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Originally Posted by SIGSEGV
Yeah, you'd certainly want to heat it if you don't have infrastructure constraints (which you won't). Heating with an electric radiator would probably require about a kW heater (which does add up!). Propane is probably more commonly used but that's a bit more complex infrastructure wise (and then you need CO monitors, etc.). It certainly would help to put them side-by-side (and even back to back so most only have one exposed side).
I'm actually more concerned about cooling in hot climates than heating in cold climates.
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Yup, it's not as simple as just providing the shelter in cold/hot climates due to indoor temperature requirements, and you just know that some bleeding-heart gadflies WILL make a big issue of the government providing underheated or undercooled shelters. A housing solution "better than tents" does not mean the government can actually sanction and provide such solutions (except as temporary FEMA-type emergency situations).
As for cooling in hot climates, it appears that the L.A. sheds have air conditioners (see photos from the first post).
My concern is maintenance and operational costs. My preferences for the sheds are as follows:
- Make them as air-tight as possible to reduce drafts in the winter, and reduce heat & humidity issues in the summer.
- Cool roofs with substantial insulation (R30-50+) to reduce heat loss in the winter, and reduce excess solar & other heat in the summer.
- Insulation under the floor
- Insulation on the walls, though it's not as necessary as substantial roof insulation. It can be around R20.
- Reduce or eliminate all thermal bridges that would provide a "short circuit" for heat to travel from inside to outside or vice versa
- Heat recovery ventilation systems to provide constant fresh air while exhausting stale air
This way, these sheds won't rely as much on mechanical heating and cooling to provide adequate indoor temperatures. Therefore, their theoretical maintenance & operational costs will be much lower.
And yes, they would need to build them back-to-back in rows reduce the number of exterior walls directly exposed to outside air. It would be even better if they could stack these sheds 2-3 stories (to reduce the amount of exposed walls to just 1 in some cases), but that would bring up questions of structural engineering and egress issues (more complexity & cost).
The prefab housing industry would be a great way to build such structures to reduce on-site construction costs and unpredictability.