Nuclear myths and truths

[Lazy Gardener]

Yeah, geothermal is crazy expensive. However, I bet... again with some power equipment, and some good old fashioned DIY stubborn "get it done" mentality, you COULD build a basic geothermal unit. Perhaps not enough to take care of the whole house. But, enough to cool a room in the summer. Our winter temps are so low that a heat pump is not recommended UNLESS you have a back up system in place to cover the many cold snaps.

 

[baymule]

I was watching a show on public television that was analyzing the old mansions of the south and how they were built for those hot summer days. The reason for hte large porches was to provide overhangs so the sun couldn't shine directly into the house and heat it up. The windows were large so they could open them up and get alot of air flow, and they had the windows on the roofs that could be opened to let the heat out.
But I bet they still had problems sleeping on those hot, steamy nights.

Our family ancestral home still stands outside of Franklin, Louisiana. It is 3 story, counting the walk-in spacious attic, 4 story if you count the 6 feet off the ground. The walls are 18" thick, made of brick, the inside walls are the same. There is a central hallway with front and back doors where there is always a breeze. The rooms off the central hallway, the doors and windows line up with each other and create a breeze. It was built in 1810. Under the house, it is walled up with brick, which extend all the way up through the house. There are square holes in the under the house walls with wooden registers to allow air flow. There is no musty smell, no mold, no rot. There are large spacious front porches, on the first (not ground level) and second story that are covered by the roof. Yep, somebody sure knew what they were doing.

 

[Hinotori]

Different types of solar planels work better for different climates.

Even up here where it's cloudy 9 months of the year, solar does fine.

Putting solar on roofs is good. Not like they are being used for anything else.

Solar plants down in the desert have a nasty habit of setting themselves on fire. Has to do with the type of solar. Focusing all that heat on one spot. Acres upon acres of land that is dangerous to wildlife.

Most of our power here is hydroelectric. That has it's own bad side effects on the environment and fish populations.

 

[Hinotori]

A nice passive house for your climate is a the way to go. I'd love one here. We don't use that much power so it would be great.

Even with the well and using a space heater there and in the bathroom our winter electric bill is around $65.

As the light bulbs have changed over the years, we have changed with them. I remember the late 90s and waiting impatiently for the LED bulbs they were working on to become efficient.

I only had incandescent bulbs in this last decade for use in brooders. I'd change them to lower wattage as chicks grew. I use a brooder plate now. Don't even notice that on the electric bill. Seems to be better for the chicks as well.

I gave Mom all my old bulbs I had stored because she has a few spots she still likes the incandescent.

 

[Marianne]

We went back to incandescent some time ago. The manufacturing pollution generated out of the country from the twisty bulbs is insane.
We didn't know they had a heat pump with propane back up when we bought our unit...if they did at all back then. The first year we used electric heat. Egads, $425 or more a month and we were chilly. Then we understood why everyone in this area primarily heats with wood. We bought a wood burning stove for the next year, then a wood burning furnace a year or two after that. Between the two wood burners we use about 5-1/2 to 6 cords. The last two years we bought all our firewood, still a lot less $$ than conventional heating. When we were cutting a lot of it, it was like heating your house for the price of running a couple of fans. Plus I do some cooking on the wood burner and throw sweet potatoes and regular potatoes in the coals. Yum.
Back when we had dogs, I learned that frying bacon on the wood burner wasn't a good thing to do. They stood guard while grease was splattering. Oops.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

We can heat our house with 3.5 cords of wood. We buy cut and split, then have to split it again b/c the fire box of our stove is so small. We also have an oil forced hot air furnace, and put a pellet stove in the basement for those long spells of below 0*F when we don't want to burn oil.

 

[Hinotori]

We use wood heat. It takes us 2 cords or less for a season of fir and cedar. It's a small house and is well insulated. Plus we keep is somewhere around 60° on average. We like it cool.

The wood comes from a landscaping company. It's a byproduct for them so the price isn't bad.

I use pieces that are 3-8 inches across. Found that works best in our firebox. Lets me load exactly how much I want. Then I just usually need to light it once a day.

Ive been cutting and tying the smaller tree branches when I've been pruning. Those work really well when first starting the fire.

 

[wyoDreamer]

I have my dream house all planned out, but it needs a specific layout to the lot - namely a hill with a southern exposure. It would be a 2-story in-ground, concrete house with 2 greenhouses at the front (one at each side of the front door) and a passive solar heat-sink wall. The wood-stove would sit near the back wall, with the stairway to the second floor running behind/around it. Open library area for the hallway, 2 bedrooms - each with a small balcony that covers part of the greenhouse below.

Nuclear power isn't such a horrible thing, if it is done correctly. I think the US has a law against re-cycling the waste to prevent the creation of weapons grade nuclear material - not positive about that, but that is what my memory is telling me.

 

[CrealCritter]

Google is down right creepy...

Yesterday, while sitting on the front porch, two of my son-in-laws and I had a really good conversation about solar energy. Today nothing but solar ads, of course my cell phone was sitting on the table for google to creep on me the whole time.

 

[moxies_chickennuggets]

I love history, architecture and culture. We can learn alot from the past.

I lived down in Gulfport MS, 6 blocks from the ocean. In a singlewide mobile home with NO a/c. It got HOT too. I was there with my young children, living on base, so we were limited with what we could even do.

I ended up pushing the evening meal to 9 PM in those hot summer months. I would fill up a kiddie pool on the concrete pad outside the front door, and let the kids splash and play till they cooled off. Then, I would fix something cool and edible for a meal.

Needles to say, when I had the 3rd baby the next spring, I found a used central ac unit to install.