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Badger
Skeptic Friend
Canada
257 Posts |
 Posted - 02/26/2002 : 09:30:53 [Permalink]
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I was looking into solar as well, but like you found out, solar panels are pretty expensive.
There are some sites that offer plans for home built wind turbines, but I don't know if they'd be allowed in your neighbourhood if you are building in a city.
One aspect that is fairly cheap is going for in floor heating. The initial outlay, again, is greater than a furnace, but you can keep your thermostat 3-4 degrees cooler, because there is less energy loss in the process, and heat is where you need it, rather than relying on air turbulence.
You could also hitch up a solar water heating array (basically, a garden hose, a black box, a roof)to your water heating system.
I'm waiting for the next generation home microturbines for decent in home power generation.
I'm stumblin through the parking lot of an invisible 7-eleven. ZZ-Top |
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Snake
SFN Addict
USA
2511 Posts |
Posted - 02/26/2002 : 12:51:26 [Permalink]
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quote:
Just a note here, I've looked into this before. I found that wind generated electricity was more cost effective then solar. It doesn't matter to a great degree as to the ammount of wind in the area as it does to accomodate what you can get.
Thanks, I'll chk into it. And Badger, yes it's in the city and they have a committee who approves plans or not, so one has to be careful what is submitted. Maybe they won't notice one little windmill on top of the roof!
I'm not so much concerned about heating, will have fireplaces. Have been told that now days they can be made to actually heat a room and not just look pretty. All I care about is running a kiln(high fire, 2000 degrees for 24 hrs.). If I can get enough solar, wind or any other economical source of power that would be great.
*
Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.
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Lisa
SFN Regular
USA
1223 Posts |
Posted - 02/26/2002 : 12:56:21 [Permalink]
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Snake, have you considered a wood burning stove instead of a fireplace? I know they're not as pretty, but the stove we have heats this place quite nicely. And during power outages, you'll still be able to cook.
Lisa
If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room. |
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VVolfe347
New Member
Canada
22 Posts |
Posted - 02/26/2002 : 20:26:31 [Permalink]
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[qoute]
Maybe they won't notice one little windmill on top of the roof!
[/quote]
I've seen a wind generator that is not a windmill.... I looked on the net but couldn't find a pic of it, so I'll attempt to describe it for you.
It looks like a disc, that is approxatematly a foot thick and 12 feet in diameter. It is hollowed out with slits that catch the wind.
( I think the slits are curved but couldn't tell ) The whole thing routates around the centre axis of the disc, it was on a flat roof and was only noticed by me because I was on the next building over. I am sure that some modification could be done , or even nothing, so that it could be side mounted or even at angle at the back of a house. Not sure how efficant it is.
Dan Foscarini
"The Blind don't lead the blind, People walk around with thier eyes closed" |
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Snake
SFN Addict
USA
2511 Posts |
Posted - 02/27/2002 : 01:58:32 [Permalink]
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quote:
Snake, have you considered a wood burning stove instead of a fireplace? I know they're not as pretty, but the stove we have heats this place quite nicely. And during power outages, you'll still be able to cook.
Lisa
I didn't want to get too wordy but yes Lisa, that's exactly what I had in mind also.
The guy who is supposed to be putting my desgin on paper had two in the house he just sold. He's one of the people who told me that you can actualy heat a room. He had one in the den and one in the dinning area off the kitchen. I don't know for sure how many I want. I will definatly have a real fire place in the den, although nothing's written in stone. But I was thinking of having that stove thing in the dinning room which will be a separtate room from the kitchen. The one I saw was square and had a pipe up to the roof. It was set away from the wall but not so far out that it was in the way of the rest of the room.
My x-sister has a 'real' old fashiond stove, maybe more like the one you mean, Lisa. But it would leave a bad taste in my mouth to have something that looked like something SHE has.....the bitch. Even though it would be nice.
*
Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.
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Snake
SFN Addict
USA
2511 Posts |
Posted - 02/27/2002 : 02:05:34 [Permalink]
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quote:
It looks like a disc, that is approxatematly a foot thick and 12 feet in diameter. It is hollowed out with slits that catch the wind.
