Going to build a new house

Bumpyroad wrote:

westend wrote:

Bumpy wrote:
I never could figure out why houses weren't built with the closets on outside walls as much as possible which would be much better than merely studding up two walls 4 inches apart.

I don't think you really understand the concept of having the two 4" walls as in the Swedish design.

With a separate space that is sealed from both the exterior wall and the interior wall, it's possible to take in outside air preheat it, filter it, and take some back into the interior space or to a heating appliance. This allows for a greater insulation value, fresh air into the house, and a positive air pressure within the dwelling. It is really a lot more technical than just having dead air space like a closet.

For those of us that live in Northern climes it is the best system on the planet. It hasn't caught on over here because of the regimen of building materials, that being most of our window and door trim.

no I don't grasp the concept of bringing in external cold air into a building that you want to heat. seems sort of counterproductive to me. sort of like using a wood burning fireplace which draws in more cold air than it heats.
but why wouldn't exterior walled closets also fit into the Swedish design?
bumpy

In Virginia it probably isn't necessary but it is current code in Minnesota and other States that an air exchanger be installed in the structure. This is a device that does what the Swedish wall system does but on a smaller scale. It is connected to the forced air heating return ducting. It's purpose is to bring in fresh air, that fresh air preheated so that it's not like opening a window. We bottle up our homes and seal them real good up here.

There's nothing wrong about having closets on an exterior wall in regards to the heating of the living space. Your closet will be colder because they are usually not ducted with a heat run. Most conventional housing design puts them against a partition wall, most times the wall is shared by another room with an abutting closet. This keeps the lengths of the rooms undiminished by closet space and allows for windows. There is nothing chipped in stone that you can't put a closet anywhere you wish.