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permaculture - Re: [permaculture] Alternatives to electricity, LP gas and wood fuel for heating one's living space.

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  • From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <venaurafarm@bellsouth.net>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Alternatives to electricity, LP gas and wood fuel for heating one's living space.
  • Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 02:32:57 -0400

yarrow@sfo.com wrote:
For a superinsulated 300 sf space, do you need supplemental heat? On another list, a person in Oregon's Willamette Valley uses incandescent light bulbs as the only heat source in a small house. To maintain a temp around 60-64F, he uses 7 hanging lights (at eye level or lower) -- on a rheostat, to provide less heat in spring and fall -- and 2 table lamps. The light over the computer is changed to a CFL in summer.

Now I am encouraged to do exactly that.

I'd try solar with architectural direct gain (masonry where the sun shines on it), plus nighttime window insulation.

I have a masonry room, South facing with very tall, glazed South wall.

I had forgotten about nighttime window insulation. What are good materials to use for this, insulated curtains maybe. Options:
nontoxic rigid panels put in place each night (not a bad way to go)
or the foil backed flexible, folding insulation panels or rolls.

A couple dogs can help, too.

I just have two cats, one is going a little feral, the other dropped two successive loads of wolfbait on my bed, right in the middle, wet reeking pile and sticky sausages, a thoughtful gift, bansihed from the house forever.

I've read about some version of a homemade window-mounted heat pump somewhere -- basically some baffles that speed up the flow of warm air, which is vented to the room, and cooler room air enters at the bottom.

That is an option too. I have a roll of sheet copper 4' X 8' plus a number of 5' X 8' sheets of clear polycarbonate, perfect for glazing over a box containing the black-painted copper sheet, mounted with standoffs from the back for house cold air return flow with hot air moving over the face of the copper into the window; mount it outdoors against a windowsill, in the window opening. I will mount this in a masonry room (insulated masonry walls and insulated concrete floor) with lots of South glazing.

I found a window-mounted air conditioner/heat pump by Amana with a SEER rating of 10 for $430 - heat pump with resistance heat backup 4 amps
920 watts 8400 BTU heat. This might heat the whole place.
http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/AH093A35MA.html




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