Let's Design A Home, A Perfect Home For Every Crazy Engineer!

@thebigk • Oct 26, 2024

Oct 26, 2024

1.8K

We've engineers from almost every engineering discipline and I think we can take up this interesting exercise - completely online! The plan is to design a perfect home! There's no definition of this 'perfect home' because it will get defined over the period of time through your contributions, ideas, creations etc.

The end result of this discussion is going to be a drawing of a home (which someone from us will have to do, would prefer a 3D CAD model) which at least 50% of us will consider as a 'perfect home'. Now this home could have anything -

1. Completely solar / wind powered, self energy sufficient.
2. Floating on water.
3. Modular, changeable room, window, roof, garden sizes.
4. Bomb, explosion proof.

Does that sound interesting? Of course it is! The first step would be to fix the area of the home we're going to build and overall 'features' we plan to add. If someone can create 2D blueprint, we'd be good to go.

Bring it on!

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Ramani Aswath

@ramani-VR4O43 • Jan 17, 2013

That would be an interesting exercise.
One such net zero enegy home was posted here:
#-Link-Snipped-#
What you are suggesting goes beyond that.

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Kaustubh Katdare

@thebigk • Jan 17, 2013

I'm talking about designing everything. Let the civil engineers and structural engineers here propose the overall built; let the electrical and electronics engineers design the electrical systems in the house, let mechanical/automobile engineers come up with even better ideas that haven't been implemented before. Zero energy home might just be one idea.

I hope CEans will take this up.

PS: Long time ago, Dilbert creator Scott Adams had asked his readers to propose a home design for Dilbert and it was a great exercise people from all over the world had done. Let's try something better.
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Ramani Aswath

@ramani-VR4O43 • Jan 18, 2013

I feel that individual homes are not a very good thing for the current burgeoning population. Many Indian cities have more people than in many sovereign countries in the UN.
Maybe the design should consider the option of an apartment block sort of thing
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Ramani Aswath

@ramani-VR4O43 • Jan 18, 2013

This exercise is not a lark. It is a fairly important multidisciplinary design. Being in the public domain, all or some of the ideas may be used as such or as starting point for development by visitors. Therefore, it may be necessary to post fairly detailed documents.
Does it make sense to post only an executive summary here and attach the detailed document using the upload file option? This will help all get the gist quickly and do a detailed study at leisure.
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Ashraf HZ

@Ash • Jan 18, 2013

Looking forward to this! I've got a small plot of land which I plan to build a house on in a few years time. So far I've just thought to make sure it has a small workshop to work/mod my car(s) and do fabrication work for side projects. Also a small server room to experiment on routers/switches, HPC/folding & wireless stuff 😀 If anything, Tony Stark's house would be a good inspiration to draw ideas from!
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Ramani Aswath

@ramani-VR4O43 • Jan 18, 2013

If something worthwhile comes out in this, I feel that some civil CE (I mean civil engineering not the opposite of uncivil) persons edit and compile the output into a design document for a permanent archive, which can be repeated for all such future exercises in other areas as well. Such an archive will be enormously useful to all. It will add to the value of CE also I am sure.
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Abhishek Rawal

@abhishek-fg9tRh • Jan 18, 2013

Being an ECE student,I don't have "very interesting" stuff to do in this project.But I would like to share something :

Last week I met an EC Engineer of Mumbai specifically of Lower Parel.He passed from regular college,but he is earning 6 feet 7 feet dough by just setting up circuit in home.
So,what kind of circuit it is ? Keen to know?
This is a circuit which changes home's atmosphere.Kinda artificial rain,artificial spring or winter etc.
This circuit has temperature,light & some other sensors which changes the atmosphere of the home's ceiling,You can even adjust the atmosphere(look) & the AC's temperature will be changed automatically,all depends upon your (or your spouse) mood.

