Bioclimatic house just completed and already condemned

[kaizert]

Madame, Monsieur,

We are addressing you in order to publicize our problem
concerning the approval of a building permit to expand the "Les Molènes" nursing home (nursing home) located in the municipality of Bantzenheim (68490).

The establishment is managed by the Mixed Syndicate of communities of communes "Essor du Rhin" (communes ranging from Rustenhart to Fessenheim then Rumersheim-lehaut) and "Porte de France Rhin Sud" (from Chalampé to Ottmarsheim then to Niffer).

The project aims to improve the living conditions of the elderly, through the creation of a specialized "Alzheimer" center: transformation of rooms, living spaces and services adapted to people with Alzheimer's disease.
Part of the building - currently under canopy - will be extended to the north, south but also in height. But in the planned place, just in front of our house, the winter sun will be hidden and the house will not benefit from solar gain to warm up during this season. This is significant and important for our bioclimatic home, not to mention the investment that has been made to achieve it.

Our house was built on family land, in front of the
retirement home "Les Molènes" in Bantzenheim. We started our house project in 2007 with an interview with a specialist architect. We defined the project together, on the basis of the German Passivhaus but adapted to our budget, and after the permit filed in early 2008, work began.

The house is therefore built with a wood structure with insulation reinforced cellulose wadding, vapor barrier film and VMC double flow with high efficiency (more than 90%). It is facing south with its many windows to enjoy the winter sun just above a part of the retirement home, and thus benefit from solar gain for its main mode of heating and hot water.

A pellet stove comes in addition to supplement if the sun was missing or to bring a few extra degrees.

When we heard about the future work, the chance of a conversation, we made a first contact with the town hall 14 December 2009 to inform us of the nature of the work.

We then had a second meeting on December 21 2009 to explain not only our concern about this extension that would strongly penalize the operation of our bioclimatic house, but also our desire to find a compromise together penalizing neither of the two buildings. We have been received in town hall, but it does not wish to influence the progress of the project.

This expansion does not bother us in itself, on the contrary, the project to complete and improve the last moments of our elders. We simply ask for a revision of the height of the future building, in order to continue to benefit from the solar contributions necessary for the heating of our house.
Our feeling of incomprehension is all the greater
2008 spring we had already contacted the town hall about future work at EHPAD. Indeed, we had suspicions following the passage of a surveyor for a floor study at the glass, in front of our house.

The town hall then told us that a project was under study, but that it would not interfere with the bioclimatic operation of our house.

On the other hand, we had again explained this summer 2009, the operation of our bioclimatic house by the request for a property tax exemption to homes labeled low-energy, as provided by the 2009 finance bill.
Following our request, the town hall had then granted.
We do not understand why we were forgotten when plans were developed.

The project seems to respect the POS (by accepting the permit in
city ​​hall and the DDE services), but bioclimatic houses are not yet taken into account in the POS and PLU. However, the state encourages and supports the development of houses like ours, because they are not greedy in fossil fuels and respectful of the environment.

Building a house is the investment of a lifetime. We are
put our savings to build a project still unusual and unknown. We have made a bioclimatic house because we believe that we must integrate into our environment without degrading it, intelligently using the surrounding resources. This house reflects our way of life and the direction to take.

Moreover, the state promotes these projects and we are surprised that
municipality having the chance to have such a project on its territory,
can ignore it or put it aside. We thought we had support for promoting such a house. These projects do not seem to want to be supported by those who have to.

We are convinced that you understand our concern and we would appreciate your support by spreading our message so that houses using renewable energy, bioclimatic houses are not condemned by a building nearby. We must act for the future, so that the POS and PLU change and integrate these constructions, so that the town halls take us into
compte.

Our house should not be condemned for nothing.

Thank you in advance.

[Christophe]

Sad anecdote but tell you that there is not much sun in Alsace in winter !!

Good without laughing: you estimated the loss of thermal gains to how much on the 6 winter months? The house will not be 100% in the shade during these months I hope!

Now a building permit is meant to be blocked by "neighbors" right? It is not made (also) for that?

But good an isolated individual against a group of investors and may be jobs for the common key ... we already know who will win ...

[bernardd]

Hello,

This situation nevertheless illustrates an interesting point.

Until now, access to the sun has been a "pleasure".

But as the sun becomes a source of energy exploited, access to the sun becomes an essential resource, as well as the viabilisation of a land or a right of passage.

Is the current law adapted to this evolution?

If I have a solar output of X KWh on my land, can I prevent my neighbors from decreasing / preventing my production?

Because it is a fact of public utility production, because it avoids public investments ...

There will be sports.

[I Citro]

Sad anecdote but tell you that there is not much sun in Alsace in winter !!

I sympathize for you kaizert.

