Suburban Conversion Project

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Comment by Eric Koch on March 27, 2009 at 9:24pm

Yeah...we need renewable energy sources...but energy conservation IS a very implementable "source of energy"....think about it....from the field to the land fill how much energy goes into every plate of sustenance? it's much more than we metabolically (or otherwise) recuperate,by a long shot = totally unsustainable..this is a very serious problem.


thanks for the inspiration for that recap Chris....allot of people are working on the methane thing...i'm going to be going the aerobic decomposition route for my own personal deposits soon...wile the infrastructure costs of a composting toilet my be more expensive/capita than a municipal biogas recovery upgrade the energy used to pump water and run the infrastructure must be subtracted from the recovered methane power gains.....and so my math is just a lot simpler...that's all.

Comment by Chris Lewis on March 27, 2009 at 8:57pm

I know you are. I was trying to suggest free energy. Hard to grow very much inside and grow lights cost a fortune.

Comment by Eric Koch on March 27, 2009 at 8:55pm

No Silly.....SCP...remember?......barrel Vault,as is architectural terminology.

oh for crips sake..i'm talkin' about a earth sheltered green house here.

Comment by Chris Lewis on March 27, 2009 at 8:13pm

OK. I'm not mechanically inclined, are you asking what kind of substance to put in the barrel? Waste? Excrement? Lots of methane to be had there, free.

Comment by Eric Koch on March 27, 2009 at 6:49pm

YAY!!!...two new members...Welcome.

ok every one....Open a new tab and copy/paste this into the search and turn to page22.


https://www.sundancesupply.com/GE-MultiWallInstall.pdf


see the 55" bend R on the 8mm double wall?..this stuff is almost flexible enough to bend into a 9 foot diameter circle...anyway it's flexible.

and see the picture of the barrel vault?...like That!

i know your probably thinking "that isn't going to hold heat"....but wait... i was looking at some evacuated tube specs and these guys aren't even pullin' one psi to the negative...then, i realized i could manifold the multi-wall,and use a venturi and a vacume gauge to pull about two inchsHg...and the multi wall wouldn't even flinch...a little more looking and i'm stareing at an easy R 40!!!!!!!

Multi wall comes in lengths up to 48 feet (semi-trailer) that's enough to span 35 feet....and iv'e constructed bomb tough arches before by laminating layers of hardboard with gorilla glue...ya get the quarter inch stuff and rip strips to your beam thickness,clamp over a form, and stagger your joints and the next thing ya know ya have a graceful piece of engineered lumber....

which brings me to a question....say ya frame a notch in the sill plate to key in your multi-wall..what could a guy dump in there that would cure slow enough to allow a decent working time,and also be affordable,and of course make for a leak proof structural seal to hold a mild vacuum?...any suggestions?

Comment by Eric Koch on March 25, 2009 at 12:01pm

Ok....so my mom has the house up for sale, so i might get to do a earth green house basement conversion yet...just gotta wait and see.

regardless of weather or not it sells,i've convinced her that more energy conservation methods would pay for themselves in a reasonable amount of time.

so here's the break down on the improvements i've secured....it might help juice some conversation.

Stage One: Heat Recovery Ventilator $ 550 allows for maximum leakless weatherizing...including a gasketed double layer of 8mm triple wall polycarbonate for all the windows, bringing the weakest link (the windows) to R4+ $608
Total: $1158

Stage Two: (no pricing yet) a small evacuated tube soar thermal collector (22 tube) in series with, a small hydronic earth source heat pump for regulation of a dual coil (solar) hot water tank, with an axillary pump loop feeding a forced air exchanger.

Comment by david@PickensPlan on February 2, 2009 at 8:05am

Pickens Plan Action Alert!

As we all know the American Renewal and Reinvestment Act - also known as the stimulus package - has passed the U.S House of Representatives and is now in the Senate. This bill has a lot of the items we have been pushing for in the Pickens Plan on the wind side of the plan.

I just emailed my senators here in MI and it took less than 10 seconds. If you haven't already, please email your senator and tell them we need their support on the Pickens Plan!

Thanks everyone!

Comment by Eric Koch on February 1, 2009 at 8:45pm

annother RE:

Hey Mark,

Good ta see your moving the message further along( and sad i don't have the time to manage another profile and associated responses)....my only reservation with SSE is the amount of energy involved in the change over...i really don't think we can afford the energy involved in "new construction" (as in, the same ol thing ..just a little different)...

thank you very much for joining SCP on pickens....if it comes down to someone getting a new 3000+ sq. ft. SSE house ...or everyone i know not going hungry...i'll choose the latter.

cheers...eric (rulgert) koch

Comment by Eric Koch on January 17, 2009 at 11:36pm

Welcome Mark and Chris,
Thanks for your show of support for Suburban Conversion Project...please browse the topics and consider talking with members of your community about the benefits of year round local organic produce and the energy savings and employment opportunities per converted foreclosure.

Comment by Eric Koch on January 15, 2009 at 8:51am

Yeah, i got tree saucers in the works too...that's kinda like the meat end of the "meat and potatoes"....i'm a bowhunter/ex farm hand ,who couldn't help but notice that wild life seems to take care of itself....if the habitat is given the right of way.

any thoughts?

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