This is cute,ain't it ? 😀
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narayana murthy

@narayana-z4W16q • Jan 19, 2013

as i know solar panel gets heated to deliver the electricity and low power.
To power the entire home appliances we need to cover entire roof with solar panels and this makes the people inside it get soffocate. we got another problem with wind the wind wheels should be high and the wind intensity should be at 9 rating this cant be possible in all locations
and another problem also exists with solar this cant be launched in snow countries
so my suggestion is with fuel cells but it costs alot
then lets electrical people discuss on this later we can give electricity to the homes 😛
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Ramani Aswath

@ramani-VR4O43 • Jan 21, 2013

I am a believer in Buckminster Fuller's ideas. He was a great engineer and designer.
The CEan Apartment block will be based on Bucky's ideas.
1. A common shaft for utilities with all apartments clustering around this to minimise costs and simplify maintenance.
2. All surfaces exposed to light and sun (Except windows) will be covered with PV panels, which will generate power. These will allow IR that cannot generate power to pass through to thermal collectors, which send hot water to a central insulated storage feeding to all apartments in the block.
3. All lighting will be low maintenance LED or glow panels. Individual accent or personal preference lighting will be from wall outlets (charged at premium rates)
4. Art on walls like reproduction of famous art pieces will be HD digital pictures on flush panels from a central library. User can select (and change) whatever she/he fancies.
5. There will be some central facilities:
a) A fully equipped mechanical tool room/workshop with various tools for DIY projects, home repair/maintenance
b) A similar electrical/electronic workshop. User pays for components used.
c) A library of projects.
6. All water used will be recycled using appropriate validated protocols for applicable reuse.
7. At least 60% of the land area will be left for vegetation. Recycled water will be used to water plants. A lot of this space will be used for vegetable growing, not only in common areas but in individual units in containers.
8. Gym facilities will use the effort in exercising to generate power.
9. Wind power will also be harvested wherever possible.
10. Rain water will be fully harvested from the whole campus.
11. The perimeter will be fully protected with appropriate tecchnical surveillance devices.
12. The structural design will be a fully supporting frame structure. Walls will not be load bearing and will be only for separation and sound proofing.
13. Beds and larger seating surfaces will be recessed into walls to be out of the way when not wanted.
14. The solar energy harvesting design will minimise heating of space and thereby reduce AC requirement. This will be further addressed by using evaporative central cooling facility.
15. The entire complex will be WiFi enabled (PW protected). A kind of location specific Cloud computing with advanced features can be implemented.

A more detailed document on all these with links to available technical info on some of the above items that is being put together will be uploaded when ready.
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durga ch

@durga-TpX3gO • Jan 21, 2013

I have a vivid plan on how my home needs to be.(more on construction side of it)
Infact, I would love to have 2 basement floors. One floor dedicated for lab , study and second one comprises of bed rooms .
The house looks like any single layout home from outside. and all visitors have access only to this floor of the house 😁 which comprises of lounge and kitchen
The entrace to the lower floors of the house is controlled by , security network. (I know I dont live in bank, but just for the sake of it 😛)
One issue what I see is the ventilation to the underground floors.As well I really dont know the implications such as dampness and support structure to build such an house, but I would really prefer to have one.
EDIT: I would be making provision for better waste disposal (recycle and decomposition) , as well as rain water collection from roof top and harvesting.
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Ashraf HZ

@Ash • Jan 23, 2013

durga, your bedroom will be in the basement? No windows or view? 😛
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Ramani Aswath

@ramani-VR4O43 • Jan 23, 2013

ash
durga, your bedroom will be in the basement? No windows or view? 😛
Great view in dreams. Difficult to see much of a view at night anyway.
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durga ch

@durga-TpX3gO • Jan 23, 2013

@ ash , @ Ramani Sir,
given that we live in concrete jungles, I think views dont matter anymore , Its just than eve now we have our windows shut .
But, I think having a lab -cum-study in this fashion, might just shoo away external distractions .
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Ramani Aswath

@ramani-VR4O43 • Jan 23, 2013

I agree #-Link-Snipped-#. I love nature. Our house occupies less than a third of the land space. The rest is vegetation. Birds come for baths, butterflies flutter by, cats fight, rats dig up and an occasional snake slithers. The weeding and watering keeps my wife and I fit.

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lal

@lal-R60Xjx • Jan 23, 2013

Adding to that; papaya, guava, banana, mango, jackfruit, coconut and some vegetables ready to eat - fresh in the real sense, right from the mother nature.
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Ramani Aswath

@ramani-VR4O43 • Jan 24, 2013

CEans are human.
May be arguable, but true nonetheless. They should have a an enjoyable family life and hopefully raise the gen nxt CEans.
The terrace of the block will have a Preschool place for CE kids. It will be kid proof and filled with creativity enhancing activities (hopefully designed by the crazier of the tenants). The roof above will of course be a solar power plant.

