doomsday clock is ticking, and just jumped forwards 2 minutes due to global warming!

chris

the fact that there is a clock is worrying in itself, i'm sure.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070117/us_nm/doomsday_clock_dc_4

chris

i'm imagining a large, dark gothic clock with a silhouetted figure winding it on, ravens flying overhead...

chris

franco

Anyone in the UK use Ecotricity? http://www.ecotricity.co.uk/

We are switching over to this which is a major hurdle cleared in an effort to live green. Their costs are marginally more than what we are paying in electricity from our current provider but considering the consequences of the fractional savings, it is no contest.

chris

i'm planning on building this year (well, starting to, at least). and i'm looking into making an 'eco' as possible build on the budget - heat exchangers, solar water heater, underfloor heating, quality glazing, heat pumps, rain water collection systems etc.

i have heard of ecotricity though, i think. it rings a bell, at least.

franco

Nice, sockly (chrisly doesn't sound as good)

I've been doing the same, though in Canada up north and it will just be a large acreage purchased for conservation with a modest cabin on site that is completely self-sufficient, totally off the grid.

I've been looking into eco-friendly building techniques - which way are you swaying in that regard? Lots to consider - kind like an ultimate puzzle which is kind of fun in a strange way.

chris

well, to start with, i require 'first contact' with an architect that has been recommended to me. i'm sure i'll get round to phoning him and arranging a meeting to get things rolling soon (welcome to fazy luckers, m'dear).

there's a lot of information and ideas whizzing around in my head right now, i need someone to tell me what is doable, and what is just not going to be worth it. i'd like to use local materials, and new construction techniques, but can i afford the time and money to get things working as they should? i'm not sure.

i don't want a barratt home though, that's for sure.

franco

gotcha! I think I'll be doing most of the designing, building myself (YIPES) with help here and there hopefully (stares sternly at htd) - so have been researching different techniques such as cob, cordwood, strawbale, earthship, etc.

I know what you mean with regards to the information vs ideas vs practicality vs ethics overload - which is why I say it's kind of like an ultimate puzzle.

I haven't entertained the idea of having an architect because I can barely entertain the idea of having money to build in the first place let alone purchasing the land.

Do you have a lot already? That is my first step, and I'll probably sit on it for a few years before I start to build me shack ....but that is extremely difficult to do from england given that I can't visit the property. heh!

chris

yeah, land is there, ready and waiting.

i'd like to design it myself, not saying that i wont... but it would need someone that is au fait with building regulations and what have you to draw it up to spec. in addition to that, i work full time, have a wife and child, build webthings for all of you lot, and enjoy doing other things in my spare time(?!). project management is one of the main reasons i want to talk to someone about this, i guess.

i'd love to do it all, but needs must atm, and i still think it will be awesome (like i'm going to say "ok" to something i don't like... heh). maybe in the future, with a few businesses up and running on their own, i'll afford a little more time and money and build something really big somewhere really nice

cheap land i could do with. it doesn't exist in the uk any longer.

franco

No land here is not cheap that is for sure.

Don't get me wrong, if I could in any way afford NOT to do all of this myself, I wouldn't. At the moment it's the only option and even that isn't an option until I come up with the funds. Also, my build is going to be very modest - a real home really does require someone who knows what the hell they are doing with regards to building regulations, etc. as you say.

On an unrelated note, I had no idea that you got married and had a child. You ARE sockly aren't you???? D= Belated congrats on that!

chris

yeah, i got married on july 16th last year, and tomas was born exactly 9 months later, on november 13th (:D)

chris

that has completely thrown this thread off the topic, i do believe! welcome to my world.

franco

haha sorry - I have contributed massively to throwing this off-topic. Great picture - he looks just like you or my original fabricated image of you. I always imagined you to be a sweet pocket-sized little thing and remember how shocked I was to find out that you weren't. He's gorgeous.

Meska

I've been looking into this too. First bit of advice (got this from our works architect) is to insulate - you can make massive savings on your heating bills by either filling in your cavaties in your walls with a foam based filler or an alternative is to fix insulation boards to all your walls, thereby creating defence against your walls to trap heat. He had quad glazing and filled walls with fixed boards done on his house, and he says his 4 storey Victorian House has very low heating bills. Apparently this is mandatory building legislation in Scandanavian countries.

