Goat housing
Something I am considering and have considered in the past for the bus conversion is solar power for heating water. A practice run on the barn would be better and the opportunity presents itself well for a barn/storage area with a higher roof.
So far what I am reading in as far as ease of use/installing and self care is Passive solar water heating systems. They employ gravity with use but would need to be kept from freezing in the weater. Occasionally we do get snow up here so perhaps putting it inside the attic where heat rises anyway would also keep it from freezing while allowing the water to at least remain somewhat warm. I do not plan on milking in the winter so always having hot water isn't an issue. Two things I have not seen yet but that is probably because I have not looked long enough is how to make use of rainwater instead of city water for the solar heater and two would I need an solar water pump to push water on the roof to be heated? I have a 55 gallon food grade drum that could be converted to collect rain water for both cold/hot use. Such instructions are easy enough to find on the net. I also have a hand pump from my bus adventure that could make it useful inside the milking parlor. I just need something to push water into the heating tank of a passive solar system without having to do a bunch of wiring.
Already there are several products on the market for solar use to vent the attic, using lights, etc. A small solar lighting system could handle the surprises at night births of baby goats or "what's that sound in the goat pen" since goats sleep at night.
Here is a bit of info from the state of Missouri on passive solar water heating:
MID-TEMPERATURE SOLAR COLLECTOR (up to 1600 F)
Graphic depiction of the make-up of a solar collector.
Passive systems do not use a pump to circulate water from the collector to storage or other locations. They employ three means: gravity, the tendency of hot water to rise above cold water and water pressure.
Passive solar water heating systems can be categorized as either direct or indirect. A direct passive solar water heating system is the simplest. The crudest form of direct passive solar water heating is to paint a water storage tank black to absorb heat into the water. Such systems were employed in the past at summer campgrounds where facilities were mostly focused on use during warm and usually sunny periods of the year. These systems must be drained dry at the end of the season to avoid damage from freezing.
Care must be taken with such a system to avoid scalding injuries since the water in the tank can reach very high temperatures on sunny days. In addition, these systems can hold only as much water as the tank holds. That means that if everyone wants to take a shower at the same time at the end of the day, some folks may end up taking cold showers. Referred to as Integral Collector Storage systems, modern versions of these systems often enclose the storage tank(s) in an insulated box with one or more layers of glazing to let the sun in without letting the heat out as readily.
I like this! Hot water in Spring/Summer with warm water in the late Fall/Winter. As I said, there will be no milking in the winter but some warm water is nice to heat up the water in the automatic waterers. I just don't fancy the idea of dragging buckets of hot water in the summertime to washing the milking equipment.
So far what I am reading in as far as ease of use/installing and self care is Passive solar water heating systems. They employ gravity with use but would need to be kept from freezing in the weater. Occasionally we do get snow up here so perhaps putting it inside the attic where heat rises anyway would also keep it from freezing while allowing the water to at least remain somewhat warm. I do not plan on milking in the winter so always having hot water isn't an issue. Two things I have not seen yet but that is probably because I have not looked long enough is how to make use of rainwater instead of city water for the solar heater and two would I need an solar water pump to push water on the roof to be heated? I have a 55 gallon food grade drum that could be converted to collect rain water for both cold/hot use. Such instructions are easy enough to find on the net. I also have a hand pump from my bus adventure that could make it useful inside the milking parlor. I just need something to push water into the heating tank of a passive solar system without having to do a bunch of wiring.
Already there are several products on the market for solar use to vent the attic, using lights, etc. A small solar lighting system could handle the surprises at night births of baby goats or "what's that sound in the goat pen" since goats sleep at night.
Here is a bit of info from the state of Missouri on passive solar water heating:
MID-TEMPERATURE SOLAR COLLECTOR (up to 1600 F)
Graphic depiction of the make-up of a solar collector.
Passive systems do not use a pump to circulate water from the collector to storage or other locations. They employ three means: gravity, the tendency of hot water to rise above cold water and water pressure.
Passive solar water heating systems can be categorized as either direct or indirect. A direct passive solar water heating system is the simplest. The crudest form of direct passive solar water heating is to paint a water storage tank black to absorb heat into the water. Such systems were employed in the past at summer campgrounds where facilities were mostly focused on use during warm and usually sunny periods of the year. These systems must be drained dry at the end of the season to avoid damage from freezing.
Care must be taken with such a system to avoid scalding injuries since the water in the tank can reach very high temperatures on sunny days. In addition, these systems can hold only as much water as the tank holds. That means that if everyone wants to take a shower at the same time at the end of the day, some folks may end up taking cold showers. Referred to as Integral Collector Storage systems, modern versions of these systems often enclose the storage tank(s) in an insulated box with one or more layers of glazing to let the sun in without letting the heat out as readily.
I like this! Hot water in Spring/Summer with warm water in the late Fall/Winter. As I said, there will be no milking in the winter but some warm water is nice to heat up the water in the automatic waterers. I just don't fancy the idea of dragging buckets of hot water in the summertime to washing the milking equipment.