My Eco Journey in Thailand – CleanTechnica

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When I retired from my job in Hong Kong, I decided to return to Thailand, where I had worked before, and buy a condo with a great sea view. I never thought to question its eco credentials, but I was in for a shock. Having a great sea view is no good if you have to keep the curtains closed all day because of the sun.

This experience led me into an investigation of climate-appropriate building design and a plan to build a house designed for the tropics.

Originally, Thai houses were built of wood, raised up on stilts to catch the breeze with louvered wooden windows. As they had no thermal mass, they would cool down quickly at night. Modern Thai houses look just the same as those in Northern Europe or North America and are only kept cool by massive energy guzzling air-conditioners.

The ground floor of my house is inspired by a classic Queenslander design from Northern Australia, with white walls and roof and a wrap-around porch that shades the walls and windows from the sun.

I wanted to incorporate as much passive cooling as possible, so I used a central staircase to draw hot air up and out at the top of the building, which is called stack effect ventilation. I have a “fly roof,” which is a second roof that acts like a parasol for the house.

I incorporated as much insulation as possible, resulting in a tiny cooling load, meaning that when we needed air conditioning, we could get by with just 8,500 BTU units, which was the smallest I could find here.

We are able to cool most of the house passively, but it is possible to completely seal the main part of the house using an ERV (Energy Recovery Ventilator) to filter, cool, and dehumidify incoming air which is piped into each room.

All this effort meant that I was able to fully power the house from solar and batteries and have power left over to charge two full EVs and an electric motorbike, with the EVs’ V2L (bi-directional charging) acting as backup power for the house.

So, now I live completely off-grid, with no electric meter, and I use rainwater harvesting instead of city water. The hardest part of this project is still ongoing, and that is to transform the poor local soil into a productive food forest.

I have documented my journey on my EcoHouseThailand YouTube channel, and I was asked by one of my subscribers to make a video on self-sufficient living for his students:

Regards,
Paul White