Differences between a US and a Danish Home
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- Опубликовано: 9 июн 2024
- We recently uploaded a video showing differences in our Danish home to what we are used to in the US. This time I am in my parents home in the US and I walk through to show some differences from the other side of the ocean!
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You can buy fridges with dispencers for ice cubes and water here in Denmark, but they have a low energy rating, E as mentioned by another commentor. And since the electricity prizes are high here in Denmark, effiency is an important factor when buying a new fridge.
Also! They may not be made properly for our system. My brother had an "american" fridge and they had water damage from their fridge since the fridge and the wider system was different.
Many of the differences he mentions are related to convenience vs. efficiency.
Anyway, my sister has a standalone ice maker she can pull out of the cupboard and place on the kitchen table when the demand for ice exceeds the capacity of her ice cube trays. She just needs to fill the 5 liter water reservoir and plug it in.
Being standalone, it probably also gets cleaned a lot more often than the integrated ones on average.
Our HPFI covers the entire home, but we still don't install switches or outlets very close to the sink, possibly because it would be annoying if all the power disappears every time an outlet gets a little splash of water.
We use radiators because it takes less energy to move hot water than hot air, so less heat is wasted if we have a single room or two that we keep cool when we don't use them.
Those ball door handle locks don't actually lock the door, they just disable the door knob at the other side of the door... but I have to say it could be really convenient when you have a toddler that's just figured out how to lock the door... less risk of the little bastard managing to lock him- or her-self in, in the bathroom.
I've seen "storm doors" in Denmark but only with insect nets, and only in the countryside where insects may be a real problem in summer.
Another thing is the 'how often do you use it' factor, and while if you are used to having the option you likely use it more, when you stand in the shop thinking about paying that much extra to get this... quite a few people reason they can do without this extra function.
Not to mention, while I am sure this is also a thing in America, the ice dispenser can be a pain in the ass sometimes if just enough heat has gotten into the ice-tray and made the cubes melt into a frozen mass that wont go in the grinder or come out on its own... no other choice but to throw the whole lot into the sink and make a new batch...
Another thing is the fact that the water in Denmark is so hard, that you'd likely have a ton of problems with the calcium build up breaking the system. I've lived here 14 years so when I want ice, I just go buy a bag and stick it in the freezer. No hassle and no worries that way. But I find I use almost no ice anymore. I basically only use it if I have just brewed tea for iced tea, or iced coffee.
@@debbielarsen4831 I wouldn't ever buy ice, but you've got a valid point.
The water, especially around Copenhagen, is insanely saturated with calcium, you basically need a weekly routine to decalcify or your equipment will suddenly stop working.
I am Danish but have lived in California for 16 years now, and watch your videos with great interest. Your parents have a lovely home, but I have always wondered who ever invented those round door handles and thought they were the greatest hit in the world? When we bought our most recent home, it came with round door handles throughout, and the first thing we did was changing them to regular handles. Try to open a round door handle with both arms full of grocery bags or laundry. But I sure do love our icemaking fridge in the Californian summer heat.
Greetings from the US, thanks for keep making these videos for all us looking into Denmark . I’m a American Uni student planning to finish Uni in Denmark and it’s a cool treat . I’ve always been interested in the culture and county as my great grandma was a Danish immigrant.
Welcome ‘back’. 🇩🇰
Please don't come.
@@pookiewookie7679 You can’t stop me.
@@pookiewookie7679 why even say that , I’m curious ?
@@seth1223 He’s probably a troll, u always welcome to Denmark.
I have never understood the need for ice at all times. I hardly ever use ice, and it’s been at least 4-5 years since I had ice cubes in our freezer. When it comes to doorhandles, the american version is impossible to open if you are using your hands for something else.
The door handle mention was more about the lock. You can also get curved door handles like are on most doors in DK - but they also have a lock on the handle versus using a key.
@@TravelinYoung Ok. The lock button is pretty clever, and I wish we had that here.
My thought! Haha I need to quickly open and close easily while carrying stuff in both hands often.
And you can get a bunch of containers for ice cubes to the freezer, so you can make them yourself and easily take them from there if needed at all.
Looks like a lot of the differences are due to warmer weather in the US and cheaper electricity I guess. Interesting.
also it is only in the last 5-10 years Denmark have startet to get does long and hot heatwaves. There was no real need for AC to cool down homes.
I think the difference in doors and windows are mainly due to high requirements for isolation in Denmark specified by the building code (bygningsreglementet).
The Cooler/Freezers in Denmark are normally marked according to how "Energy Efficient" and Costly during use, they are: AA, A or the like! You are actually able to buy the American Type units in Denmark also, but they are marked E, F or similar😁!!
And Danish, more modern windows also come in "tall building versions", with brackets which enable them to be turned round, so that you are able to wash and polish the Outside, from the inside. Older Danish houses many times have floors which are treated with a Laquer for many years shine!
Our new house is 100 years old this year and indeed has laquered floors. I looooooove them. They are far more durable with pets.
