greenspree.ca at The Sietch

CBC News Compass did a story on our house last week.

http://www.cbc.ca/pei/media/video/pe-strawhouse.ram

We’re stars!

One of the things I hear a lot in my new position is that people want to build their new homes energy efficiently but think that they cannot afford to. Whenever I hear this I always say without hesitation “You can’t afford NOT to build you home energy efficiently!”. There are huge misconceptions out there about the costs, methods and effectiveness of building new homes efficiently. Most new home builders do not help the situation and will tell prospective customers that adding more insulation to their house, installing a geothermal or solar heating system or building to take advantage of passive solar gains will add an unreasonable amount of cost and time delay to the building process.

Fortunately there are free resources out there for anyone to dispel these myths. A free software package from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) can be downloaded called HOT2000 and it allows anyone to do energy modeling on their home and actually forecast what various changes will do to the energy consumption of there homes! It has a fairly shallow learning curve, with a windows interface, drop down menus and check boxes, and comes with a good help file and example files to build on.

Based on three common home plans (a 1600sf rancher, a 2400sf two story executive and a 1500sf split entry) I modelled what the difference was in energy consumption between standard construction (2×6 walls w/ fibreglass batts, blown-in attic insulation to 9″ and uninsulated basements) and minimal energy efficient upgrades (addition 1-1/2″ rigid foam to walls, 5 more inches of attic insulation and 2″ rigid foam to foundation walls and slabs) and found that in almost all cases the additional costs of the upgrades to the mortgage payment was offset by almost double in monthly energy savings! The bottom line was the cost of ownership (mortgage AND energy bills) was always lower with the energy efficient home over the standard construction home. It broke down like this:

2 Story executive style home:
$1355 in energy savings per year or $112 per month
$6983 added to mortgage or $45 per month

1 Story ranch style home:
$1327 in energy savings per year or $110 per month
$8110 added to mortgage or $52 per month

Split entry home:
$700 in energy savings per year or $58 per month
$6875 added to mortgage or $45 per month

*savings are using Hot2000 with PEI energy costs per April 1, 2008; mortgage costs are estimates.

This makes sense intuitively as split entries are fundamentally a more efficient style home and thus the savings, while still worth while, aren’t as great as the bigger less efficient plans. I also ran the numbers using a standard slab on grade (outside perimeter of slab only insulated) for the rancher and executive homes and going to a fully insulated slab on grade and the savings are still substantial. We are in the process of running numbers on the costs and savings of super insulated buildings and on alternative forms of building but the message seems to be consistant:

INSULATION IS ONE OF THE BEST METHOD OF SAVING ENERGY!!!

Related and perhaps more important is the correlation between home size and energy costs. For every cubic foot you reduce the size of your home you lower your mortgage AND reduce you energy costs!

These savings are all BEFORE you look at heating/cooling/ventilation equipment. It’s important to eliminate the waste before looking at efficiency of equipment.  If you can make your home as well insulated and tight as possible you may be able to go with a smaller capacity heating system which adds another level of energy savings to the mix before you even look at the efficiency rating!

If you are building a new home soon or are considering renovationg your existing home to make it more efficient, I hope you consider insulation home size as much or more than efficient appliances and equipment, it really is the right place to start.

I figure it’s time for a status update on the straw bale home. It’s been a slow 3 or 4 months since the snow started back in November, other than the interior walls, the plumbing and electrical rough-ins and a few small items we haven’t done much on the house.

A few weeks ago we had the main ventilation shaft and fan installed and will now be able to go ahead with insulating the attic! We ordered the wood for the second story ceiling and the danish oil finish for it. Two weeks ago we spent the long weekend cleaning my father-in-law’s shop and laying out and pre-finishing the wood for the ceiling. The danish oil was a labour intensive finish for 2400lnft of 1×5 t&g pine but it was fantastic to be able to use this non toxic finish without wearing masks. We also completed a last few niggling attic chores like vents for the bathroom fan, dryer and fresh air intakes.

We’ve also finished 85% of the cedar soffit which looks (and smells) great! As soon as the weather turns, which doesn’t appear to be happening anytime soon, we can get back to stuccoing inside and out. Actually, as soon as the attic gets insulated so we can control the temperature in the house we could start doing some stucco inside as well.