Also if you're thinking about generating your own power, the government will subsidise 50% of your purchase if it is a mini-windmill, solar panels or underground heat generator (which you'd have in your garden). We know of two houses near us that have these, and basically the electricity/power provider now pays the homeowner for his savings!

anon-e-mouse

Maybe I should turn one of my 4 computers off at night, lets kill biff tho, to save the planet.

franco

meska:I've been looking into this too. First bit of advice (got this from our works architect) is to insulate - you can make massive savings on your heating bills by either filling in your cavaties in your walls with a foam based filler or an alternative is to fix insulation boards to all your walls, thereby creating defence against your walls to trap heat. He had quad glazing and filled walls with fixed boards done on his house, and he says his 4 storey Victorian House has very low heating bills. Apparently this is mandatory building legislation in Scandanavian countries.

Also if you're thinking about generating your own power, the government will subsidise 50% of your purchase if it is a mini-windmill, solar panels or underground heat generator (which you'd have in your garden). We know of two houses near us that have these, and basically the electricity/power provider now pays the homeowner for his savings!

Regarding insulation - yes, I was really shocked to find that homes weren't insulated or that insulating seemed like such a foreign concept. Try getting away without it in Canada and you'll soon see what a huge difference it makes (if you don't freeze in the process). Now, finding an environmentally sound insulator is whole other thing, of course - since we're thinking of building ethically. There are a number of very interesting reads on this with regards to some of the natural building techniques I've been looking into. For instance, Earthships are known to overheat if not designed (the building itself) properly - they use old tires as the basic building blocks for the walls, filled in with clay/earth and tin cans which allegedly offer insulation properties. Very cool use of things we have a big issue getting rid of - tires. Cordwood - which is what I am leaning towards at the moment, also has quite a lot of natural insulation properties and in the arctic Canadian north, a double cordwood wall is all you need.

I had no idea that the government would subsidize the cost for solar/wind power. That's wicked! People should get in on that deal while it's hot.

chris

sheeps wool, and i saw a recycled newspaper thing on tv recently too. it's been treated so that it doesn't burn. in fact, it's so not burney that if the building does catch fire, and burn through something and the insulation drops onto the fire, it would go out. that stuff gets blown into the cavities.

but yeah, sheeps wool. can't see it being cheap, mind.

franco

Get a pet sheep and brush it a lot?

jussi-k

Insulation is required here. Without it you die.

Also, what really bothers me abroad is the lack of double windows! Add a second sheet of glass so that some air is trapped in the middle and you have a window that keeps cold out perfectly.

The british houses and their insulation is concidered a joke here in Finland :D

idlefingers

Maybe they should just put the clock at 12 o'clock, then they don't need to worry about it. If nuclear was ensues, they won't need to worry about running to change the clock before the bombs land.

The whole doomsday clock thing seems so random to me.

Why the pic of Bruice Willis? Am I missing something?

chris

idlefingers:
Why the pic of Bruice Willis? Am I missing something?

ok, seemingly a little random, i agree - it's bruce willis starring in armageddon...

mick

planning ahead for building is very smart, you two. :)

planning to do it green is going to involve some compromises, but there's lots of info out there on subsititutes and strategies.

what jussi said about double-glazed windows is very true.

if i was going to compromise on ONE thing in my building, it would be the insulation. the newspaper stuff is feeble unless you have a space at least 45 cm deep to fill with it. a good alternative would be thick rammed earth walls with an exceptionally well done vapour barrier.


if you've got the spot and are waiting for the time to build.. assess your site for how the infrastructure needs to be put in place. do the major landscaping before you build. cut down any trees that will be right next to your homesite; start a woodlot (you'll need it in 20 years, and it'll be ready).

look at your watershed. look at the drainage patterns. assume that you're going to want greywater disposal some day. use the "feng shui" of common sense to work with the prevailing winds and light patterns.

aaaand.. :) never build your home in the "nicest spot". save that for the garden, or for a place you can go.

x

chris

power plants in your basement

A Massachusetts company next month will release a combination power generator and space heater, a system that can cut down on electricity bills, according to backers--at least while the heat is running.

Climate Energy was formed in the year 2000 to bring "micro-combined heat and power," or micro-CHP, to consumers in the U.S.

Combined heat and power systems, already available for industry and large buildings, are designed to harvest what is normally wasted heat during the process of power generation. As fuel is burned to make electricity, the resulting heat is captured and piped through a home's existing hot-air heating system.



loads more at the link...

Biff

Global warming this, bitch!. So, Bruce Willis is apropos, no?

chris

yeah, but we'll all be long dead by then