I wish you not to lack the courage and energy to fight and win. From a strictly economic point of view, the work of the EHPAD is a PREJUDICE ...

Regarding the sun in Alsace, I do not know but in Bordeaux, despite significant cloud cover, solar gain remains significant ...

For example; today 4 january 2010, despite a thick cloud cover (the sky has remained lead), my solar thermal collector is mounted at 18 ° 14H despite an outside temperature of 4 °!
My Photovoltaic field, connected today to 14H produced 150W is the 1 / 20ème of its power but still produced ...

On the basis of this observation, winter solar gains are far from trivial.

[I Citro]

Hello,

This situation nevertheless illustrates an interesting point.

Until now, access to the sun has been a "pleasure".

But as the sun becomes a source of energy exploited, access to the sun becomes an essential resource, as well as the viabilisation of a land or a right of passage.

Is the current law adapted to this evolution?

If I have a solar output of X KWh on my land, can I prevent my neighbors from decreasing / preventing my production?

Because it is a fact of public utility production, because it avoids public investments ...

There will be sports.

It is an excellent basis for reflection.

I visited a windmill in the Medoc (the Moulin de Vensac).
The owners who make visit, report the history of the mill which on the occasion of a successful marriage was moved to the middle of the lands of the bride (you imagine the building site, because the mill is built on a mound of reported land). The reason was eminently strategic, as it was not uncommon when a malicious neighbor or competitor planted trees on the grounds surrounding a mill for reasons of competition or misunderstanding ...

[kaizert]

thank you for your comments.

Regarding the sun in Alsace, it is certainly less present than in the south, but just for hot water (solar water heater), it represents 2 / 3 annual needs.
And in recent days, I have large windows just to receive the sun, the temperature inside the house rises 6 + C in the house in 1 day while outside there was 2 ° C !! and without turning on heat !! I had 22 ° C at 1er and 20 ° C at Ground which is all open.

So deprive me of the sun during 4 winter months, it's very hard.

[Did67]

1) Compassion, but I'm afraid it does not change much!

2) This is a lesson to remember for all those who invest on solar: what guarantee do they have on the duration of the investment (20 years, 30 years or more), the sun will remain accessible? This is a question they will have to ask themselves.

I think that conflicts of use will multiply with bioclimatic and PV ...

3) I wrote "I fear ..." because unfortunately, even if there is damage, the law does not seem favorable to me. What is not prohibited is allowed. Plant trees (more than 2 m from the limit); make noise (except beyond a certain time); stink up your neighborhood by having a good grilled sardine (unless it is forbidden); building next to your neighbor's window (with some restrictions on openings) ... And I'm not even talking about cases of public utility: highway in front of your house, TGV in your garden, high voltage line above of your house .... With obvious damages: significant loss of the market value of a property!

[minguinhirigue]

It is indeed a sad case caricatural.

Some planning regulations incorporate notions of access to the sun for years, but until now, it was mostly about brightness and not energy.

In Alsace, at Eckbolsheim, the ground occupation plan of the 80 years requires any new building located less than 15 meters from a new construction to be below a plan 45 ° from the base of the windows of the existing building.

To know that when one is beyond 15 meters, for the luminosity, the diffuse light is enough.

Kaizert, in this regard, know that you will not lose everything ... in Alsace, in winter, the diffuse light represents 50% 60% contributions! If this light is very poorly exploited by photovoltaic panels, it remains quite effective for greenhouses.

However, you can always appeal if the mayor does not move, but I think that the means of appeal have been removed: before doing a project of this type, the town hall checks that the planning regulations of the area allow the template of construction chooses ... Otherwise, it delivers a derogation.

bernardd, notes that the evolution of the law can not do this by excluding other reflections than energetics:
if it is good to imagine a quota of solar energy masked by neighboring funds (no more than 40% in the winter, and no more than 70% in the year for example), it is essential to also think about other criteria of construction and urbanism, such as density, urban continuity (continue a house alignment in a street or a square).

[the middle]

We simply ask for a revision of the height of the future building, in order to continue to benefit from the solar contributions necessary for the heating of our house.

Hello,
There remains the solution of wisdom: going to talk to people who will build, and wisely explain the problem and its consequences.

[kaizert]

Regarding the solar loss, it will be 100% in winter. Only the roof will be sunny. The berries will be hidden and therefore more heat.

We have already tried to talk to the people concerned (the mayor of our village who is the president of the union managing the retirement home) and ... well, they want to let it go, and do not want to delay his expansion project. What is a poor couple in front of common 12?
The expansion project respects the POS so everything is good.

We would like to find an ok modification for 2.
But as it looms, we want to make noise around that so that the following do not behave like us.

So thank you for making noise around you, we must talk about it (TV, radio, newspapers, forums, discussions between people, etc ..., why not the UN, WTO)