This past weekend we finished vapour barrier and started installing the the prefinished pine ceiling panelling. It looks great and is a breeze to install with my father-in-law’s compressor and air nailer. Still my shoulders are a little stiff from having my arms above my head for two full days. By this weekend we hope to have the ceiling paneled and ready for blown-in insulation.

Reducing your shower times by a mere 4 minutes, say from 15 to 11 minutes, will save a family of four heating with 11.5 cent KW/H electricity and using 2.5GPM shower heads $230 per year!  These savings will only grow as the cost of energy continues to rise!

How much (useful) energy can you derive from rain falling from your roof? How can you best capture wind energy with many small wind turbines? Are there other options for using solar energy besides PV’s and solar hot water heaters? What are some other small options anyone could use that have cumulative benefits and are easy and cheap to install?

It’s a thought I had the other day when considering energy production for our house in the future. While on the road for my job I passed by an off-grid (even though the grid was 100 feet away) 3000+sf home with solar hot water, solar PV panels and a 100′ tall 3 or 5 KW wind turbine. It was massive and made the property seem very out of place next to smallish 1400-1800sf bungalows all around it. I decided that one large scale device to provide all or nearly all of my energy needs was not a route I wanted to take. I started doing mental calculations and plans to incorporate many small unobtrusive energy production devices into our house and land. We have a hectare so we have some room to play with and it is a former farm field so can plan around future trees, wind rows, etc…

One thought I had was to scale down the wind/hydro concept being implemented in Cape Breton where they use wind power to raise water in elevation and use the stored kinetic energy in the water through a mill to even out the variances in wind intensity. Could we dig a couple of ponds and do the same thing?

And speaking of stored kinetic energy in water, how much usable energy could be derived from rain water falling onto the roof of our house? Enough to power a few small (efficient) light bulbs? What the investment be worth the energy saved?  On cloudy/rainy days you tend to turn on more lights, if it raining and that water powers two or three LED lights would the extra light be enough to stop you turning on you grid connected fixtures?  No expensive batteries or net metering equipment, just extra light when it’s raining.

Would multiple home made low wattage (250-500W) wind turbines placed on relatively small towers or the top of out buildings capture enough wind on our site to make them worthwhile?  And would this have to be net metered/batteried to be useful or could you use that power as it was being produced to offset some other power?  Could if for example power an seperate electric heater in the winter and maybe a/c or something in the summer?

What about reclaiming solar panels from things like broken garden lights? Most of the time these flimsy consumer items have perfectly fine PV’s when they are thrown out, it usually the lights/batteries/wiring that goes on them. Is this a feasible idea? I have two 4W solar panels from VW vehicles, the kind they ship with to keep the batteries alive, could a person get enough of these for free or nearly free to make a dent in there electricity?

I intend to do some experiments when our house is finished on what exactly is possible and feasible in ultra small scale energy production.  One of the things I have discovered in power generation is that the residential scaled wind and solar packages are just no cost effective on a life cycle comparison against utility power, but that large scale operation are turning a profit, PEI’s 18% wind powered electricity generation is a prime example.  So maybe a smaller, more varied approach needs to be looked at.

Recently I began a new career with the Provincial Government of PEI. I had been with the Fire Marshal’s Office as a building inspector and quite enjoyed my job and coworkers. An opportunity came up to become part of the new Office or Energy Efficiency and I jumped at the chance! The position was Energy Programs Officer and the description of the job was:

The purpose of this position is to assist in the development and implementation of energy efficiency programs delivered to Island homeowners and businesses. The Energy Programs Officer will also provide information and advice on appropriate energy efficiency techniques and technologies utilized in the residential and commercial/institutional building sectors.

I applied, was interviewed and offered the job within a few weeks and accepted! It was nearly a perfect match to what I wanted to do with my life and much of my private time was devoted to researching energy efficiency and energy efficient design. I have been working at the OEE for a month now and am loving it. There are ambitious plans for the future and a good start in the present with some programs and incentives and lots of people looking for info on how they can change their energy usage or upgrade there homes efficiency.

The Office’s description is:

The OEE will assist Islanders in reducing their energy consumption and minimizing the environmental footprint of our daily activities.

The Office of Energy Efficiency will also provide Islanders with one-stop-shopping for provincial and federal energy efficiency programs and services.

