LIFEHAUS

  • THE LIFEHAUS
    • PROLOGUE
    • Thermal Comfort
    • Power
    • Water
    • Food
    • Waste
    • Materials
    • Way Of Life
    • Feasibility / Cost
  • LE LIFEHAUS
    • PRÉFACE
    • Confort thermique
    • Electricité
    • Eau
    • Aliments
    • Dechets
    • Materiaux
    • Style de vie
    • Coût / Faisabilité
  • THE PROTOTYPE
  • LE PROTOTYPE
  • PROJECTS
  • PROJETS
  • EVENTS
  • EVENEMENTS
  • GALLERY
  • GALERIE
  • MEDIA
  • ABOUT US
  • A PROPOS
  • CONTACT
  • CONTACTER
  • NH-ARCHITECTES
  • THE LIFEHAUS
    • PROLOGUE
    • Thermal Comfort
    • Power
    • Water
    • Food
    • Waste
    • Materials
    • Way Of Life
    • Feasibility / Cost
  • LE LIFEHAUS
    • PRÉFACE
    • Confort thermique
    • Electricité
    • Eau
    • Aliments
    • Dechets
    • Materiaux
    • Style de vie
    • Coût / Faisabilité
  • THE PROTOTYPE
  • LE PROTOTYPE
  • PROJECTS
  • PROJETS
  • EVENTS
  • EVENEMENTS
  • GALLERY
  • GALERIE
  • MEDIA
  • ABOUT US
  • A PROPOS
  • CONTACT
  • CONTACTER
  • NH-ARCHITECTES

FAISIBILITY / COST

. All human beings have the right to be happy.

. Today we have 20 million refugees in the world, according to the UN this number will grow to reach 250 million refugees in 2050. home (2009)
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. Must we always build walls to break the chain of human solidarity, separate peoples and protect the happiness of some from others' misery?
Money will no longer be an issue to the many who would like to live off-the-grid since the LIFEHAUS is designed in a manner that reduces cost without failing to provide comfort and self-sufficiency. 

The LIFEHAUS is designed to reduce cost and reduce waste, making affordability possible for the financially challenged and victims of war and nature catastrophes who are returning back to their destroyed homes.
On the other hand, the LIFEHAUS can also be personalized to suit ones own taste and level of comfort/luxury.

The LIFEHAUS project aims to give this chance to all human beings.
 
The average cost of an unfurnished conventional house in Lebanon rounds up to almost $800/m2.

The average cost of a LIFEHAUS is HALF the price of a conventional house if self-constructed, and 10% less if done by professionals.
Its added value comes in the form of its optimized passive heating and cooling systems economizing the cost of the heating/cooling installations (AC, boiler, radiators, heating pipes, etc.) and the amount of fuel and electricity that is spent yearly on conventional methods of heating/cooling, as well as the electricity spent in a regular dwelling for the attainment of the same thermal comfort.
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Several sustainable systems (PWFSS : power, water, food sustainable systems) -- integrable in conventional houses -- that plays a part in determining the total cost of the LIFEHAUS has been put aside due to the variation of their cost that depends on many factors:
  
Price variations:
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  • POWER:
If a LIFEHAUS is to be built in a region with little sunlight, it will require a greater surface area for photovoltaic sensors. This of course will increase the cost. 
Photovoltaic, windmill and watermill energies depend on latitude, geography and climate.
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  • WATER:
If a LIFEHAUS is built in a low rainfall zone it will need larger surfaces to harvest water (see WATER page), which in turn increases the cost.
Rainwater harvesting is naturally affected by the pluviometry of the region.
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  • FOOD:
Food production is very delicate, and requires a certain amount of sunlight, as well as water and humidity and essential minerals in the soil.
As for cattle farming, and animal feed, they too are tied into the weather cycle and the flux food production mentioned above.
Food production in very cold regions requires the installation of huge greenhouses, which increase the cost.
This is why food production could be very expensive and un-ecological especially in extremely dry regions.
The cost of a LIFEHAUS can be split into 3 categories with different specifications for each:

LIFEHAUS - ECONOMY
LIFEHAUS - STANDARD
LIFEHAUS - LUXURY
 
Though in the short term, sustainable energy may be pricier than fossil fuels, but in the long term, the price to be paid for fossil fuel exploitation will be much higher in terms of environmental catastrophes and human lives.
  
By integrating all the mentioned sustainable manual/mechanical technics that you can build yourself and cheap accessories that helps the inhabitant to deal with everyday tasks and reduce excess consumptions, the LIFEHAUS can considerably reduce the cost of simple, efficient living.
 
Although there is a profit to be made, this project is not about making a profit, nor should it be. It’s about changing our lifestyles in a sustainable.
Its value comes in the form of having a dwelling that provides basic thermal comfort and the choice to plug to the grid or not. 
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At the end it’s a matter of choice; either we think about the quality of life of future generations and the survival of our species or we participate in the digging of our own grave.

Our planet will remain and rebalance itself as it has been doing for the past 4 billion years. 

The Earth doesn’t need us, we need her.
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