hello from lower mid michigan

jwxr7 · 12-12-08, 02:52 PM

Hi, I heard about this site from Daox at ecomodder.com.
Here's some info on my homestead:
I have 10 acres of weeds

and a 2500 sqft tri-level home. I park my geo metro in a 30x40 pole barn.
It was built around 1970 and is heated primarily with a propane boiler with 5 zones (1 for heating each level, 1 for a "boilermate" water heater, and 1 unused). The house was originally heated with base board electric, and still has a few of them left. I also burn lots of wood in a Lopi woodburning insert located in the lowest level.

The average annual heating degree days for my area is around 7000. I currently can go just over a year between propane tank fills. It's a 500 gallon tank but we usually use around 375 gallons/yr. I use the base board electric at times and portable electric space heaters for ultra zone heating alote. Lately electric heat has been competative with propane for cost in my area. Last year we burned around 13 face cords of wood. The propane t-stats are usually in the mid 50f range and if we want warmer we burn wood and electricity. My wife hates it every winter

.
My land is setup well for a wind turbine and has a good area for solar exposure south of the house. The prevailing winds have no obstructions for almost a mile behind my yard. I plan to be using both sources of alternative energy in a DIY fashion. A small PV array is almost ready to start pushing power back into the grid, and 90% of the materials are waiting for me to finish a 7000 btu air heating panel. I've always thought about building some kind of DIY wind turbine and that will be a future project.

SVOboy · 12-12-08, 03:18 PM

Welcome to EcoRenovator! Great to see you here,

Daox · 12-12-08, 04:48 PM

Welcome. Sounds like a nice place you got there. I love the open space. Excellent for wind or solar!

jwxr7 · 12-12-08, 06:00 PM

The downside to the open west is the extra cooling effect in the winter. I've lived here for 9 years now and in the first few years I planted close to 100 evergreen trees in rows for wind blocks. The deer and rabbits took out at least 1/4 of them and deformed many more, now the ones that didn't get chewed on or rubbed are getting tall enough to start helping. Too bad I wasn't able to protect them all.

jwxr7 · 12-13-08, 08:30 PM

I'll put together some threads and pics of some of my current projects when I get time at work (hi-speed connection).

12-12-08, 02:52 PM	#1
jwxr7 Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: mid michigan Posts: 191 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	hello from lower mid michigan Hi, I heard about this site from Daox at ecomodder.com. Here's some info on my homestead: I have 10 acres of weeds and a 2500 sqft tri-level home. I park my geo metro in a 30x40 pole barn. It was built around 1970 and is heated primarily with a propane boiler with 5 zones (1 for heating each level, 1 for a "boilermate" water heater, and 1 unused). The house was originally heated with base board electric, and still has a few of them left. I also burn lots of wood in a Lopi woodburning insert located in the lowest level. The average annual heating degree days for my area is around 7000. I currently can go just over a year between propane tank fills. It's a 500 gallon tank but we usually use around 375 gallons/yr. I use the base board electric at times and portable electric space heaters for ultra zone heating alote. Lately electric heat has been competative with propane for cost in my area. Last year we burned around 13 face cords of wood. The propane t-stats are usually in the mid 50f range and if we want warmer we burn wood and electricity. My wife hates it every winter . My land is setup well for a wind turbine and has a good area for solar exposure south of the house. The prevailing winds have no obstructions for almost a mile behind my yard. I plan to be using both sources of alternative energy in a DIY fashion. A small PV array is almost ready to start pushing power back into the grid, and 90% of the materials are waiting for me to finish a 7000 btu air heating panel. I've always thought about building some kind of DIY wind turbine and that will be a future project. Last edited by jwxr7; 01-07-09 at 08:06 AM..

12-12-08, 04:48 PM	#3
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Welcome. Sounds like a nice place you got there. I love the open space. Excellent for wind or solar! __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

12-13-08, 08:30 PM	#5
jwxr7 Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: mid michigan Posts: 191 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I'll put together some threads and pics of some of my current projects when I get time at work (hi-speed connection). Last edited by jwxr7; 07-15-10 at 07:01 AM..

12-12-08, 03:18 PM	#2
SVOboy Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 291 Thanks: 3 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Welcome to EcoRenovator! Great to see you here,

12-12-08, 06:00 PM	#4
jwxr7 Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: mid michigan Posts: 191 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	The downside to the open west is the extra cooling effect in the winter. I've lived here for 9 years now and in the first few years I planted close to 100 evergreen trees in rows for wind blocks. The deer and rabbits took out at least 1/4 of them and deformed many more, now the ones that didn't get chewed on or rubbed are getting tall enough to start helping. Too bad I wasn't able to protect them all.