- Title: Dome sweet dome: Russian family try out experimental living situation
- Date: 14th March 2020
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) NORTH-EASTERN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY HIGHWAY FACULTY DEAN, DMITRY FILIPPOV, SAYING "A house always emits a certain amount of heat. It turned out that a house that emits a small amount of heat in addition to the energy accumulated from the sun allows (the dome) to achieve such a difference (in temperature)." EXTERIOR OF NORTH-EASTERN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY HIGHWAY FACULTY
- Embargoed: 28th March 2020 10:26
- Keywords: Yakutia Yakutsk energy consumption experiment home under a dome
- Location: YAKUTIA, RUSSIA
- City: YAKUTIA, RUSSIA
- Country: Russia
- Topics: Human-Led Feature,Human-Led Stories
- Reuters ID: LVA004C50VQL5
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A family in Russia's far northern region of Yakutia have become guinea pigs in an experiment called 'House under a Dome', which aims to make the bitterly cold winters in the area more comfortable and energy efficient.
The Efremov family, composed of Alexander Efremov, his wife Aina and their daughter and cat, moved into the single-storey wooden house around 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Yakutsk surrounded by a 10-metre (33 feet) high PVC dome at the beginning of March, replacing its previous inhabitants.
While they live in the house the family need to take temperature readings throughout the house and document their experience in a video blog. "On the whole, we like it here" Efremov, a driving instructor, said.
The experiment has been running since December 2019 and aims to establish how such constructions are affected by the extreme temperatures in the region where the mercury regularly drops below -40 degrees Celsius (-40 degrees Fahrenheit).
The project is also assessing how the dome affects energy consumption of the house, the permafrost below it, as well as the mental and physical well-being of its inhabitants.
According to one of the organisers of the experiment, North-Eastern Federal University Highway Faculty Dean Dmitry Filippov, when temperatures in Yakutsk plummeted to -50 degrees Celsius (-58 degrees Fahrenheit) the temperature under the dome was -34 degrees C (-29 degrees Fahrenheit).
He attributed the difference in temperature to the energy from the sun accumulated during the day and heat emitted from the house below.
The research is being conducted jointly between the North-Eastern Federal University and IT group Sinet. If the experiment proves successful, the use of dome technology could be expanded in the region.
(Production: Roman Kutukov, Peter Scott) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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