You should compare the usage of Kwh of a common household - our your own time in US vs DK.... that will explain alot.
Hey, there you are!! I was getting worried..haha. I just recently became a dual citizen US/ DEN!
About the flooring. When I was a kid, we had treated hardwood floors in CPH, when I was married to my first wife we had untreated wooden floors, and the house I bought after our divorce had wall to wall carpets. I think it has a lot to do with design and money really. Also, hardwood floors are easier to clean if someone has issues with allergies or asthma.
I lived in Rungsted Kyst, Denmark from 1985 to 1989, then in Buckinghamshire, and Surrey, England from 1989 to 1993. In Denmark the only wood floors were in living and dining room, tile floors in bathrooms, vinyl in kitchen, and carpet in all 4 bedrooms. In England, the kitchen and breakfast room had vinyl flooring, with carpet in bathrooms and all bedrooms. All houses were newly remodeled. Styles change throughout time. That is how money is made. I also traveled throughout many places in Europe at that time, even visiting relatives I had never met in Germany. All homes at that time had much carpet. I am an American.
Having carpets or wall-to-wall carpets was a fashion in all houses in Scandinavia tha fast went out of fashion when people realized how much work it was to clean them.
Floores varies in style and material according to where and when it is built. The common Copenhagerner apartment, two room, fully wooden and varnished from new, 120 years ago, but sometimea treated and now raw wood and whitewashed. The somewhat bigger, 5 to 7 room arpartment also like this from new. But as they are modernized, they can also have tiles or terazzo in the bathroom and riles in the kitchen.
The big house outside, inside and outside Copenhagen from same period is the same, but also with terazzo in bathrooms from new. Terazzo became very popular in 30-years to 50-years. After that it became more individual.
The difference between the heat pumps in denmark and the system in this house is:
US: The air is pumped from the outside and heated/cooled while venting the system
DK: The latent heat (energy) in the air outside is used to heat a presureized fluid that is circulating between the heat pump inside and the motor outside, which transports heat (but not air) from the outside-in. Running the system in reverse cools the room
Hi Josh.
Entrance: My parents build their house in 68. A one level house. We had an entrance like the one you showed, just much smaller without cupboards, but it had hooks.
It was called a "vindfang" for the non-Danish speaking audience, it actually means "wind-catch". So get in, clothes on the hooks, shoes off, close outer door and then get in.
I am pretty sure it was my mom demanding a vindfang, no more dirt in, than necessary.
I would not call that a vindfang. That is an entre. A vindfang is what you find at some stores, office buildings and so on. Just a small room with doors at both ends, and nothing else, to keep he wind out.
@@klausolekristiansen2960 I know my mom did not want shoes and dirty coats in the house. Our vindfang was used for that purpose. Yes, it was smaller than the entre we see at he's parents, but we had no stairs in it.
@@klausolekristiansen2960We call it vindfang here on Mors.
It is not that you don't have GFCI in Denmark, it is just for the whole house instead and not only bathroom
My parents build their house in 68. The bathroom had GFCI. Yeah, I think the modern technic is different.
We also have circuit breakers covering the entire house. But it’s also necessary to have in bathrooms and kitchens as added protection.
@@TravelinYoung but breakers isn't fast ground fault protection like you have with the HPFI
And in Denmark they are called HFI in the old days or HPFI if they are up-to-date. They became common in the 80'ties.
In the late 60'ties some bathrooms came equipped with a special shaver outlet that would only provide 20 watt of power and not able to support a hair dryer.
@@TravelinYoung The big difference is that in the US, GFCI is not required for the entire house, in most places only for bathrooms and kitchens, but in Denmark, it's a requirement to have a GFCI (HFI or HPFI in Denmark) at the fuseboard, which secures all circuits and not only kitchens and bathrooms.
You must live in an old house because in all houses that are from the 90s and up, there are circuit breakers and sockets in the bathroom and hpfi relays in a group panel that covers the whole house. And most houses in Denmark have wooden floors with varnish. You can buy the fridge you showed in all cities in Denmark where they sell fridges, stoves and the like. The thermostat you showed can also be bought in Denmark, the biggest difference between the house you showed and a typical Danish house that I could spot is the door handle, the switch for the light, the outer door with the extra screen door, very dark wood on the walls and furniture, most Danes want light wood, also you have 110 volts in the USA instead of 230 volts and in the USA you have 220 volts for appliances that need several phases and in Denmark we have 400 volts.
About the wooden floors in Denmark.. in my family there is a heated debate about the pro and cons between a treated floor (varnish) or a soaped floor (washed with wood soap) floor. I am firmly in the varnish camp, since it is so much easier to keep clean, and I dont really appriciate washing floors all the time..
We have also come to the conclusion that we are in the varnish camp. The soap treated floors are beautiful but I find them to be far less durable than varnished floors.