A common kitchen and laundry can be configured to save time and conserve energy.
All lifts will be of lightweight composite construction. They will further be designed to generate power when going down.

Here are some useful links:

Walt Disney recycling
#-Link-Snipped-#

Water recycling for apartments: Australian guidelines for Water recycling ((Phase1)

#-Link-Snipped-#

Vegetable garden in apartment blocks:
<a href="https://www.google.co.in/search?q=urban+vegetable+gardeen&aq=f&oq=urban+vegetable+gardeen&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#hl=en&tbo=d&sclient=psy-ab&q=apartment+block+vegetable+gardeen&oq=apartment+block+vegetable+gardeen&gs_l=serp.3...81979.87224.0.87774.15.15.0.0.0.1.242.3062.0j6j9.15.0.les%3B..0.0...1c.1.fFlRJZBdngI&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bvm=bv.41248874,d.bmk&fp=4ba2117ffee9bb19&biw=1280&bih=869" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">urban vegetable gardeen - Google Search</a>

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Anoop Kumar

@anoop-kumar-GDGRCn • Jan 24, 2013

bioramani
I agree #-Link-Snipped-#. I love nature. Our house occupies less than a third of the land space. The rest is vegetation. Birds come for baths, butterflies flutter by, cats fight, rats dig up and an occasional snake slithers. The weeding and watering keeps my wife and I fit.
lal
Adding to that; papaya, guava, banana, mango, jackfruit, coconut and some vegetables ready to eat - fresh in the real sense, right from the mother nature.
Looks like I just need two things at my HOME
--A high speed satellite internet connection
--Electricity from Solar powered system ☕

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Ankita Katdare

@abrakadabra • Jan 25, 2013

The moment I read the title of this thread. I remembers "The Jetsons" cartoon series from Cartoon Network TV Channel. It featured the 'Space Age'. That was truly the first dose of what Sky City meant to me.

The Jetsons live in the year 2062 in a futuristic utopia (100 years in the future at the time of the show's debut) of elaborate robotic contraptions, aliens, holograms, and whimsical inventions! ☕

To give you a glimpse or a little more details -

In the series all homes and businesses are raised high above the ground on adjustable columns.
There's a robot maid, Rosie, which handles chores not otherwise rendered trivial by the home's numerous push-button Space Age-envisioned conveniences. 😁

Jetson commutes to work in an aerocar that resembles a flying saucer with a transparent bubble top. 😒

----------------
Will try to add more productive stuff in this thread, but couldn't help not mention all this. I hope we all here live to see when at least half of it becomes reality. We are already really close. We, as CEans, have a duty to make all those sci-fi novel's content a reality.
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Ashraf HZ

@Ash • Jan 25, 2013

durga
@ ash , @ Ramani Sir,
given that we live in concrete jungles, I think views dont matter anymore , Its just than eve now we have our windows shut .
But, I think having a lab -cum-study in this fashion, might just shoo away external distractions .
What about the view of the heavens? I do remember your fascination with the stars 😛

Though speaking of urban density, while its nice to build a perfect CE home, how about an actual new development with proper infrastructure in place? (e.g a planned town). Doesn't have to be a huge town, but at least a cluster of new smart homes. Is it difficult to carry this out in India?
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Ramani Aswath

@ramani-VR4O43 • Jan 25, 2013

ash
What about the view of the heavens? I do remember your fascination with the stars 😛
Is it difficult to carry this out in India?
With the SPM (suspended particle matter) levels in most Indian metros are some of the highest in the world. Likewise light pollution. It has come to such a pass that moon is about the only celestial object one can see. My telescope is gathering dust. I sorely miss my observational outings.

Long back some of us did take part in a model town design, which covered all issues including transport, education, recreation and culture. Remained a dream.

Still, one should not give up. Let us each do what we can.
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durga ch

@durga-TpX3gO • Jan 25, 2013

@ ash - stars, rovers, water on mars still fascinate me 😛.
But as I see, we dont really get much of the heaven;s view. It really needs travelling away from urban lights , to actually see some nice stars.
There are smart home coming up in India, to cater to this cosmopolitan population, but again , when you land on roads its mostly the same.

But yes, I think as the days pass by homes would rather become tinier to accomodate larger populations and may be like Ramani Sir said, we have have a bedroom cum lounge with flipping beds with chairs and studd like that.

