Ripcat wrote:
6000 sq. ft.??? How many kilowatts per day do you plan on using in this house and how will you generate this?
Between 8-10 KW consumption derived from a solar/wind combination. This is a low number and was achieved by creating a gravity feed septic system, solar well/water pumps and 2 cubic metre cistern, AC/DC power receptacles in all rooms in order to lessen strain on inverter, RV Washer, Gas Dryer & Stove (a balcony was placed next to upstairs washer to facilitate cloths drying by natural convection). The real genius of the system and what I am most proud of is the geothermal refrigerator of my own design that consumes about a sixth of the energy of a standard fridge and is another story all together.
Ripcat wrote:
How exactly will the heating system work?
It is comprised of two parts. Housed in my shop (I tore down the old Safeway on Wye rd in Sherwood Park and erected it on my acreage) there is a wood gasification unit (in layman’s terms, melts the wood and burns the gas with emissions similar to letting the wood decompose) that heats a 4 cubic metre tempering tank. This boiler is fired twice a day on average and will consume approximately 10-12 cord of wood. The second part is a series of Thermomax solar tubes that provide all the hot water and return additional heat to the tempering tank in winter and heat the indoor pool in summer. The hot water is circulated through cast iron radiators and infloor heating with a large central thermal mass heat tank being a major factor. The reason I am using cast iron radiators is that I became quite attached to the heat/air quality while living in Ontario/Quebec and never readjusted forced air. When I began house design in 1985 Environment Canada claimed that a three acre poplar wood lot properly managed would rotate every 15 years and provide all my wood. I have chosen 6 acres for a wood lot.
As a side note, I deliberately choose a piece of land that was unproductive in the sand hills north of Gibbons as to not affect agricultural activity and have begun reclaiming the land by transporting landfill destined commercial lawn waste for onsite composting. We hope to reclaim an additional two acres by 2009.
The commute vehicle is a 1980 VW Vanagon converted to electric and charged by a wind tower. When not charged transport is provided by a fleet of diesel trucks I own and of which the personal one is run on home brewed biodiesel.
Ripcat wrote:
I was reading in a recent issue of Popular Mechanics where a guy spent $34,000 US on solar and wind power. He uses about 3-4 kilowatts a day. He reckons that even if he used the average 30 kilowatts a day that most homeowners use it would take 25 years to get a return on this investment.
Not sure how he managed to spend that much with such little output. My camper is rigged for 2KW/day in the summer and that only cost me about $2500.00. I usually advise people that if they want to not change their lifestyle then expect to layout 30-40K. If you are willing to make a few lifestyle changes you can put in a system that will cost between 15-25K. For me, an additional $6500.00 would have been required if I brought in power as I built the house 800 ft back from the road.
The secret is in reduction of consumption so you can downsize your system. Toss the electric stove, dryer, space heater and air conditioner and opt for LP and evaporative coolers.
CKA Uber 
anyway will this pass under the rules of a historical house . I think it makes it all cheaper to keep ...look into it
