Holzhaus selbst gebaut: möglichst autark, ökologisch und nachhaltig | ARD Room Tour

Whether it's building materials, power generation, heating, wastewater, composting or living together as a whole - in many areas, Elena, Ronald and Martina live as sustainably as possible with their families. The two families got together in 2019 and built a sustainable house according to their ideas on the grounds of a winery in Endingen am Kaiserstuhl. "Not everyone needs everything, but everyone wants to have a big kitchen, sauna or Thermomix - it's all possible if you share it - and that's how more wealth is created individually," Ronald explains his philosophy. Their house is divided into different areas: On one side of the large, central, communal living kitchen is the private living area of Elena, Ronald and their two children, Jano and Nela. On the opposite side is the private area of Martina and her two children Etienne and Jeanne. Each family has its own bathroom, small living room and bedroom. "For me as a single parent, it's a huge relief," says Martina, 55. Elena is an employee in the constituency office of the Freiburg Bundestag office, Ronald manages the winery, Martina is an independent tour guide and is employed on the farm. The three got to know each other a few years ago during a gardening project. Afterwards, they initially lived in a shared apartment. Through an inheritance, Ronald was then able to buy the land and the farm. They built their ecological straw-and-loam house there themselves with a few helpers. It took them just half a year. "If you have a house like that built, it's very expensive. If you build it yourself, very cheap," Ronald tells us. In total, they spent 240,000 euros on everything, including the high-end kitchen. That gives a price per square meter of 1,500 euros. "By not using conventional building materials like concrete, polystyrene or steel, we save 99 percent of the gray energy. In return, we could heat conventionally for 30 years alone until we would have compensated for this gray energy." Ronald explains his calculation. The gray energy of building materials refers to the energy required for production, transport and disposal. Both the organic straw and the clay used come from the region. They get almost all of their electricity from a photovoltaic system. Their hot water also comes from the solar thermal system on the roof. In winter, they heat the house with wood from their own forest. In summer, however, they generate more heat with the PV system than they need for hot water and heating. Instead of a boiler, they have a stratified hot water tank. "We theoretically shower with cold water, which is only heated at that moment." They collect rainwater, treat it and use it as irrigation water for the large garden and for cleaning equipment. Overall, the seven-person household's water consumption is thus equivalent to that of an average two-person household. Two compost separation toilets are installed in their bathrooms. In them, solids are separated from liquids. The liquid components can be used immediately as fertilizer, while the solid components must be composted for 10 years. Odors in the bathroom are not a problem, because a fume hood, directs the odors through a pipe to the outside. The three did not treat the house's wooden facade with varnishes or oils, but instead scarfed it down using a Scandinavian system. Their flat roof is greened and meadows for insects grow in the garden. The desire to build and live sustainably runs throughout the house. And so they grow their own vegetables on their farm, keep chickens and sheep, make their own wine and also paint their own flour from their own grain. And they have plans for the future, too. On the solar farm they lease next to their house, chickens will live on the unused greenery in the future. Another idea is to install a sustainable compression air conditioning system that can cool the wine. A film by Julius Schmitt (editor), Feline Gerhardt and Oleg Kauz (camera), Cécilia Marchat (sound) and Sam Handel (editing). Production: EIKON Media GmbH, on behalf of SWR. 00:00 Sustainable living on the wine farm 00:36 Shared living kitchen 02:26 Martina's living area 03:18 Martina's bedroom 03:57 Martinas daughter's bedroom 05:09 Heating and technical room 06:50 Roland's & Elena's living area 07:49 1st children's room 08:32 2nd children's room 09:22 Elena's room 09:52 Bathroom 11:50 Garden On the YouTube channel of SWR Room Tour, people open the door to their unusual homes. On a very personal tour, they share details about the finishing, furnishings and architecture and talk about their philosophy of life. Subscribe to our channel to never miss an episode: https://www.youtube.com/c/SWRRoomtour... More SWR Room Tour: https://www.SWR.de/RoomTour Room Tour is also available in the ARD Mediathek: https://1.ard.de/roomtour Netiquette: https://www.swr.de/netiquette Imprint and privacy policy: https://www.swr.de/impressum #Sustainable #Community #RoomTour