Soap finished floors aren't great with heavy traffic and such, so I'd never pick it for my kitchen or entry, but the thing is that it's very easily restorable, and almost anything comes out in the wash - even red wine stains over time. And it leaves you that silky finish that is so great with skin contact on wood. You want to touch it. Not so with the plasticky varnish surface, though some might find it pretty to look at. It doesn't have the same warmth to it. And then once there's a notch or something in it, you have to go and redo it. For the places where varnish would be required, I'd likely pick some other type of flooring, either bricks, tiles, slate, linoleum, cork or other.
The whole thing started when people decided they didn't like the poop-brown boiled linseed varnish that was so common on pine wood floors, and thus shaved it off. Unfortunately pine is not the hardest of woods, so if you give it a hard setting clear lacquer you're going to have marks the first time a lady in stilettos walk on it. That was the good thing about boiled linseed varnish: it stays flexible.
Recent two-component epoxy lacquers solves this issue. They are both strong and flexible enough that you can use it on soft-ish floor wood, but you can still polish them to a high lustre or sand them to a matt finish, depending on your preference. They're also UV blocking, so the floor doesn't turn yellow over time (which is why we use the white pigment soap in the first place).
@@martinpoulsen6564 Modern two-component epoxy lacquers don't have any of those problems. You can polish them to a mirror shine, or you can sand them to a matt finish that looks like soap treated wood. They are, however, rather expensive.
@@andersjjensen It's still plastic and will never be anything else. Not getting near my floors. Ever.
Very informative and interesting. The wooden floors you can also get finished ones here.
I have an outlet next to the sink in both my bathrooms. I live in Denmark. The switch to control the light is also inside the bathroom.
I will add though. In my parents house, which is from the 80'ies, the switch is outside the bathroom, and there are no outlets in the bathroom.
So it might be that in older houses it's the case ? The house I have is new.
I have nevet lived in a House herr in Denmark without the switches inside the bathroom amd i an 60 years and norm and raised in Denmark. You Can buy whatever violer and freezer you like
I would LOVE to have the bug screens in Denmark. Strange they have never been incorporated into the building style here, since we have SO many bugs during summertime.
You can just buy the bug screen , many make them in Denmark , we have had owers for nearly 12 years now
My thoughts exactly.
great episode
Hej
Tak for at du laver disse videoer, 😊
Awesome video, thanks for the look very interesting 👍
So much to learn from one another. If we so choose ☺️
Hey Josh! Hope you're having/had a good time at home with your folks!
I remember the house we lived in on Long Island.... The front door opened inward to the right. Behind the door was the coat closet. Straight ahead from the door - probably about 8-9ft - was the staircase up to the bedrooms and bathrooms. The living room was off to the left from the staircase, and the dining room to the right, with the kitchen behind the dining room. Below the staircase was the staircase to the basement.
We had a storm door with insect netting which I _really_ think is an awesome idea! I also like the insect netting on the windows (we didn't have that as far as I recall, though we did have central a/c in the house).
In DK, you _can_ get a cassette with insect netting to install in the window here in DK. I _think_ they're about DKR2500,- each. The apartment I lived in before, we all got new windows thanks to the housing association (boligforening). We were offered to purchase the cassettes (however many we wanted - there were 3 windows that could open as you described). Unfortunately the tenants had to pay this themselves... They wouldn't assist with an installment payment for them, though they _would_ help with having them installed. .
danish home after a hurricane singing "iiiiim still standing!"
Hurricanes aren’t coming to Denmark any day soon.
@@TravelinYoung the ones we had didnt count i guess
@@bbroegger Hurricanes are one thing, tornadoes are a different animal, nothing can stand up to a EF4/5 not even danish "super houses"
@@master8laster49They should be able to handle more
@@blueeyedpunk More what seconds? They throw semi trucks, nothing can withstand an EF4/5, they're 1,6 kilometers wide and they smash everything. Its better to build light, then you wont get killed by flying bricks etc.
1. In Denmark it is mostly Finished wood floors also. It is not standard there isn't the right coating on. 2. The fridge thing is just because most Danish people, dont want to use more electricity for "just some ice cubes", and we call those fridges American fridges mostly, and ice cubes can lay in the freezer in easy to get containers.
Actually, the whole icecube maker built in to the fridge thing.
It is not an uncommon fridge in Denmark, most people just choose not to buy those refrigerators.
Even some people, whom are building new houses...
They cost more, they also need extra plumbing, so people just don't bother with them.
Fun to see your old house! -btw, Just saw you Wife and daughter at Lyngby Storecenter yesterday! :) -Big world, small denmark! :D
Ha, I was probably home recovering from jet lag. That is my old house and the room where I showed the door handle was my room as a kid.
Most storm doors I've seen are the bottom half is glass, and the top half is glass, but is able to slide down, and there's a roll screen that comes down with the glass (it rolls into the top of the door) so that you can have just glass or screen whenever you want.
I, a Dane who's allergic to many insects, also wish we had the screen on the windows...
