[fire_i]

Well unless your heating system is out of the stone age it will keep a bare minimum of heat in the house even if you turn it off (these things have a detector after all), but yeah I guess that if you do have an old system putting it at 15 will do the trick.

I snickered at the incandescent lights comment BTW.

[Yogi]

ziggy wrote:

Any good tips?
Plans for homebuilt wind turbines from old alternators?

The Edmonton Sun ran a series of articles a few years ago about alternator-turbines. In fact I started working on one and still have it but have lost the plans. If I find them again I will post them.

To cut down on the electricity I am replacing ALL the windows with larger, energy efficient ones. Every room also has a 'nite light' (7 watt bulbs) and in the evening these are all I use unless I am going to be in that room and require more light. And then I have enery-efficient bulbs.
ALL walls are being opened right up, re-insulated and vapour-barriered before re-drywalling.
The plumbing is being re-worked so that the waste-water from the sinks and tub drain into the sump-pump and then into holding tanks to be filtred and reused for watering the lawn, and garden as well as washing the vehicles.

Air conditining won't be installed as I have a few very large trees on the south&west that keep the afternoon heat out. Along with the upgraded insulation and low-speed ceiling fans I stay quite comfortable even on the hottest days.

[fire_i]

Your house will rock dude.

[Yogi]

fire_i wrote:

Your house will rock dude.

I've done a lot to 'this old house' but there is a lot more to do before it is done!

My home was ordered circa 1905 from the Eaton's catalogue. According to the locals it's circa 1905 but I question that as I haven't been able to find the plans for it yet but have found a lot of 1920's magazines that were used as insulation in the attic.The house was originally built by Ab. Senator Wesely Stambaugh, 1949-1965, and more recently was the childhood home of Samantha King. http://www.samantha-king.com/

I also installed a hi efficiency furnace and a 40 gal Stator turbo h.w. heater. that will be replaced yet by demand heater.I have stripped the walls out of the second floor and that will all become tv/computer/dayroom with balcony above the new veranda where I can sit with a coffee and paper in the shade of the big trees.What is now the livingroom on the main floor will become the master bedroom. The bathroom will accomodate the 5 foot corner jacuzzi tub which at present is out in the shed. Except for the laundry/entry and main bath, the rest of the floors are being done in a complete mix of oak,maple,cherry,walnut,hickory,birch,light, medium and dark colors. I'm thinking of either slate or natural river-rock from the Athabasca River for the bath/entry floors. The only work that I am 'farming out' is the digging out of the basement and the new ptw foundation and the roof, evestrough, soffit,facia.
Older houses out in the country can still be had for very reasonable prices and when you add in the cost of all the renos it's still a bargain!

[Dayseed]

sasquatch2 wrote:

Yes too much packaging....I reuse every thing from bread wrappers to margarine tubs. It is my position that clothes dryer wear clothes out prematurely---where did you think the lint comes from. I heat with wood....the clothes line in the living room beside the stove can swiftly dry anything....I do all cooking on the wood stove during heating season including heating water.

I know it's the simple life but I am confortable...
My woods stove seems to be magnet on a cold day---people and dogs.

Dude, there's saving the environment and then there's rationalizing being poor.

[Mustang1]

Dayseed wrote:

sasquatch2 wrote:

Yes too much packaging....I reuse every thing from bread wrappers to margarine tubs. It is my position that clothes dryer wear clothes out prematurely---where did you think the lint comes from. I heat with wood....the clothes line in the living room beside the stove can swiftly dry anything....I do all cooking on the wood stove during heating season including heating water.

I know it's the simple life but I am confortable...
My woods stove seems to be magnet on a cold day---people and dogs.

Dude, there's saving the environment and then there's rationalizing being poor.

[PluggyRug]

ziggy wrote:

Any good tips?
Plans for homebuilt wind turbines from old alternators?

Was experimenting with an alternator wind generator for a couple of years.

Most difficult was manufacturing the airfoils (blades) I copied the blade profile from a 15"x4" model aircraft propeller and expanded it to 60"x4". Made the blades out of sheet aluminum.

It would keep four 12v truck batteries charged (for my small anodising plant).

One day a high wind tore it and part of the garage roof off.

Will probably investigate further as to generating 415v three phase.

Some interesting info Here

[Katz]

Wow, you folks take so much for granted!

There's nothing wrong with this. To each his own.

I can sit in a grand house and feel very uncomfortable. I can sit in a normal house and feel welcome. But when I sit in a house that many wouldn't darken the doorway, I find myself home!

It's about the people folks and not what's on display that counts.

[Knoss]

Quote:

My woods stove seems to be magnet on a cold day---people and dogs.

Wood stoves are hardly effecient. The kitchen is 40 degrees and the living room 10.

[ziggy]

Knoss wrote:

Quote:

My woods stove seems to be magnet on a cold day---people and dogs.

Wood stoves are hardly effecient. The kitchen is 40 degrees and the living room 10.

Mines in the basement and I also have a 1 square meter hole cut in my living room floor with a screen on it for the heat to get up to the upper level.
I can heat my whole house with this airtight (allmost 3000 sq. feet)and a roof fan set to blow up will drive the warm air down the walls and warm the house even more(learned that up north) but it's a lot of work cutting wood. I kinda enjoy going out for a load of wood and sitting arond later splitting and stacking it.Sometimes you take something to cook and have a fire and make a day out of it. Then it's not work.

Fuck direct energy.

[sasquatch2]

Knoss

Quote:

Sasquatch2

Quote:

My woods stove seems to be magnet on a cold day---people and dogs.

Wood stoves are hardly effecient. The kitchen is 40 degrees and the living room 10.

Sound like the stove is efficient but you are not succeeding in distributing the heat well.
My heat goes upstairs via the stairs and the cold air returns backwards up the cold air register. My upstairs bedroom is cooler but that is my preference. When guests(people or dogs) arrive in the winter the room with the stove is the warmest but the most popular---once they are warmed up--we retreat to the kitchen 18C.
That's the way it used to be before somebody got the notion the entire house should be the same.

[dino_bobba_renno]

I shutter to think what would happen if everyone in Alberta had a wood burning stove. Alberta would look like southern Saskatchewan in no time at all.