Professors from the Japan Solar Energy Society visited us
Well, when you get caught up in the busyness of life, June arrives in the blink of an eye.
I had firmly decided to "post on note regularly!", but before I knew it, a lot of time had passed since my last post.
This time, I would like to write about a very honorable event that took place on March 26th.
On this day, professors from the Japan Solar Energy Society came to visit our "off-grid home".
Those who visited were:
Associate Professor Dai Miyaoka (Nihon University)
Professor Kosuke Ito (Nihon University)
Professor Jun Akisawa (Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology)
Professor Masatoshi Horio (Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology)
These are professors who are at the forefront of the fields of solar energy and environmental engineering. While showing them around our model house, we explained things such as:
what we thought about when designing this building
how we conducted the energy simulation
what the actual measured data looks like after completion
Then, the professors gave us some very kind words, such as,
"This is the first time I've seen a case study that has been verified so thoroughly."
"You have solved the architecture, equipment, and energy aspects in a very interdisciplinary way."
What was particularly impressive was when we showed them the energy simulation we had developed on our own. The professors exclaimed,
"Oh, we are making something just like this in our lab too!"
Of course, we are not a university laboratory. We are just a simple design office. Even so, as a result of designing an actual building, living in it ourselves, continuing to collect data, and repeating trial and error, we had arrived at the same ideas and verification methods as an engineering laboratory. I was truly happy about that, and it was a moment when I felt, "The direction we are heading in is not wrong."
Then, the other day, I received a message from Professor Miyaoka and learned that a report on the tour had been published in the 293rd issue of the academic journal "Solar Energy". It is an honor enough to have them come to visit, but to have the content published in an academic journal is truly something to be grateful for. Once again, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Professor Miyaoka and all the professors who participated.
Time flies, and it has already been three years since this building was completed. During that time, we have had many people visit, including not only those in the construction industry, but also university researchers, government officials, students, and members of the general public who are thinking about building a home. The questions and opinions we receive each time are new learning opportunities for us and hints for our next challenge.
Our "off-grid home" is not a building that was finished and completed; it is a building where demonstration experiments are still ongoing.
Collecting data while living here, forming hypotheses, verifying them, and making improvements.
Having such efforts lead to academic recognition, as it did this time, has been a great encouragement.
We are not a university laboratory.
However, by actually living in this house, we continue to collect data daily and repeat trial and error. I believe there is value in verifying things while actually living here, rather than in a laboratory.
A home is not a laboratory; it is a vessel for living.
That is why it only has meaning when it works in actual life, not just in theory on a desk. With that thought in mind, we have been collecting data for the past three years.
Moving forward, we would like to continue exploring more sustainable and resilient ways of living while valuing both measured data and actual daily life.
And I would be happy if our results could be of even a little help to the housing industry and society.