I find the fridge story funny. I have never lived in Denmark. Only in Norway, The Netherlands and now on Crete, Greece and in all my houses I have had a fridge with doors side by side, with a machine making ice cubes and crushed ice. Nothing special about that. Fridges like that from Samsung, LG and Whirlpool are sold all over Europe. All my houses have had floor heating and hier on Crete my floor not only heat the floor during the winter, but cools it during the summer.
OMG the drapes, what is happening? 😂 Thank you for the tuor. U should do one, on building materials and quality !
Nice details and always funny so see the small differences :)
I vistied Boston and NYC last year and I noticed that lamps and other electronic devices in the hotel rooms always had one or two power outlets for your cell phone charger etc.
Having lamps etc. with power outlets is that also a common thing in homes?
Great video. We have the same type of "hot/cold" system in Denmark, if you want it. We also have the larger fridges with built-in ice cubes, but we also have ovens where you can download a recipe from the internet and then your roast or whatever it is will be exactly like the picture you downloaded. We have never needed the windows and doors before because of the environment we have here in the Nordics, but it will probably come because of global warming, so the manufacturers will probably look in that direction as it gets warmer . We abolished the mail hadge that you are talking about a few years ago because the post had to be made more efficient, so that all households had to have a mail box next to the entrense ore the hallway. The finished floors are of course also available in Denmark, you can get what you want - as a rule, a house is built with what we call varnished floors, it can be a stick parquet or herring parquet or wide plank floors (typically Nordic) .
It's very possible to get a fridge that can make ice in Denmark. I have one and know several who do as well. Definitely not as common as in the US of course but if it's a feature you miss you can get one fairly easily.
Yeah. Well we rented for the first 5 years and of course couldn’t replace the fridge. The house we own now has the fridge built in with the cabinets, so from a style standpoint it wouldn’t make sense.
@@TravelinYoung ah, that sucks. I built a new house recently with most kitchen appliances built in but chose to take the hit on the aesthetics to put in a freezer that can make ice. If you could use more freezer space, assuming you have a 2 in 1 setup now, Siemens has a standalone freezer that can make ice.
I will forever be jealous of the ice machine on American fridges!! Danes will always say "just use ice trays" but its just not the same
Fridges with ice machines exist in Denmark, and can be bought at any appliance store.
@@Jacob_Junge True, but if you live in a rented apartment/house there is a 0% chance it will have one
As someone that hates having bugs in my apartment, I can definitely relate with those screens behind windows and doors.. but then again I'm certain that there are more dangerous and invasive bugs around the US than here in Denmark :D
Hi Josh, have you ever thought about getting an "American styled" refrigerator and even replacing the door so you have the two door design back here in Denmark? I know both things are sold here.
I like the way you can wash the outside of the window like you showed. There are some windows in Denmark where you can flip them so you can do the same but it's a rather new kind of window as houses from the 70'es and 80'es don't have them at all. Climing a latter to wash the windows on the 2nd floor aren't fun. Might as well just pay a professional window washer to do that. Fortunately it's not that expensive.
Man if there is one thing Denmark lacks it is some kind of mosquito nets for windows. Can't open a window during a hot summer night without 100s of insects in your bedroom.
I think most Danes don't have those huge American fridges that have a build-in ice cube machine, because Danish houses are smaller on average. Both because Danish houses are more expensive to build and in most areas you can't build on more than 20-25% of the house plot
I think people dont like the looks of those huge frdges. In scaninavia we want built ins.
@munteza9262 infected? What have you smoked today, sir? 😄
Just buy the bug screen , you can buy it several places
Velux makes a bug screen for their windows - Have had one just glaring at me from its box for 6 months, need to work up the energy to actually mount it :P
Yeah that is actually the only real advantage I see in American houses over Danish ones.
You do have outlets with switches in the US. Only the switch is not next to the outlet. Must be confusing when you move into a new house, until you get used to it.
I love the windows. It's smart that you can wash windows from the outside without putting your life at risk. The screens are also handy, you can sleep with open windows without getting any mosquitos inside. Also I don't know why washing machines are so small in Denmark. It makes no sense. Our washing machine runs all day everyday.
Are you like 10 in the household? We are 4 and wash on weekends with plenty of time in spare.
Great vid Josh. Have any of you given thought about, what are you planning on when your parrents gets older? I know you have siblings in the US, but have you giving any thought about moving your parrents to Denmark for the healthcare and "Old folks home"? Sorry, I know it's not an easy thought...
Unfortunately, it isn’t possible to bring them to Denmark.
The light switches in the US is also reversed compared to Denmark. So down is off and up is on. Where in Denmark down is on and up is off. I think Norway is like the US, so also opposite Denmark, where Germany is like Denmark.
Also the fireplace is massive compared to Denmark. The idea of Santa coming through, must originate from the US.
In denmark we have a PHFI relay on the hole house thats cuts the power if a outlet toutches ground
Older houses and apartments in Denmark are built with entrance foyers. It was removed by architects, as they thought it was wasted space.
Maybe it's not cold enough in Denmark. In Norway we like to put our dirty shoes and keep the cold in the hallway.
@@TullaRaskSweden too!