Just a side note :
#-Link-Snipped-# Sir,
What Telescope you have?I owe this celstron astromaster as such , but I would really love to have a look at yours as well 😁

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Ramani Aswath

@ramani-VR4O43 • Jan 25, 2013

Celstron is a far superior one to the 3 inch reflector that I bought in Delhi through an amateur astronomer, who used to make it for like minded people at cost (in 1980 I paid an absurd R.350 for it).
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Anoop Mathew

@anoop-FRTf1L • Jan 28, 2013

I've seen on Nat Geo about a couple who built an eco-friendly home for their kids, equipped with all the gear required to stay healthy and in sync with nature. It's even got an indoor wall for climbing so that kids and grown ups alike can stay healthy with the extra exercise instead of using the stairs 😀
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Smriti Jha

@smriti-jha-RIDWQb • Jan 30, 2013

I have a fear of gas cylinders. So, I'd probably start there and ensure safety, overall. And no, induction cooktop is not my answer.
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Ramani Aswath

@ramani-VR4O43 • Jan 30, 2013

Smriti Jha
And no, induction cooktop is not my answer.
Induction cook tops have a delivered efficiency of about 95%.
We use it a lot.
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lal

@lal-R60Xjx • Jan 30, 2013

But an increased use of induction cookers will reduce the power factor significantly. If everyone starts using one, its a nightmare for sure! May be there should be some other source to power them than the grid supply.
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Ramani Aswath

@ramani-VR4O43 • Jan 30, 2013

lal
But an increased use of induction cookers will reduce the power factor significantly.
All modern induction cooktops have near unity power factor on the grid side. No problem at all.

<a href="https://www.academia.edu/1183307/A_Unity_Power_Factor_Induction_Cooktop_Design_Issues_and_a_Novel_Approach_to_Measurement_and_Elimination_of_Conducted_EMI" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">(DOC) A Unity Power Factor Induction Cooktop: Design Issues and a Novel Approach to Measurement and Elimination of Conducted EMI | Barış Çolak - Academia.edu</a>

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Ashraf HZ

@Ash • Jan 30, 2013

bioramani
Induction cook tops have a delivered efficiency of about 95%.
We use it a lot.
Quite difficult to use a wok on it to fry noodles or cook beef Rendang 😛
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Ramani Aswath

@ramani-VR4O43 • Jan 30, 2013

There are plenty of induction compatible woks in the market.
<a href="https://www.classicimp.in/cooker.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">CLASSIC IMPORTS</a>
As a vegetarian, the only beef I come across is on the hoof obstructing traffic in Bangalore!

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Ramani Aswath

@ramani-VR4O43 • Jan 30, 2013

bioramani
4. Art on walls like reproduction of famous art pieces will be HD digital pictures on flush panels from a central library. User can select (and change) whatever she/he fancies.
An update. Ecologist Peter Warshall: High-Definition Makes Museums Obsolete

#-Link-Snipped-#

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Smriti Jha

@smriti-jha-RIDWQb • Jan 31, 2013

bioramani
All modern induction cooktops have near unity power factor on the grid side. No problem at all.

<a href="https://www.academia.edu/1183307/A_Unity_Power_Factor_Induction_Cooktop_Design_Issues_and_a_Novel_Approach_to_Measurement_and_Elimination_of_Conducted_EMI" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">(DOC) A Unity Power Factor Induction Cooktop: Design Issues and a Novel Approach to Measurement and Elimination of Conducted EMI | Barış Çolak - Academia.edu</a>
I did not know that. Impressive. We have one but for the lack of vessels made of magnetic materials, we young padawans haven't quite migrated to the cooktop.

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Ramani Aswath

@ramani-VR4O43 • Jan 31, 2013

Almost all commercially available ss vessels (So called patta SS) will work with induction. Just check with any magnet on the base. If it is attracted the vessel will work.
A lesser known fact is that the grid side power is automatically regulated by the actual power used. If the coupling is less, so is the power consumed.
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Lalit77

@lalit77-ITuWjY • Feb 15, 2013

Many cooks spoils the food...🎉 Seems like we are not going through firm plan.
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Ashraf HZ

@Ash • Jul 8, 2013

Lalit77
Many cooks spoils the food...🎉 Seems like we are not going through firm plan.
True.. 😛

What software is good to use to draw a concept house design? Google Sketchup?
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