(Untitled)

[david_anderson]

It was so nice to get out in the garden and play in the dirt today. I got one bed cleaned out, and planted the shallots, the put in the tulips (way too late) in the bed at the back of the house. I have some irises to plant tomorrow and that's about it. Then I'm going to start working on the new raised beds

Comments

Re: fan motors

[david_anderson]

It may be "Just a thought" but it's a good one. I got the rundown on the advances in blowers at school. Who would have thought? There isn't much you can do to electric motors to make them more efficient, but they've done a lot of work on the variable frequency controllers, blade design and air path.

Replacing the blower by itself wouldn't make a lot of sense, since the furnace is 34 years old now. It will be cheaper in the long run to wait till we replace the furnace. A new hybrid heat-pump/furnace as well as replacing the ducting is the fourth big energy saving expense on the list. Improved insulation is first, windows are second, then a tankless water heater and finally a new furnace.

During my class on the physics/energy infrastructure, I was shocked to find out how much energy others were using in their homes and apartments. With a building envelope of around 2000 s.f. (house and garage) built to mid 70s energy standards, our energy use was in the same range as those in apartments. That savings is from doing just the cheap/easy stuff.

If I had a whole house fan, I would probably still use it after the hottest days, just to cool down the attic. Getting rid of that heat load will add years to your roof.

Re: fan motors

[ladyapple27]

I'm planning to build a small energy efficient house, and I wish I'd taken a class on energy infrastructure! Where can I find reliable info?

Re: fan motors

[david_anderson]

There really aren't any great single sources, so it all depends on what you are looking for. Mother Earth News covers a lot of the topics, but not very deeply. Home Power Magazine tends to be heavy on energy generation, but they also care about saving energy, because saving a watt is a lot cheaper than generating a watt.

There are a lot of good books about energy saving construction methods and design, including "alternative" options like straw bale, cob, cordwood or earthship, or even going with energy efficient traditional stick-built. A lot of it depends on what sort of weather conditions are at your building site. Give me some idea, and I can hopefully point you in the right direction.

Re: fan motors

[ladyapple27]

I've never heard of Home Power Magazine, but I plan to check it out. I live in zone 7 in the Northwest foothills of North Carolina. We have 4 seasons. Typically, the summers are hot and humid. It can get cold in the winter, but the past few winters have been fairly mild. The way my lot is laid out, one wall will face directly South, another directly North, etc. To save energy, which direction is best for windows? I am building a small log cabin- we're cutting the logs and everything! My cousin builds cabins for a living and has shown me some modern techniques for insulating log structures. I'm planning to use things like a tankless water heater. Thank you for taking the time to reply to my questions.