We’ve heard of a water bed, but a water house? It brings to mind something built on or in the ocean, but it actually has nothing to do with the view. Architect Matyas Gutai is a firm believer that a house can be kept at an optimal temperature through the use of water, according to CNN. He has built a prototype of a water house in his hometown of Kecskemét in Hungary.
A water house is not completely without standard construction materials, such as glass and steel. In fact, panels of steel and glass make up the overall structure of a water house to equalize temperature throughout the building. All of these elements work together to create comfort within the home.
Gutai says he got the idea for a water house after visiting open-air baths surrounded by snow and noticed that he remained comfortable within the water. From there, he made it a goal to implement this concept into his work.
A monitoring system similar to central heating maintains the indoor temperature, and the building can also warm itself with excess heat stored in the foundations. “Our panel can heat and cool the building itself; the water inside the panel does the very same job as heating,” Gutai tells CNN.
“It saves energy, when you compare it to a similar building with large glass surfaces — it’s a very clean and sustainable solution,” he says.
To tackle the issue of freezing water, Gutai says that natural solvents are added to the water within the panels to keep it flowing in cold weather. If a panel were to break, special joint elements would keep the water from spreading to sealed panels. However, Gutai understands that a water house is not immune to all problems, specifically price.
A water house can be more expensive to construct than a traditional house. That being said, the energy savings may outweigh this drawback over time.
For more information on water-based houses and the construction process, check out Gutai’s research on liquid engineering.
Few things ruin a quiet evening faster than a robot vacuum roaring through the living room. Most of us end up pausing the cleaning run, which defeats the whole purpose of owning one. Matic thinks it has the answer with its new Serene robot vacuum, and the big selling point is how little noise it makes.
The Matic Serene runs at 52 decibels even when cleaning at full power. To put that in perspective, Matic compares it to the hum of your refrigerator. It is available now for $1,695, which is $200 more than the original Matic’s current price.
Outdoor security cameras are not always practical if you live in an apartment or rental. Drilling into an exterior wall may be off-limits, while pointing a regular indoor camera through a window can create another problem once reflections start showing up after dark.
Baseus is trying to solve both issues with the new PrimeSentinel W1, a $69.99 security camera designed specifically to monitor the outdoors through glass. It mounts directly to a window without drilling and uses a 4K Starlight sensor with an F1.0 aperture for full-color monitoring during the day and at night.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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