That not true. I never see a house without a entrance in Denmark. In the new houses, it's larger than in the old. I own a house in Denmark. But in Norway, you often have a tiny space before the hallway. Called a vindfang. Wind catcher.
@@ls-l1518 Both a vindfang and a gang(hallway)? That is a bit much isn't it? It might actually be true about the 70's houses. Ithink it maybe depends on the size and layout of the house or even apartment. Most apartments I've seen in Oslo has a little vindfang for cloth and shoes.
@@ls-l1518 it was more common earlier, even in small apartments.
it would also be interesting what electricity and energy costs in the US per year in general
Back in the 1970’ties in Denmark, the outlets in bathrooms typically were designed so that you would not get electrocuted, as long as you only touched one of the two electrical wires. And it didn’t matter, if you touched water at the same time.
Going on a slightly more technical note: what fuel do you use for heating? Denmark has a lot of city heating, in the cities. On the countryside mostly "pillefyr" I think (fire stove using tree pills) or nowadays air-to-air heat pumps. And what about the walls? I'm guessing your parent's house may have brick walls, but what is most common for new houses? All-wood and drywall inside? In Denmark I think old houses will have bricks and newer ones have these aerated-concrete blocks.
Natural gas. It is brick on the outside except the parts underground which would be cinder blocks - with drywall inside except one room has some old wood panels they painted white.
You didnt mentioned the zink blender for all organic wast. First time in the us, i put the organic wast in the waist container in front of our house. And the racoons spread it oll over the place nest day.
This is interesting. I wonder if some of these vary on income and the age of the house. All the houses I've lived in go directly into the living room, but they have been older homes in lower/working class neighborhoods. I have an ice maker in the frig but they have much cheaper ones with no ice or water. I've also never had central air . My current home has central heat downstairs but nothing upstairs. :(
If you have wiindows that can turn like that, horizontal axle,, it s mostly the whole window, not just half, insect net in doorframe is nice to have in the summertime, hpfi. relais in Dk is for the whole house.
First of all, I love you guys and your channel!
Now, following on:
I like those windows!
The ice to me is inflated, overrated. Cold water is not healthy. If you have a meal in your stomach, it messes up your digestion. I believe this is likely superstition at work, created by the refrigerator industry. Or perhaps an instinct from the times of fresh water creeks...
I like the storm door too! So much to learn!
The door handle is nice, but I prefer the elongated shape we use in Denmark. The lock mechanism is just brilliant!
I also prefer a switch for the ceiling light. I come in, I flick the switch to get an overview, and later I switch on the soft light near my station and switch off the light in the ceiling, because I don't need it anymore. I'm very lazy and I want to save energy.
Many people in Denmark are using heat exchangers, "varmevekslere" which use electricity to exchange heat with cold, and as I understand it, they are energy efficient. It's the reverse refrigerator effect, and it is possible to extract heat even from air as cold as below the freezing point. I also like, that the metric system puts that freezing point at zero, and the the boiling point of water at a hundred. Øh....
Using electric appliances while taking a bath seems to me like reading a book while riding a bicycle through a beautiful scenery - and talking on the phone at the same time. And also investing, of course, now that you mention it.
I don't exactly know, but I think in Denmark we had a wave of love for natural floors. Something about chemicals and air quality and wood being "alive". I don't know that there is much to this, but I feel good on raw, almost untreated wood.
I saw the curtains in the last part, where you usualy eat smørrebrød - and I suggest this English spelling: smur brode - and I have to say, curtains are nice. I don't have any. I live on the 6th floor with no close buildings across. And I just never understood their function, other than finance the curtain industry. As with so many other modern things you can buy, I see no purpose to most of them. I calculate the time spent without them and the quality of life and the result of buying them.
I also calculate, that if you need to advertise something, it is probably not too obvious why anyone would have not already heard about them. Like the wheel, music, condoms, technology in general. So I don't endure commercials. I shut off the sound and look somewhere else. Not out of fear. Just plain disgust. Manipulation is ugly.
I have not been to a hair dresser since 1969. Now, I simply wash it, brush it and put a band on it. Problem solved. No more action needed - unless you follow Suit. Suit is the president of Timewaste, as you know. The Com More Steal, commercial religion that says women must wear and use cosmetic products is just more ridiculous than scientology, but it works the same way. Goebbels knew that. Hitler used it without understanding, just like any comedian, and J. D. Trump.
American women on high heels proove that arbitrary decisions are harmful. Heels destroy your feet. They make you move in inhabitated ways. High heeled shoes are a threat to the freedom of expression!
90 % of all we do is redundant and has not been proven to work. But it creates jobs and money. Just like drugs and wars, and even wars on drugs. 90 % of our activity is ritual, not rational. And if I were an investor, I would consider all of this a great line of business.
But we all need jobs to pay our debt to the loan sharks who by now have bought most of our planet, out living space, our biotope, our world. It is just so charmingly feudal.