OEE Mission Statement:
To provide Islanders with advice and programs that will promote sustainable energy use and reinforce the importance of sound energy management for the economic, social and environmental well being of Island residents and businesses.

I’m looking forward to working to make our province a greener place and helping my fellow Islander’s save money and reduce their impact on the environment.

You can learn more about the Office of Energy Efficency at http://www.gov.pe.ca/oee

The First Air Car to Hit the Market - Associated Content

While I am sure there will be questions about this technology, and the safety behind it, it sure does sound promising! If you can couple this car with green, clean, home energy generation (wind, solar, micro-hydro or perhaps even a small bio-diesel generator!) it would truly be emission free driving! And ranges of 500 miles and 68mph make it a true contender against internal combustion engined vehicles. Prices on average of $8000 don’t hurt either.

It also does away with the need for heavy, toxic and hard to dispose of batteries that are the weak spot on otherwise promising electric vehicles.

I am excited to see what the future brings for these affordable green cars!

Look! a water tank and electrical panel! We had the mechanical and electrical rough-in work started in December. The tiny “utility room” got tinier with the addition of actual equipment.

A look from the utility room into the future kitchen. Note the plumbing and wiring in the ceiling! The bathroom is just above the kitchen and we are going to install a drop ceiling in this area. Also note the exterior steel insulated door leaning up against the wall in the background, this is the back door out to the yard waiting to be installed.

A view of the other side of the utility room and the manifold of arm circulation pipes and the main drain line for the bathroom where our drainwater heat recovery unit will be installed.

Our porch with the entry door installed and one of the two cast iron bathtubs we bought. This one had feet and nice trim on the drain and overflow that we are going to transfer to the bigger tub we bought. Rosie is checking it out!

Scaffolding in the stairwell opening, we needed it for putting up tyvek at the top of the spaces between the roof trusses to maintain an air space above the insulation we will be blowing in.

A view of our wood stove and towards the porch/entry from the living/dining area

A view of the kitchen area from the living/dining area.

The straw around the window and door openings are trimmed and laced with baler twine to give a smooth rounded appearance.

You can see the window seat build-out and the electrical chase at the base of the straw bale wall in this photo.

A view into the second floor lounge/living area from the scaffolding in the stairwell opening. The south side of the main and second floors are both open concept to let as much light in to the building as possible.

The old cast iron tub we are going to install in the bathroom.

A view into the bathroom, the tub will sit along the wall the window is on.

The stairwell opening again, the bedroom is through the doorway on the left.

Inside the bedroom, the walk in closet is on the right and the doorway back into the lounge on the left.

Inside the bedroom looking the opposite direction towards the exterior wall.

Inside the bedroom looking at the door at the center with the interior window frame overlooking the stairwell opening and letting in south light on the left.

The Schluter shower stall base, modified to have a curved corner, the section at the curve will be tiled wall, the sections on either side will be glass panels and a door.

Top of the curved shower wall from inside the stall, tricky measuring and implementation, note the black plastic vent hidden in the wall.

Bottom of the curved wall from inside the shower stall.
The curved shower wall from outside, the door into the shower will be on the left.

Another shot of the dirty old tub!

Tyvek insulation stops, used to maintain an air space above the insulation we will be blowing in.

Looking down to the second floor from the stairwell opeing.

It’s been a while since we updated with some photos so here we go. Later this week we’ll upload some photos of the M&E rough-in’s so far and some more interior work that has been done. Winter, the holidays, a new job, and finding out we are expecting has caused a bit of a slow down in work on the Shire Home, but we hope to get back on track soon!

Before rough backfilling could begin around the house conduit had to be laid to run the underground power into the house. Because of the overhang and supporting post footings this had to be dug by hand. A 20 foot trench three feet deep doesn’t sound that bad till you have to dig it yourself

Here the dozer is spreading out loads of fill over our septic field. Instead of hauling in loads of fill from elsewhere we got it from my wife’s sister’s lot next door where they were wanting to dig a pond! It saved us money on fill and they got the pond they wanted for free!

More fill dumped and ready to spread out around the house. Note the 24” apron of insulation at the base of the floating slab, this will prevent frost from getting under the slab and heaving it.

