Hi Ray,
In Arkansas we used whole-house fans or just a box fan in the open attic access
hole to exhaust hot air out of the attic vents, closed the curtains on the
south-facing windows and opened the lower sash on the north-facing windows to
let cool air in.
Migration to a better climate also works, but bring lots of wampum if you trek
to the southern California coastal region.
I'm reminded of an old Arco Solar slide of some people in Upper Volta (now
Burkina Faso) standing next to a solar array and a dc pump with water gushing
out of a dug well. Behind them is desert that looks like a Martian landscape.
Those folks did not need solar water pumping. They needed suitcases and good
walking shoes to migrate from desertification.
There will be a lot of migration as climate changes affect coastal regions and
rainfall patterns change and politics. For example, some of the Pacific Island
villages threatened by rising water, the Mesa Verde Cliffs Anastasi Indians and
drought, the Pilgrims to the Americas, etc. A lot can happen in a couple
million years. Adaptation, migration, extinction.
In the meantime, there's lots of fun to be had getting Americans to cut their
energy consumption five-fold and/or helping people with no electricity improve
their living standards without polluting like Westerners.
There's hope for us yet. Keep up the good work.
Joel Davidson
----- Original Message -----
From: R. Walters
To: RE-wrenches
Sent: Thursday, August 21, 2008 10:38 AM
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] offgrid system question
Hi Joel;
I made a list of strategies we use a couple of emails back in this string.
I'll reiterate:
Here in Northern New Mexico we use adobes (lots of thermal mass) and open up
to the cool night air.
When I lived through Texas summers, you either ponied up for AC, went to your
mountain home, or suffered.
Dana stated the first 2 steps:
super insulate & increase thermal mass.
Next ?? :
Reduce your cubic footage of air conditioned space. (Just cool a couple of
inner rooms.)
Share walls & cooling systems (like apartments, duplexs, etc)
Reduce east & west glazing
Grow overhanging deciduous trees on the East & West
Use Fans
Use some evaporative cooling if possible
Use small High efficiency AC units (Sanjo?)
Raise thermostat setting
Use geothermal heat pumps
Migrate?
Ray
. Could wrenches in hot-dry and hot-humid regions share how they eliminate
or reduce air conditioning in existing homes?
Joel Davidson
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