RTV: The ecological house concept and the future of eco building

Veljko Milković’s concept of the self-heating ecological house, as one of the most energy-efficient building models, continues to capture attention. Radio Television Vojvodina published an article providing an excellent review of this concept, as well as the administrative issues related to constructing such a model house in Serbia.

The original article is published in Serbian language, so the follownig text is a full translation of the published article:

The return to nature and ecological construction represent a blend of tradition, science, and contemporary ecological aspirations. Trends in environmental preservation are also emerging in the realm of eco-architecture, or so-called ecological house construction. This type of building, besides its benefits in energy savings, also faces administrative issues related to building and usage permits.

Building materials have historically been natural, such as stone, wood, earth, lime, and straw. Some of these materials have proven to be exceptional thermal insulators. Consider the region of Cappadocia in Turkey or Spain, where there are cave houses and earth shelters still inhabited, many of which have become tourist attractions. In Scandinavia, there are old rural households with houses whose roofs were covered with earth and grass. Even in Vojvodina, about a hundred years ago, earth was used as a building material, a specific combination of earth, straw, clay, and lime as a binding material. One of the first innovators in eco-construction for energy conservation, known for his self-heating eco-house or solar earth shelter, is Veljko Milković from Novi Sad, a prominent researcher and inventor. To date, about ten houses have been built using this concept. Energy preservation through the construction of highly energy-efficient ecological buildings was the focus of his research, for which he registered a patent for the solar earth shelter. According to Veljko Milković, this building makes maximum use of geothermal heat. Although it is not very high—40 milliwatts per square meter on the surface—the energy is preserved with massive earth walls to minimize the use of active energy systems.

In Milković's invention, besides the massive earth walls, one of the most important elements and energy collectors are the reflective surfaces. These are referred to as passive energy sources. They consist of flat elements covered with aluminum foil, which are mounted in a specific way above and below glass window surfaces. These surfaces are inconspicuous from the outside of the building and do not interfere with the occupants.