{"id":1235,"date":"2013-08-05T17:29:02","date_gmt":"2013-08-05T21:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ugagreenway.wordpress.com\/?p=1235"},"modified":"2023-01-03T15:29:11","modified_gmt":"2023-01-03T20:29:11","slug":"energy-saving-idea-connect-your-house-barn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/greenway\/2013\/08\/05\/energy-saving-idea-connect-your-house-barn\/","title":{"rendered":"Energy Saving Idea: Connect your house & barn"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Driving through small villages in Austria and Germany I noticed that the farm houses are often attached to the barn where the cows, pigs, sheep and assorted other animals live.  I grew up on a ranch, but our barn and the fragrances associated with it were a good distance from the house.  I am not sure I want to open the kitchen door and see a cow looking at me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These type of dwellings are called “housebarns<\/strong>.”\u00a0 It is an old idea that makes sense.\u00a0\u00a0 The body heat from the animals contributes to heating the living space, plus this style of dwelling helps prevent thieves from stealing your animals.\u00a0 You can still see housebarns in many parts of Europe. \u00a0Usually the barn and the house share a common wall, but in some styles the farm animals live on the first floor and the humans live upstairs. The “Black Forest house” is one example of this type of dwelling. Housebarns are not commonly found in the United States; however, there are some \u201cconnected farms\u201d in New England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n