You can probably also buy a refrigerator with an ice machine in Denmark
Thank you and your parents for showing their house to the world 🙏🏻♥️
The doorknobs and locks do you find them better in America ? Because I have always hated the europeran door handles as i must have a magnet in my body, at least I always destroy my sweaters because I get stuck. Not as easy with the American door knobs.
In the 1980/90’s it was very popular in Danish homes to have finished wooden floor but because people wanted that yellowish colour gone it became more and more popular to have the floors that most people have now where you have to wash the floor.
We used to have outlets in our bathroom many years ago but the were always quite high up so no water could get into it but now things have changed and most houses have outlets in the bathrooms it’s just the entire hose that have ( I can’t remember what you called it but if water comes into the outlet it switches off)
You pretty much always see fireplaces in American homes do they work is it a real or is it just for show ?
Please let us see the front yard and the backyard and is it true that most Americans do not use the backyard much?
Ohhh and BTW are you filming Maya getting her hat on ? Can we see it when it happens ?
Is the electrical system 120 or 240 volts like in Denmark? Many homes in Denmark also have three phase 400V 16A which is useful for charging electric cars.
Hello I’m from Denmark 😂 your hoses are so cool 😎
If you want a fridge with icecubes in, you just buy one.
It's usually a choice you make yourself.
This comes from someone with a fridge with a built in icecube machine living in Denmark
That’s not really an option when renting. Since buying we can yes, but it would clash with the design of the kitchen. Since it’s uncommon, the kitchen wasn’t designed to accommodate.
What would the energy consumption in Kwh be in a house like your parents - and what's the cost of electricity in the US?
What is the difference in cost regarding the heating system in the us and in your danish home - if those are even comparable due to the difference in yearly temperature?
what is the communication like thing beside the switch in the bedroom?
About the only thing I wish Denmark had are the windows that slide up and down and the screens and storm doors.
Is this in New England or down the East Coast?
Great video. I want a freezer like that :P
Please show us the garden layouts. It appears that all american houses are situated behind a front yard that consists only of grass and a pathway to the door..!? Often with no hedge or fence or flowers or anything. But what is in the back yard..? A mystery never shown in movies and TV... ;) ... Do you have high fences and hedges like in Denmark, or are they much like the front yards..?
There are 50 states, and many different areas. So, it really depends on where one lives. I have a lot of trees, with tall, medium, and small shrubs, and lots of ground cover, flower pots and flowers.
Try and search mowing yards and I'm sure you'll get to see a bunch of backyards
If you start importing those storm doors to DK, I can assure you I will be a customer, I really like the idea of having a storm door.
Just looks annoying. Opening two doors everytime you are going out. Or allways having a door opent…
Good video, Josh
Door handles in Denmark/Europe are fashioned (by law) so that disability dogs can open them.
Round door handles make this very difficult 🐾🐾
and they are not as unlockable, as you might think (as a kid, I used my mom's bobby pins to unlock the push button in the middle and annoy my brother in the bath) 🤣
All the air ducts, probably 'a thing' that Danes won't really embrace as a whole.
We prefer fresh air, even with the bugs 🦟🐝🪰 (but you can put screens up on danish houses, if you want)
Looks like your parents live in a house, designed after a European model, sprinkled with US commodities.
It is far from the usual US aluminium, one floor/basement walk-in-to-the-living-room homes.
Much more home-y, more hyggelig. 😉
hello from Hundested 🌸
Another nice video mr. Young. Once you've owned a fridge with water and ice, you never go back. Energy E or not.
You forgot to mention the wash and dryer. US are all top-loaders, and Danish once are side loaders. All the best.
I guess your parents house is in a warm place? In Scandinavia you need a place to hang up your outdoor clothes and shoes (apart from a closet) as the streets are more often then not messy/wet/snowy/gritty etc. Ice in drinks is not so common at all. Flip windows are common unless in an older house.
I have heard that the fireplace in many American home are only decorative. What I mean is that the chimney is blocked off and it cant be used. Is this true?
I think what may have happened is that most have converted their wood burning fireplace to gas. In that case, you indeed close off the chimney because it's no longer needed. The fireplace is still used though.
We do not have locks on the inner doors besides to toilet door. There is a decorative key home but it is not used.
Why would I need to lock my inner doors ?
The thermostat @8:01 to control the temperature. Is that a central one that controls the entire house / all of the rooms, or are there one in every room?
Whole house. Some houses have more than 1 and divide up in zones. But in this case it is the whole house. You can modify how much air comes in and out of each vent though.
Very often only the cheapest American homes have you walking directly into the home. Kinda like a mobile home, right?
What about those garbage disposer blenders in the sink, that you see in movies? In Denmark we typicaly have a bucket for greens and fruit leftovers to use for compost, and now we hage to sort our trash in 10 categories.
Good one! I should have shown the garbage disposal. Next time I’m there :).
So - if you can tilt the lower window to polish the glass on the outside - even on the top floors - HOW do you polish the upper window??? :O
You can do the same with the upper one. It can slide down and tilt as well.
What was that thing on the wall next to the light switch in the bedroom? Is it some kind of intercom?
