How Smart Homes Could Power the Future

By Michael Schirber, Special to LiveScience

posted: 23 July 2008 03:57 pm ET

A schematic drawing of a passive house, which shows the super insulation, well-placed windows and the ventilation system. Credit: Passive House Institute

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A schematic drawing of a passive house, which shows the super insulation, well-placed windows and the ventilation system. Credit: Passive House Institute

A passive house built in 2001 in Hohen Neudorf, Germany, by architect Ralf Lenk. Credit: Unkrig

A passive house built in 2001 in Ganderkesee, Germany, by Team 3 Architekturbüro. Credit: Team 3 Architekturbüro

Editor's Note: Each Wednesday LiveScience examines the viability of emerging energy technologies — the power of the future.

BARCELONA, Spain — As much as 75 percent of a home's heat escapes through the roof and walls. A new European initiative plans to design homes that are much smarter about energy use.

A typical U.S. or European household consumes around 13,000 kilowatt-hours of energy per year on space heating. A number of building designs have been put forward that cut this and other home energy use to nearly zero, but only a few of the houses have been built.