Something wicked cold this way comes! - Page 2

madmike · 09-23-11, 07:55 AM

You guys are getting the cold already, here in the middle of the Canadian prairies we are suppuse to get to 32C (89.6F). We have had hotter then normal temps for this tme of year.

Xringer · 09-23-11, 08:31 AM

Here's the last 7 days (starting on the 17th). Now it's warming back up!

Dewpoint is up there today too.. It's moist outdoors.
We had the Sanyo running in dehumidify mode last night, from 7PM to 3AM..

randen · 09-24-11, 05:51 AM

Oh yes the nights here in Ontario Canada are starting to become fresh. Lows of 10 Deg C (50 Deg F) We have began to warm the floor. The heat comes from the six hot water solar panels on the extrerior wall. Its a freebie. The lower the sun gets on the horizon as winter approaches the more heat we receive. During the summer months the sun is high in the sky and the angle of sun reduces the amount of heat collected just enough for domestic hot water.(showers washing etc.) It works very very well. I believe I turned the GSHP off in April and only turned it on 3 days for overcast conditions for no solar heat avalible. It is now the end of September and we have not used any energy for hot water except those 3 days. Lets see what the season will bring this year for solar space heating. Last year we only had about a week of full sun and the GSHP operated full time. If anyone is thinking about a solar hot water system I would recomend it highly.

Randen

Xringer · 09-24-11, 08:06 AM

Sounds great Randen! I would love to get more solar gain/space heating in the winter.
But, we have to rely on a few tiny south facing windows..

Since the house faces the south (and the street), any kind of solar addition is going to
be very visible to anyone passing by. Therein lies the problem. How it "Looks"..
Even if it "Looks" like an extremely good idea for staying warm, my wife does not
like anything that might make our home look different than other houses.
It must look ordinary. No solar panels allowed on the roof, or anyplace where they can be seen from the street.

I'm not really guessing, when I say, concern over how things look to passersby will likely disappear,
if the cost of heating increases more than expected.

So, I'm trying to talk the people next door into investing in a PV array..

They have a large clean second-story roof that's pitched at a very good angle, facing in the right direction..
It's the perfect spot for PV.. Way better than my roof..

I should tip off the local PV installers to check out that roof!!

09-24-11, 05:51 AM	#13
randen Uber EcoRenovator Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Strathroy Ontario Canada Posts: 657 Thanks: 9 Thanked 191 Times in 129 Posts	The begining of heating season Oh yes the nights here in Ontario Canada are starting to become fresh. Lows of 10 Deg C (50 Deg F) We have began to warm the floor. The heat comes from the six hot water solar panels on the extrerior wall. Its a freebie. The lower the sun gets on the horizon as winter approaches the more heat we receive. During the summer months the sun is high in the sky and the angle of sun reduces the amount of heat collected just enough for domestic hot water.(showers washing etc.) It works very very well. I believe I turned the GSHP off in April and only turned it on 3 days for overcast conditions for no solar heat avalible. It is now the end of September and we have not used any energy for hot water except those 3 days. Lets see what the season will bring this year for solar space heating. Last year we only had about a week of full sun and the GSHP operated full time. If anyone is thinking about a solar hot water system I would recomend it highly. Randen

09-23-11, 07:55 AM	#11
madmike Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Canada Posts: 52 Thanks: 5 Thanked 9 Times in 6 Posts	You guys are getting the cold already, here in the middle of the Canadian prairies we are suppuse to get to 32C (89.6F). We have had hotter then normal temps for this tme of year.

09-23-11, 08:31 AM	#12
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	Here's the last 7 days (starting on the 17th). Now it's warming back up! Dewpoint is up there today too.. It's moist outdoors. We had the Sanyo running in dehumidify mode last night, from 7PM to 3AM..

09-24-11, 08:06 AM	#14
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	Sounds great Randen! I would love to get more solar gain/space heating in the winter. But, we have to rely on a few tiny south facing windows.. Since the house faces the south (and the street), any kind of solar addition is going to be very visible to anyone passing by. Therein lies the problem. How it "Looks".. Even if it "Looks" like an extremely good idea for staying warm, my wife does not like anything that might make our home look different than other houses. It must look ordinary. No solar panels allowed on the roof, or anyplace where they can be seen from the street. I'm not really guessing, when I say, concern over how things look to passersby will likely disappear, if the cost of heating increases more than expected. So, I'm trying to talk the people next door into investing in a PV array.. They have a large clean second-story roof that's pitched at a very good angle, facing in the right direction.. It's the perfect spot for PV.. Way better than my roof.. I should tip off the local PV installers to check out that roof!!