Ha yeah. The homes in this neighborhood were top of the line when originally built and many of them had the option of having an intercom system added.
@@TravelinYoung I see. I guess it is kind of futuristic and you could use it to rouse sleepy teenagers. Just out of curiosity, can you use it to listen in on another room? I have never seen it in Danish homes with the exemption of door telephones.
I do miss some air-conditioning. Buildings in Denmark are so well insulated that it's kinda a problem in the summer.
Insulated works both ways.. keeps it cooler too
@@vikinnorway6725 The thing here is that there a lot of concrete, keeps the heat. Works like a radiator, so when the sun goes down, it stays hot inside.
Once lived in a small apartment for 2 years, brand new. In the summer the only thing that could get the temp below 30c, was an air-conditioner.
@@idiocracy9530 Concrete and masonry construction materials have high thermal mass. This helps them to passively regulate a building's temperature by absorbing, storing and releasing heat slowly. The result is buildings with more stable temperatures that stay cooler in summer and warmer in winter.
@@vikinnorway6725 Well, then i don't know why.
But regardless, air-conditioner fixed it.
@@idiocracy9530 well if you let in the heat it wont go out as fast😅
those fridges with ice cubes on-demand are an absolute godsend, and i will never understand how/why they arent a staple everywhere. so much lost potential.
Nice hair 👌
As a Dane ... the extra door makes you feel welcome?? Yeah, we like people in our house ... but we have to screen YOU!
If you prefer an American fridge it is possible to buy one in Denmark.
The door lock is smart. Wish we had it. Have lost the Keys too often😉
I see lot of positives on both US and Danish houses. Some differences due to the different climate and building standards.
I Noticed how thin the walls was.
Having a hot/cold air system around the house seems better than the older waterbased radiator systems we have in Denmark (which can only heat). When you just transport air around you don't have the risk of pipes leaking water out some random place under the floor which you probably won't notice until the construction has been damaged (I know several people that has experienced this). Newer danish houses do use similar air systems combined with heated floors. The heated floor can be either electric or waterbased. The waterbased are made from plastic tubes which holds for much longer than the radiatorbased iron pipes in older houses (which starts to leak in those 50+ years old houses).
The insect-blocking windows also seems cool. As mentioned in the video danish houses usually just have doors/windows you open. No built-in insect net. Newer houses with the air system don't really have to open windows at all. As the houses are very well insulated the air system can easily control the inside temperature no matter the weather outside. I don't know if american houses are well insulated or if opening windows can be necessary.
Also the air system makes sure new fresh air comes into the house which is much better for the indoor climate. I have to go around and open windows in my house every day (no matter the weather outside) to get new fresh air. I could install various systems to automate it, but it's rather expensive and I'm not sure about the effect of anything but a full blown air climate system.
I had a hot/cold air system when I was living in a 64m2 rental in Sweden (back in 2007-2009). I had vents in the ceiling. It was very inefficient and VERY expensive. I had to install fans in the ceiling to get the hot air down. The difference in temperatures (ceiling vs floor) was around 15 degrees without the fans on . I paid around 1500-2000 EVERY month in the winter. It was ridicules.
How is two doors more welcoming than one - as a born Dane that has also lived in the US I find the American doors extremely unwelcoming
Hi Josh, Europeans in general do not consume ice cubes in quantities American does, it's a culture thing but not just eating habits, from the 70s low energy home appliances became standard, after oil crises in 1973 followed, (it hit Denmark bad at the time), so governmental action was taken to cut down on high consumption of oil, like electric home appliances from lighting, the 40W light bulb became standard, and the more efficient freezer and frizz as mentioned, but also on oil heaters to be more energy efficient! So 5 mins hot showers were recommended and "car free Sundays" in 1973!, before the mid 70s bathtubs were standard in Danish family homes, but post mid 70 showers only became the new standard to save imported oil at first, it became official policy to be more self-sufficient with North Sea oil.-in the end money. But in general, eating ice cubes in large quantities is not normal in Europe, and not recommend for dehydration since your body consume fluid to convert the cold ice to fluid and there can be a build up of bad bacteria in the ice cubes, -I know, it comes from not cleaning the ice maker. But high energy consumption makes it expensive to have a "Amerikaner Køleskab" in Denmark. I am a Dane living in the USA and I never use the buildin Ice maker at the frizz here, don't need it, don't like it.
Task... for the nesx year, youll take a pic in your livingroom, same time, same place every day ..
Would be fun to see the difference between summer and winter, regardering the sun light.
Lets say at 4 o'clock in tbe afternoon. (4 PM)...
Or 6PM ... at suppertime.... every day....
Are you up for it?
You probably also prefer the US tap water? 😉 What about the quality and design of the houses and the American vs Danish furniture design?
🎉🎉🎉
you do know you can just buy a freezer that has a ice cube machine in it? plenty of people have them in denmark.. its just not that commen, due to the space they take up :)
Well you can get screens for windows aswell in Denmark, just have to buy them yourself sadly. And clearly you open the screen to open then window, and htne close the screen. I bought that myself a few times. I really wish it was installed automaticly. So many flies to anoy you in the summer haha.