After the fill has been spread and sloped away from the house! We stockpiled some topsoil for spring next year to spread out over this and support some grass next year. Note too that the 24” of gray parging covered insulation is nearly covered, this also provides some frost protection.

A few days after having the rough grading done around the house we had a wind and rain storm, winds reached 130kph at some points in the Maritimes and was strong enough at our house to blow scaffolding over! Thankfully it didn’t damage anything and wasn’t to hard to straighten.

You can see here that it didn’t blow over completely and myself and my brother-in-law had little problem pushing it back into position.

Putting in the chimney was a snap till we tried to get it through the too snug flashing we had made up for the steel roofing.

Many attempts, shims, screwdrivers, jimmy’s and whatnot later we finally got the flue set properly!

Finally success and the “Unicorn” stove is lit!

Soffit installation at dusk in the cold…. Brrr!

Framing the window next to the future door.

Putting in the stops for the glazing unit to be installed next to the entry door. This was one of the glazing units that was salvaged from a local jobsite and featured triple pane, 2 layer low-e and argon gas! very beefy and efficient!

Straw finished off with a nice radius and openings ready for the small 12″x12″ glazing unit samples we installed on the north face of the building.

Exterior trims/glazing stops made of cedar where exposed and spruce where covered with metal flashings.

Finished glazing units in the kitchen. These fixed units will let in light under the upper cupboards and be super efficient.

Upstairs bedroom walls framed in. A 45 degree wall with a sloped ceiling makes for some tricky cuts on the stud tops. Note the interior window framed in the bedroom wall next to the stairwell opening. This will allow more natural light from the south windows into the bedroom.

Another view of the upstairs framing, this one including the laundry/linen closet between the bedroom and bathroom. The area the picture was taken from is an open living area with southern exposure.

The view down our stairwell opening. The stairs will be built of the same rough sawn 4×8’s the floor is made of along with 2×12 preiumium white fir.

Looking up from the first floor of the stairwell opening. Note the ultra cool exposed 4×8 floor framing!

Looking into the framed in porch with the new strand board temporary door.

Time for an update on the house! “Step Five - Stucco” has been started but put on hold! We got caught by the cold and snowy weather and the fact that we were relying on hoses run from my sister-in-laws house for water to make the stucco and only managed to get two walls covered with the discovery coat. We tarped the exterior as well as we could and are going to concentrate on interior work for the time being.

Speaking of interior work, here is what we have gotten done since the last update on stucco. We bought and installed a second hand wood stove (yay heat!). The stove is a Lakewood “Unicorn” model that was produced in New Brunswick. It’s called the “unicorn” model because the cast iron doors on the front of it have unicorns cast into it. It’s a catalytic stove and there is next to no info on it on the web. We are learning it’s quirks and are grateful for the amount of heat it gives of and the blower that came with it that circulates the heat nicely.

To keep that heat inwe had to install the remaining windows and tried to complete the soffits. We only had one soffit complete and have been snowed or winded out of returning to the scaffolding to finish it. So westopped up any gaps in the roof with fibreglass batts and hoped for the best. It seems to be working pretty good so far unless there are really high winds.

We also have completed 99% of the interior partition work with just a few chases and closet walls to finish. Having walls has transformed the place into a building that feels like a home not a barn! The sloped ceilings on the second floor made framing a little more time consuming and finicky but we think we did a pretty good job. It also illuminated some technical issues like where and how to route the ventilation shaft and how much room we have or haven’t got.

This week the plumbers and electricians were in and did their rough-ins. We only had to get the electricians to move a few things and that was mostly my fault. Lighting choices and light and switch locations were a stressful and sometimes frustrating chore this week as was getting certain things built and or rebuilt to accommodate changes and oversights for the workers. We had a few late nights this week followed by early mornings as we tried to get work done around our full time jobs.

We have some little visitors in our house too! We have trapped 5 mice so far and I know there are more! The warmth and ample food (leftover grains and oats in the bales) have made our house irresistible to them! We are adopting two kittens from a friend and are thinking about moving them into the house once the attic in insulated and the house is warmer on more consistent basis so they can help with mousing!

Over the next month we hope to get the ventilation work done, insulate the attic and finish the soffits, get the well pump installed and the main power feed hooked up. We are also expecting our exterior doors at the beginning of January. Lots more work to do but some real progress this week!