I live in an 80 year old house located in the floodplain of a small creek. I am not exactly sure why, but but flooding wasn't a problem until about 2 years ago when I moved in. I think this is just a case of correlation, not causation. There has been development upstream from my house for the past 10 years--the biggest culprits I think are parking lots. Downstream, the city operates a pumping station that pumps the creek over a levee when water levels are high. The pump is as old as my house and we think it is getting overwhelmed.
Suffice it to say my crawlspace and partial basement have flooded 3 times in the past 2 years. The most recent time, water levels went above my crawlspace wall.
I am looking at sealing and insulating my crawlspace with an eye to:
- Reduce the risk of flooding
- Get rid of water when it does get in
- Insulate the crawlspace and add it to the conditioned space
I have started by putting down 6mil plastic on the dirt floor to make it a more pleasant working environment. Next I guess I will seal the plastic on the floor with some sort of adhesive, insulate the walls with foam board, insulate between the floor joists and the foundation wall, and run a vapor barrier from the top of the wall to the floor.
There is a pretty good slope to the crawlspace and water collects in a low point. I guess a sump pump is in order.
Anyhow, has anyone dealt with a similar situation or have any suggestions? ]]>
About 25 feet away is an unused stairwell (that goes to the attic) where the vent pipe from my pellet stove (located on the other side of the wall) runs up to the roof. The stairwell is closed by a door at the bottom and a hatch were it goes into the attic. In winter this space stays about 85* from the heat radiating from the pellet vent pipe.
I'd like to install a flexible duct from this space to the Geyser so I might reclaim this heat for heating water.
Question: anyone think that the internal resistance from the ~25 feet of vent pipe might be too much for the Geyser to breath properly? The makers of the Geyser sell a fitting that connects to its cold air "exhaust" and allows you to use this cold air for cooling a living space. The manual doesn't mention a max length for such a pipe. I figure that if it can exhaust through a reasonable lenght it shouldn't hurt to use a similar length for its heat source.
thanks - ]]>
Well this new dwelling is a stand alone house and larger than my old home, we have employed all our tricks and tips from the old house and just got our first true usage electric bill. It was a whopping 1536kw hours. We were in shock to say the least.
Furthermore we are blaming the a/c unit. It is a 13 seer unit and it runs alot even when we keep the thermostat at 79 and runs more at night when we turn it down to 74 after 10pm.
So my initial thoughts were to run down to the local Home depot and buy a couple of 52" ceiling fans for $20 each and install them in the large attic I have. The entire roof has vents in it making the air easy to escape.
Leaving the house hotter than 80 degrees is simply not an option, so what are your opinions on using ceiling fans in the attic as a low cost alternative to much more expensive attic fans ..
I have access to a master electrician who is a family member and will help with any bizarre projects I dream up..
Thanks ]]>
Not that many realize, that if you can just dehumidify the air, temperatures up to around mid-80s can be quite acceptable. It is also better for the house, and against fungus, bacteria, cockroaches and more, if you can keep it dry.
In the same way, wind chill factor is calculated during a cold and windy day, to have an idea what the combined effect of wind and temperature does to exposed skin. Actually, your comfort level is influenced by all these factors:
- Temperature
- Humidity
- Wind
- Activity level
- Diurnal body cycle
and possibly other factors too. When you turn on a simple fan in your house, it does not cool off the air, as some think. It is actually the wind chill factor in effect. Leaving a fan on in a room while it is not occupied will normally not cool it off, unless it directs airflow over some surfaces which can absorb heat, or start a draft of ambient air.
A good example is from an aircraft cabin, especially on a long haul flight across many time zones. The desired temperature will be very different if you are either a hard working flight attendant, or a passenger who wants to sleep. Whilst the passenger could be complaining that they are too cold, even clothed and having a blanket, the flight attendant can be feeling hot from the physical work. Just ask any flight attendant working long haul flights - you can never get the temperature right to please everyone!
There is a new way of dehumidifying the air, without cooling it much, but it requires hardly any power, compared to conventional cooling or dehumidifying:
Drinking Water From Air Humidity
I could imagine an energy friendly house having a 2-way "air conditioning system":
Summer:
Ambient air is ventilated into the house, passing a high efficiency dehumidifier. A combined temperature and humidity sensor probes the air whether or not it is in the comfort zone. If needed, the humidifier will start to dehumidify, until an acceptable level is reached. Exhaust air should be by natural openings in the house, including bathrooms, kitchen and utility room, which should have window vents/vents open during summer. This flow direction ensures that moisture, fumes and smells are not drawn from these areas into the house.
Winter:
Air from bathrooms, utility room and kitchen area is ventilated out of the house, while passing a low-energy air-liquid heat exchanger. The temperature of the air should be lowered to just around freezing, and the heat extracted added to the space/water heating system. Inlet air is from window vents, to be open in the bedrooms and living room. The cold air enters the house directly now, but it makes a leaky house energy efficient. It does not matter that the air enters unheated, as long as the air LEAVING the house has the heat removed. THAT heat will be used to help heat up the cold air coming in, using the existing heating system. The fresh air from the outside is supplying the important areas of bedrooms and living room, while the air from here in turn is passed on to bathrooms, kitchen and utility room (where vents are closed). The air flow will be just as in the summer setting, and the low dewpoint of the cold winter air will provide natures own dehumidication.
Making a system like this ensures year round comfortable and fresh air, while not costing much energy. During the summer, you can sleep well at night, in dry air and knowing that you don't use excess energy for your comfort. ]]>