Comments by "Ivancho" (@ivancho5854) on "Japan with Nao" channel.

A Finnish house and it's heating system is perfect for Finland, but would not survive in Japan because of the earthquakes.
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@aguafria9565 Yes indeed. Wooden construction in general has huge advantages in earthquake zones. The wonderful Finnish stoves could not survive however as well as the masonry chimneys, but a cast iron stove would be fine. Then we get into the problems of Japanese energy. Every energy source has pros and cons of course, but Japan has some unique challenges. Coal is currently discouraged, gas pipelines in earthquake zones are dangerous (I suspect that this is why Japan is the largest user of kerosene for heating in the world), wood for heating is not very energy dense and Japan simply doesn't have the space to grow enough, nuclear is actually a great idea, but safety is paramount. No easy answers. Hasn't Scandinavia been exporting kit houses for over a century? I seem to recall that a lot of houses built around the 1870s on the Eastern seaboard of the US were kit houses from Sweden and Norway. Fascinating. 👍 All the best from Scotland.
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Burning kerosene requires a lot of ventilation. The CO2 and very importantly the large amounts of moisture must be removed from the house. Insulation would be less beneficial than you may first assume.
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@alanr585 Indeed, I was utterly shocked when I heard that UK public buildings, like schools, are only designed to last 20 YEARS!!!!! Utterly unbelievable! I used to work in the oil and gas industry and when I heard about the cladding on Grenville Tower I was horrified. Polystyrene foam and fibreglass insulation are fuel for a fire and aren't used in the O&G industry - mineral wool is used instead as not only won't it burn, but it also can act as a fire break. It's not that this wasn't known about either. Just wait for a tragedy in a low rise block of flats filled with polystyrene insulation and millions of properties will be involved. It's insane. Victorian housing in the UK is criticized for being draughty, but despite burning coal in open hearths their air quality was likely better and they didn't have as many dampness problems. Seal those same houses and reduce air turnover and you get black mould. Next the government wants us to all install air source heat pumps, but I've heard that the worst conditions to use them in is high humidity! Oh dear. To be fair it's a genuinely difficult problem to deal with our weather. Here in the west coast of Scotland the number of people grow gills and webbed feet goes up every year! 🤣
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I hear you, but damp conditions per se is not the cause of tuberculosis. It is a communicable airborne disease exacerbated by living in close proximity to others. Tuberculosis was endemic worldwide in both rich and poor nations and people. Damp conditions would stress the immune system, but the house shown actually had extremely good ventilation. All the best.
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Forced air central heating is only a thing in North America as it normally doubles as air conditioning. The rest of the world used hot water central heating which is more efficient, but can't do air conditioning and as you said doesn't use extra space. Both however are vulnerable to earthquakes. Japan also has never had enough energy and since opening up to the world has had to import energy, not just for industry, but also for heating. The USA has always had cheap energy and culturally takes it for granted. Japan's solution, although by no means perfect, accounts for Japanese conditions.
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@rsmith02 Whether the air quality of a Victorian house with coal dust is worse than an under ventilated mouldy modern house is debatable. Both are bad and yes I exaggerated somewhat. 🫢 However what is not up for debate is that fibreglass is flammable at the high temperatures typically experienced in a house fire. Fibreglass is not purely silicon dioxide, it also normally contains a binder in the types used in construction (usually a polyester or epoxy). There may well be specialised fibreglass products without these, but they are not common. Before you disagree with me I suggest that you take a minute to consult a decent firefighting site, or you could even take a trip to your local fire station, but do be prepared for a rant. They may even demonstrate the flammability for you if you ask nicely. Oh, there's bound to be a demonstration here on YouTube. Have a great day! 😁👍
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Central heating can dry the air significantly.
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@NihonKaikan No it wasn't. That kerosene heater produces a lot of moisture into the air. Combine that with low amounts of ventilation = mould. Give it a try in your modern Japanese home this winter instead of what you're currently using. Also consider being polite in your discourse FFS. 🤡
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@p.s.shnabel3409 The beauty of their Kerosene heaters is that they are very safe when off and they are only used when someone is in the room. You're absolutely correct that fire is a huge issue after a bad earthquake - didn't Kobe burn down after a big one hit in the 1920s? I recently saw a video here on YouTube talking about how Japan is overdue a huge earthquake as a particular faultline hasn't released in a long time, which is incredibly scary. I'm absolutely no expert, but I believe that harnessing Geothermal energy is not straightforward, particularly in a subduction zone (where continental plates are heading towards each other and one plate goes under the other). These areas have a lot of earthquakes and the water pipes required for distribution of hot water are very vulnerable. In divergent boundaries (heading away from each other) between plates there are fewer explosive volcanic eruptions and the process of harnessing heat is much easier, which is why Iceland excels at geothermal heating.
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Also the earthquakes are a significant problem.
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@oliivioljy9700 Yup, possibly. Actually I used to be a piping engineer working in oil and gas, mainly gas compressor stations, but I don't actually know much about earthquake zones. All of the seismic engineering for the supports was done by the civil engineers in the companies where I worked. IIRC the facilities I was involved with in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan had seismic protection. All the best. 👍
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@kathrynemason1673 Yup, a lot to be said for putting on a jumper and being a bit more active. I certainly feel that since the start of the Ukraine War and energy price rises here in Scotland I feel healthier as a result. The Victorians had much cooler houses than today which could be inferred by their choice of house plants and wool waistcoats! 😉
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