don't forget you lose heat through the floor too.
any thoughts on ground source heating ? keep to the Fen Causeway
you might want to do that and save your glycol costs.
if your roof is too dangerous, maybe you could install taps at ground level.
solar heated water tingles more in the shower.
;) ~"When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate." Karl Jung~
i hear their happy gurgling right now. ~"When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate." Karl Jung~
alternatively lighting a small fire tips it up to very hot.
on a full sunny day, such as we had a few days ago, it went to 60C on solar.
~"When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate." Karl Jung~
Now if I were doing it all from scratch again... it would be a passive house with little need for heating in the first place. The idea that you need an active heat source to heat a house should be a thing of the past at this stage. A small heat pump and a few solar panels should be sufficient for any well insulated house. notes from no w here
There are so many new/sometimes reinvented old ways to go with building technology these days. Passive straw bale type construction looks like it would fit right in with the Irish countryside, although I'm not sure it would be suitable with the wet weather. I've thought a house with a living roof might be interesting. Especially if it could have a system where the household water could be recycled through a reed filtration system (maybe with a koi pond?) for use again. Solar, wind, geothermal, they're all good. Ah, it's a shame to know all these technologies exist . . . it's just a matter of money. But certainly I agree with you, in this day and age keeping a home comfortable shouldn't be an issue. But don't even get me started about insulation . . . it was apparently an unknown concept to the builder who built my place. Shameful!
Just want to let you know that I always enjoy your posts. Ireland is such a pretty place, with its (no less than) 40 shades of green. And the people are so friendly, and the pubs, and the brogue. There's nothing quite like Ireland! I had the good fortunate to have an Irish boyfriend in a former life and so I got not only a pack full of great Irish sayings, I also got a birds-eye tour of your lovely countryside from our base in Malahide. Oh, and did I mention a lifelong love of Irish folk music, too!
Thanks for the link to an excellent diary. It's nice to know you are involved in doing such good work, and getting the word out. I'd be in hogs heaven if my village here in Finland were to decide to go the route of Dyssekilde Ecovillage. That is just way too cool!! Totally off the grid, using recycled materials, and sharing. I think it's a concept whose time has come. I just hope it can continue to get enough good press to become fashionable, creating a situation where people are willing to give it a go. I'd sure be thrilled to be part of the process. Thinking globally, but acting locally.
And absolutely, positively, and of course, I would welcome any opportunity whatsoever to come back your way . . . and would definitely take you up on your kind offer to visit!
