During the ninth day, as part of the Plus3 Study Abroad within the Netherlands, our group navigated through the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft). The entire day was devoted to understanding the sustainability practices and skills promoted at the university. For the first part of the visit to TU Delft, the university brought our group on a tour of their Green Village. In line with the information from the predeparture meetings, the Green Village allows for an open setting to test commercial products via funding from the university. The tour showcased several remarkable innovations and designs, with the most notable, in my opinion, being the DreamHûs for the inventions, heating, and sustainability innovations.

The DreamHûs uses a myriad of technologies to create a carbon-neutral housing system. The ROEF is a type of roof made of dirt. While odd sounding, the soil on the roof serves two main purposes: insulation and biodiversity. Through the natural heat-sinking capabilities of soil and plants grown in the ROEF, the design offers better heat regulation than traditional roofing shingles. In addition, the ROEF expands the array of creatures in the housing by providing natural resources for pollinators and birds. The ROEF keeps the house better regulated, causing homes to expend less energy on heating, and attracts all the non-home-damaging types of critters.

The DreamHûs further incorporates sustainability efforts by utilizing a chimney-like heat pump. The device rests atop the house and gathers natural heat from the outdoors to help heat the water within the DreamHûs. While solar panels can generate electricity with only 20% efficiency, this heat pump can directly help the water boiler with much greater efficiency. Combining multiple sustainability-based innovations allows for diversity to flourish within the design process. A heat pump, while less generic in usage, provides better water heating than any solar panel could offer through generated electricity. Diversity, as demonstrated throughout the cities in the Netherlands, has allowed this nation to improve sustainability efforts. The DreamHûs does include solar panels all over the building and utilizes a diverse set of innovations to provide better efficiency.

The physical testing and usage by people living in the Green Village allow us to understand the effectiveness of the innovations at this location. One technology not mentioned yet was the hydrogen cells used to power the house and store energy. These cells provide a significantly cleaner source of energy for the entirety of the DreamHûs. There exists another design within the Green Village that is even working to sustainably produce hydrogen fuel cells. The largest issue with this technology lies in the high costs of this power source. Working to reduce costs and usability of hydrogen fuel cells with American housing can allow for easier implementation to offer ‘greener’ homes. While not all roofs need a garden covering every corner, working to innovate current technologies paves the way for the future of sustainability.