Comments on: The Windmill Project http://mschindler.com/2005/03/12/the-windmill-project/ design, art, life, culture, and me, me, me Mon, 06 Dec 2010 18:02:52 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: mschindler http://mschindler.com/2005/03/12/the-windmill-project/comment-page-1/#comment-184 mschindler Tue, 15 Mar 2005 18:31:49 +0000 http://mschindler.com/2005/03/12/the-windmill-project/#comment-184 But only a nut pays an electric bill. ;-) But only a nut pays an electric bill. ;-)

]]> By: vanRijn http://mschindler.com/2005/03/12/the-windmill-project/comment-page-1/#comment-183 vanRijn Tue, 15 Mar 2005 18:19:32 +0000 http://mschindler.com/2005/03/12/the-windmill-project/#comment-183 I've got a comment. You are a nut. I’ve got a comment.

You are a nut.

]]> By: Jonathan http://mschindler.com/2005/03/12/the-windmill-project/comment-page-1/#comment-182 Jonathan Tue, 15 Mar 2005 16:59:26 +0000 http://mschindler.com/2005/03/12/the-windmill-project/#comment-182 There have also been a few articles in the paper about these kinds of homes. One was just a month or two ago. It seems that radiant heating seems to be a big thing in this area. The designs of these houses have large south-facing windows with tile floors which absorb the solar heat throughout the day and slowly release that heat back into the room throughout several hours at night. Combine this with an in-floor pipe system with heated liquid and you can substantially lower your heating costs. That liquid can be heated via solar or outside woodstove. Living completely off the grid can be very difficult, but implimenting technology to help reduce costs is very do-able. I'll see if I can dig up more links and send them to you. More people should be doing things like this. There have also been a few articles in the paper about these kinds of homes. One was just a month or two ago. It seems that radiant heating seems to be a big thing in this area. The designs of these houses have large south-facing windows with tile floors which absorb the solar heat throughout the day and slowly release that heat back into the room throughout several hours at night. Combine this with an in-floor pipe system with heated liquid and you can substantially lower your heating costs. That liquid can be heated via solar or outside woodstove.

Living completely off the grid can be very difficult, but implimenting technology to help reduce costs is very do-able. I’ll see if I can dig up more links and send them to you. More people should be doing things like this.

]]> By: mschindler http://mschindler.com/2005/03/12/the-windmill-project/comment-page-1/#comment-181 mschindler Tue, 15 Mar 2005 04:01:23 +0000 http://mschindler.com/2005/03/12/the-windmill-project/#comment-181 Awesome. Yeah, I would consider solar power too, but the wind seems to be beckoning me to take it on in an obvious way. That's the whole point, though, achieving energy independence. Though, it seems a degree in engineering might help a lot. :-) Awesome. Yeah, I would consider solar power too, but the wind seems to be beckoning me to take it on in an obvious way. That’s the whole point, though, achieving energy independence. Though, it seems a degree in engineering might help a lot. :-)

]]> By: Ross M Karchner http://mschindler.com/2005/03/12/the-windmill-project/comment-page-1/#comment-180 Ross M Karchner Tue, 15 Mar 2005 03:40:32 +0000 http://mschindler.com/2005/03/12/the-windmill-project/#comment-180 This article is pretty inspiring: http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2004/12/03/grid.html This article is pretty inspiring:

http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2004/12/03/grid.html

]]> By: mschindler http://mschindler.com/2005/03/12/the-windmill-project/comment-page-1/#comment-179 mschindler Tue, 15 Mar 2005 03:26:00 +0000 http://mschindler.com/2005/03/12/the-windmill-project/#comment-179 No, that's fantastic info. If it's possible, can you send me any links you might have accumulated in your research? I've found some very sparse info, but there's gotta be more out there. I'm probably not using the right keywords or something. It sounds like a fair bit of research on my part is going to be in order. But that's okay. This is one home project I consider to be a little more important than the usual cosmetic overhaul and I'm looking to really do someting about it over the next couple of years, not weeks. Thanks! And if anybody else can contribute anything at all (even if you think it's small), I'd appreciate the info. No, that’s fantastic info. If it’s possible, can you send me any links you might have accumulated in your research? I’ve found some very sparse info, but there’s gotta be more out there. I’m probably not using the right keywords or something.

It sounds like a fair bit of research on my part is going to be in order. But that’s okay. This is one home project I consider to be a little more important than the usual cosmetic overhaul and I’m looking to really do someting about it over the next couple of years, not weeks.

Thanks! And if anybody else can contribute anything at all (even if you think it’s small), I’d appreciate the info.

]]> By: Jonathan http://mschindler.com/2005/03/12/the-windmill-project/comment-page-1/#comment-178 Jonathan Tue, 15 Mar 2005 02:47:06 +0000 http://mschindler.com/2005/03/12/the-windmill-project/#comment-178 Excellent idea! I've blogged about <a href="http://www.greencracker.com/archives/2004/12/passive_solar_l.html#trackbacks" rel="nofollow">Passive Solar Living</a> and <a href="http://www.greencracker.com/archives/2004/08/deep_lake_water.html#trackbacks" rel="nofollow">Deep Lake Water Cooling</a>. I also was considering building an earth-berm home. I cam across a pretty extensive site <a href="http://www.ourcoolhouse.com/" rel="nofollow">OurCoolHouse.com</a> which showcases how this homeowner went about building his home, positioning, heating, cooling, ect. Lots of info there. I was also reading up on wind power and saw that you can purchase different models of turbines for different wind environments. You'll want to do a good bit of research like finding out what the average windspeed is around your home and making sure there won't be any interference from trees. From what I read, you want at least one year of documentation to average this out. The power from the turbine actually flows onto the grid but through a meter, this way the electric company deducts what you generate from your bill (I believe they only pay you a small amount per KWH). My thought were to have some sort of switch hooked up so that if the power went off, the power the turbine generates would flow directly to my house keeping everything running. Hope this info helps you out a little. Excellent idea! I’ve blogged about Passive Solar Living and Deep Lake Water Cooling. I also was considering building an earth-berm home. I cam across a pretty extensive site OurCoolHouse.com which showcases how this homeowner went about building his home, positioning, heating, cooling, ect. Lots of info there.

I was also reading up on wind power and saw that you can purchase different models of turbines for different wind environments. You’ll want to do a good bit of research like finding out what the average windspeed is around your home and making sure there won’t be any interference from trees. From what I read, you want at least one year of documentation to average this out. The power from the turbine actually flows onto the grid but through a meter, this way the electric company deducts what you generate from your bill (I believe they only pay you a small amount per KWH). My thought were to have some sort of switch hooked up so that if the power went off, the power the turbine generates would flow directly to my house keeping everything running. Hope this info helps you out a little.

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