Passive Solar Designed Window Shading

Jason wants to set up a Solar Home Tour in our town, BUT the only thing that we have "solar" is our sun tea maker...
We do have plans for a solar hot water sytem, and are strongly considering a solar electric system (grid-linked).

It occurred to Jason not long ago (a month before the Summer Solstice) that the windows on the south side of our house were letting in alot of heat, basically acting like passive solar heaters So by adding a little roof, you could put them in the shade and "turn off" the heat.
"Brilliant! Do it!" I encouraged.
And he did... in a day!
His design provides complete shade for 2 months of Summer, when sun in highest in the sky, and provides complete sun for the 2 coldest months of Winter.
So thanks to my geeky solar husband, we are finally on the solar powered road!

One Month at The Farm, and 3 Weeks Visiting Family

Well, before I decide to dive into a thorough report of my experiences at the EcoVillage Training Center on The Farm, I want to just take a brief look at things.

I learned about:
organic gardening
permaculture
world political issues
natural building techniques
bamboo
vegetarian cooking
community living
interdependence
chickens
solar power
grey water systems
humanure
ticks and deer
straw


It was so easy to make friends, and good ones too! I was surprised with all the open minds and hearts. There must be so many people who care and love Mother Earth and all her inhabitants. I am very excited and reinvigorated to pursue with my husband our dreams.

More to come!

A Manic Monday Welcomes the Shed-ma-hall!

Well, I'm not yet in Manic Mode, but I should be. I pack to go to The Farm for a month. I'll leave this coming Sunday.

Jason is in Manic Mode, however. Even since last week. He prepared for his Barn Raising, and that happened on Saturday. What a day! We didn't have the turnout that we were hoping for (probably because it was a holiday weekend), but family and a couple good friends did help, and what a job they accomplished!

The goal was to raise 3 beam-frames. Each are quite heavy, and could not be easily lifted by the amount of guys we had, so Plan A was attempted and failed (the Jetta lift technique managed to lift the Jetta, not the frame). Plan B was to rent an Ultra Forklift and it worked! Straps were tied to the frame and lifted with the forklift. Pretty Cool! (Actually it was hot and sunny--J got a nice sunburn.)

Everyone worked from 9am to ~3pm. For lunch I served spaghetti and meatballs, since we only had 4 extra guys to feed, along with a fresh picked salad (my sister picked), steamed kale and carrots (which no one was interested in trying). For dessert, a birthday cake, since literally everyone but 3 people had their birthdays in March and April! My Dad's being April Fool's, I try to surprise him a bit each year.

The guys were happy and exhausted after work Saturday. Especially Jason. It is a major start to getting this workshed done. The slab has been waiting since our wedding 2005. Originally, Jason planned on a strawbale structure, but because he needs a workshop sooner, he decided on timberframes. He can, if he chooses, in the future, switch to strawbale, I think. Also, he is considering solar power on the roof, but that will be a fun project in the future, too. For the meantime, he'll be busy building his "Shed-ma-hall" (18' at the peak, 27' square area)... then our new front porch... then a new roof on the house...

Thoughts...

Today we went on a Solar Home tour in Blountsville, Alabama. Reminded me of the Ecovillage we WOOFed at in New Zealand. It was a beautiful day, the weather was a little on the warm side... The homes were amazing. And so were the people!

Jason and I talked a bunch, especially about our goals in creating our self-sufficient, low-energy-using home and life. We concluded that the best changes that we can make we are already making.

1. Transportation--Jason bikes to work, and I am beginning to bike more to the grocery store (we even bought a used bike trailer). We drive as little as possible in a Jetta diesel on our home-brewed BioDiesel. J says that in transportation we use 1/20 what the avg. American uses! This was the first big change we made in our lifestyle.

2. Food--Buy Local, less meat, less processed foods, and We have a Garden (getting better every year). I buy bulk grains and beans, and love to bake. This is the second biggest imporvement that we made.

3. Housing--We use 1/4 the avg. American in electricity (and half of that is from our hot tub--we're currently considering alternatives), almost 1/8 in gas, and about 1/4 in water (plus we put up 2 homemade rain barrels this summer, which helps a bit, esp. in a draught). We are continuing to try to reduce or energy usage.