which is entirely open towards the Sun and uses passive energy for heating – Pichler said, adding that he decided to build the house due to high household expenses, as well as an ecologically more acceptable system.

House facing South and open towards the Sun

The house on the River Drava bank in Osijek`s Lower Town quarter will include a line of photo supply panels placed along the South wall. Since the important thing for the project to succeed is that tit is exposed to the Sun as more as possible, it is best to build the house to face South, and not North. The most important detail is the construction of the maximum isolation so that the home absorbs the Sun, without releasing it, i.e. so that it preserves energy.

Not many people decide on constructing such a home because of higher costs, but Pichler points out that it pays off in the long run.

- People think these houses are very expensive, but they are not. The price may been high because of new technologies that need to be installed, but if good isolation not build it, which is already present in every house, then it prevents energy loss of up to 65 percent – Pichler says, adding that the investment is paid back in just a few years.

Seeing how there are not many sunny winter days in Croatia, massive walls need to be constructed where energy accumulates. Pichler solved this problem with a stone storage underneath the house which stores energy.

HEP buys energy at three times higher cost that selling price

However, the photo supply panels are expensive and do not pay off in a short period, unless there is a switch to the Croatian Power Supply (HEP), to which power can be sold at three times higher costs than what the citizens pay for it.

- According to the state provision, HEP buys up to 10kw of power and pays 3 kuna per kw, which is three times that what citizens pay. Thus HEP supports such campaigns – Pichler said, explaining that the investment pays off in 10 to 12 years, which may seem a long time to some, but considering that the panels last up to 30 years, it is worthwhile.

Pichler is also planning to construct a double water installation system. One for drinking water, other for flushing the toilet.

- Water is cheap and clean in Osijek, but it is unnecessary for the toilet to be flushed with clean drinking quarter. This is why I am installing a special system to store rainwater for these necessities.

Energy is saved with this project and natural resources are used. If more people decide on such investments in the future, apart from saving power, their influence on the household budget would be evident.

Take a look at the money and energy saving house in the PHOTO GALLERY.