And most windows where i lived i was also able to turn window for easy wash while staying inside, rest i could do from outside it was houses. But i know some of my family windows has windows that doesn, and they live on 4th level so quite high up. No way to clean it from outside, which i find wierd.
Never hade floors needing treatment like you describe, i lived 8 places to far. Always been hardwood floor with finish on, that i maybe washed every 6 month. One house hade concret floor in a single room. where we hade washing machine and dryer
I wouldn't want to change any of the differences. That would be really boring ❤😊
Danes have watched too much Friends, Frasier and Seinfeld and too little Desperate House Wifes 😂
Toilets flushing 12 liters water every time. In DK we use 4 or 2 liters.
The current federal standard is about 6 liters. While it is more than in DK, it isn't anywhere near 12.
You didn’t’ mention that the front door in Denmark, as in the rest of Scandinavia, opens outwards.
Hm, ours have always opened inwards in DK.
@@TravelinYoung ok. I admit I have less experience of Denmark than the rest of the Nordic countries!
That is more of a Swedish thing because of the snow, I guess. In Denmark the front door usually opens inwards.
You can get the "Amerikaner Køleskab" in Denmark. Have had those for the last 17 years. And they are named "Amerikaner Køleskab". Just be prepared, they are not as economic as normal ones, when it comes to power consumtion and will have a poor power rating.
Up until recently forced air heating has been too inefficient for Danish households, which is why you mainly see either water circulating in-floor heating and/or radiator panels. Older houses would get warm, but never really hot, from the sun, which is a newer problem created with large floor to ceiling glass panels and doors along with very thorough and massive insulation. A lot of houses from around 2000 and 10s will tend to overheat in the summer, thus creating a market for AC in what basically is a design flaw. Another factor in the tendency towards a waterbased heat source in DK is the power generation plants. They cannot just let out their warm cooling water into the waterways, as it will disturb the natural balance and increase algae growth and deplete the waters from oxygen. Hence they figured, why not 2 birds with one stone? Closed loop cooling system, where the consumers also gets to buy their heat, and not only the electricity from the power plant. Incidentally, this is why heating in Aalborg is some of the cheapest in the country, since Aalborg Portland generates massive amounts of surplus heat from cement production.
Not that it is in your home, but it is fairly common to step straight into the living room in the US. That is something only very rarely seen in DK, mainly because the entry would be a weather barrier, not only to shed your outerwear, but traditionally because of lack of sufficient weatherstripping in the doors, to keep them tight. This is of course an issue that has largely been overcome, but not many are willing to give up some sort of entry anyway.
Largely all modern American homes are platform framed, meaning the walls are stood up on a platform, if you want another level in the house, another platform is framed on top of the walls and so on. Up until the 90s it was very common in DK for the ground level floors to be detatched from the walls, then the slab on grade took over, wooden floors or not. This is why so many newer houses have those horrible click floating floors, that just go clack clack clack when you walk on them. Traditionally those wooden floors wood have been on joists and nailed in stead. In the US they're typically nailed to the subfloor. Wood house construction has greatly evolved, especially in terms of speed, in the US, very much contrary to DK, where wood house construction has been basically dead, for anything but vacation homes.
American houses are made of matches that last a maximum of 50 years, in Denmark houses are built of bricks and last over 100 years
The US isn’t as old as Europe is, but I can assure you the US does have many houses over 100 years old. I am an avid lover of old and antique houses, furniture, and things.
I love some of your solutions! I cannot understand your drapes.. it's disgusting's that the drapes lay on the floor,- it collect dust and dirt.. you must be washing them every 14 days..
One thing you forgot to mention is most danish homes are made with bricks, where a lot of the homes in US is made with wood and plaster wall
I didn’t forget, that house I was in is a brick house. A lot more brick houses in the US than people realize.
I think that Denmark has a better electric systems almost everywhere it is in the earth and not up in the Air like US, I think we can learn a lot off each other i love my ice cubes and cold water to , but I make the my self , we need to think off the envirement , I do wish we had Air con here in the summer , becurse off global warming it is so hot here 2 month each summer , I wish that I could live in a house , here in Denmark a lot off people live in apartments , I think there is good things both in US and DK homes tfs 😊
I have have to agree, with former comment of @jettenielsen4951. Aircondition might be affordable, in private US-homes. In Danmark, its really not cheap, to buy, install or run. Even if you try to be eco-friendly, our government, taxes our asses of.
The one thing, that I find funny, in the US, is those stand-uppy-washingmachines. With such a small footprint, it has to heavy as FUCK, if it takes more than 3-4 kilos of wet clothes.
But that automatic valve, that controls the flow, was probably made, or at least designed by danish Danfos... so a little danish tech, that does a really good job. Oh, yeah, and the outlets in the bathroom - we have those as well. Might be an LK, og the back of it.