I don't know about the 12 feet size but I see these things on the top of roofs all the time. Commerical buildings mostly. They sort of look like silver mushrooms spining around. About 1 or 2 feet square in size. They too have curved slits, I guess that's what's catching the wind too. I thought they were electric fans. ???
Are we talking about the same thing?
*
Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.
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PhDreamer
SFN Regular
USA
925 Posts |
Posted - 02/27/2002 : 06:45:26 [Permalink]
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quote:
quote:
It looks like a disc, that is approxatematly a foot thick and 12 feet in diameter. It is hollowed out with slits that catch the wind.
I don't know about the 12 feet size but I see these things on the top of roofs all the time. Commerical buildings mostly. They sort of look like silver mushrooms spining around. About 1 or 2 feet square in size. They too have curved slits, I guess that's what's catching the wind too. I thought they were electric fans. ???
Are we talking about the same thing?
I think you are talking about exhaust fans, Snake. All restaurants have them, as part of the ducting system that removes grease-laden air from the cooking area.
Laws of Thermodynamics:
1. You cannot win.
2. You cannot break even.
3. You cannot stop playing the game. |
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Snake
SFN Addict
USA
2511 Posts |
Posted - 02/27/2002 : 12:00:49 [Permalink]
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quote:
I think you are talking about exhaust fans, Snake. All restaurants have them, as part of the ducting system that removes grease-laden air from the cooking area.
Ah! Ok, thanks. That shows you how much I know about building. And I wanted to be an Architect!
*
Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.
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Badger
Skeptic Friend
Canada
257 Posts |
Posted - 02/28/2002 : 21:04:25 [Permalink]
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Snake, if you want, I can tell you a couple of things to consider, when exploring ideas about energy efficient homes (with regard to heating/cooling)if you want to e-mail me off board.
I'm stumblin through the parking lot of an invisible 7-eleven. ZZ-Top |
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Snake
SFN Addict
USA
2511 Posts |
Posted - 03/01/2002 : 01:11:47 [Permalink]
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[quote]
Snake, if you want, I can tell you a couple of things to consider, when exploring ideas about energy efficient homes (with regard to heating/cooling)if you want to e-mail me off board.
[/quote]
Thank you, that's very kind of you.
I will. In case for some reason you don't hear from me, my address is SnkEys@aol.com
if you want to send some info.
*
Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.
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Badger
Skeptic Friend
Canada
257 Posts |
Posted - 03/16/2002 : 08:14:16 [Permalink]
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I went by AFS/H2Fuels the other day, and picked up some info. VVolfe347, they're not the company that you're referring to.
They specialize in fleet conversions from diesel or gas to natural gas. Their main focus is on computer controlled ignitions and fuel to make the conversion feasable and efficient.
It seems to me that I remember every fuckin thing I know. (Tragically Hip) |
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VVolfe347
New Member
Canada
22 Posts |
Posted - 03/16/2002 : 12:40:38 [Permalink]
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Drat.Thanks for checking it out.
VVolfe
Dan Foscarini
"The Blind don't lead the blind, People walk around with thier eyes closed" |
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Badger
Skeptic Friend
Canada
257 Posts |
Posted - 03/23/2002 : 11:17:14 [Permalink]
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VVolfe347, you're welcome.
This isn't really on topic, but I found it interesting anyway. Check these guys out:
http://www.islandnet.com/~canev/
I'm just wondering where I can get a small enough (and cheap enough) turbine engine to run on normal fuels that would act as a generator for their electric setup instead of relying on batteries and recharging.
Now THAT would be a cool conversion!
It seems to me that I remember every fuckin thing I know. (Tragically Hip) |
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VVolfe347
New Member
Canada
22 Posts |
Posted - 03/23/2002 : 12:01:15 [Permalink]
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Badger:
Thanks for that link.... great timing, didn't even read past the first six words and book marked right away.
I'm in the process of moving to Toronto, where they have electric cars for sale etc... so I was just starting to look into the subject.
VVolfe
Dan Foscarini
"The Blind don't lead the blind, People walk around with thier eyes closed" |
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