Re: How much house is "enough"?
Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2021 7:26 pm
what's wrong with code? code is great. it ensures quality, it increases property value, it guarantees insurability, it keeps residents and workers safe, it prevents lawsuits.
as a former cabin dweller and wood burner for years i was going to say a bunch of things about the problems with wood burning but she got most of it with the asthma. so, skip that noise and prevent fires. i can argue it extensively if required.
#1 starting point should be thermonuclear fusion heating: passive solar! don't bother with solar electric till you sort passive first, for both summer and winter.
i like electric because unlike gas it doesn't explode, and old furnaces will explode, or kill you in your sleep with carbon monoxide. but depending on where you live electric can be too expensive and gas might be the way to go.
hydronic heat can be a solution, and electric baseboards can be an economic and easy to install option.
for the gold standard i'd look into radiant floor heating, which can be done with gas or electric, and since you're down to concrete slab you can just pour more concrete over it or do a clay floor or something.
here some local resources for you, perhaps worth looking into:
http://www.usfloorheating.com/electric- ... c=michigan
https://builders.crawfordsupply.com/rad ... s-builders
if you have so much acreage maybe a geothermal heat pump is an option? (but i prefer radiant heat to forced air. also i hate mini splits lol)
https://www.arcticheatpumps.com/radiant ... -pump.html (that's not geothermal but shows heat pump feeding floor setup)
gubmint rebates: https://www.michigan-energy.org/hvac/heatpumps
anyway i applaud the focus on electric. get a good breaker box from the outset, so that it gives you the option to expand in the future should you decide to add electric solar or build a greenhouse or additions for more people should you want to keep a harem at some point
and stick to code code code, so that your computers don't get fried and your house doesn't catch fire and all your work is not destroyed.
also remember while you build to heat people not spaces. you can be in a cold house with a 250w parabolic radiant heat source, an electric blanket, and some pipe heaters. of course some things might freeze
of course may be a good idea to have alternative energy backup in case of power failure. (eg honda generator )
but passive solar! yeah...
ps- you said hotplate. i wholeheartedly recommend induction--so efficient, so fast, a real game changer!
as a former cabin dweller and wood burner for years i was going to say a bunch of things about the problems with wood burning but she got most of it with the asthma. so, skip that noise and prevent fires. i can argue it extensively if required.
#1 starting point should be thermonuclear fusion heating: passive solar! don't bother with solar electric till you sort passive first, for both summer and winter.
i like electric because unlike gas it doesn't explode, and old furnaces will explode, or kill you in your sleep with carbon monoxide. but depending on where you live electric can be too expensive and gas might be the way to go.
hydronic heat can be a solution, and electric baseboards can be an economic and easy to install option.
for the gold standard i'd look into radiant floor heating, which can be done with gas or electric, and since you're down to concrete slab you can just pour more concrete over it or do a clay floor or something.
here some local resources for you, perhaps worth looking into:
http://www.usfloorheating.com/electric- ... c=michigan
https://builders.crawfordsupply.com/rad ... s-builders
if you have so much acreage maybe a geothermal heat pump is an option? (but i prefer radiant heat to forced air. also i hate mini splits lol)
https://www.arcticheatpumps.com/radiant ... -pump.html (that's not geothermal but shows heat pump feeding floor setup)
gubmint rebates: https://www.michigan-energy.org/hvac/heatpumps
anyway i applaud the focus on electric. get a good breaker box from the outset, so that it gives you the option to expand in the future should you decide to add electric solar or build a greenhouse or additions for more people should you want to keep a harem at some point
and stick to code code code, so that your computers don't get fried and your house doesn't catch fire and all your work is not destroyed.
also remember while you build to heat people not spaces. you can be in a cold house with a 250w parabolic radiant heat source, an electric blanket, and some pipe heaters. of course some things might freeze
of course may be a good idea to have alternative energy backup in case of power failure. (eg honda generator )
but passive solar! yeah...
ps- you said hotplate. i wholeheartedly recommend induction--so efficient, so fast, a real game changer!