[Sleestak]

Originally Posted by tallrick

I put one in my house, it gives blazing hot water year round, no problem. Was easy to build as well.

Does your solar water heater use a heat exchanger or is it a batch type heater? Down in Key Largo, you probably don't have to worry about the pipes freezing, so I'm guessing either option would work just fine. With your gassifier as back up and a hydronic heating system, you'd have the heating side of the equation down pat. Off the grid air conditioning might be a bit trickier. Maybe a small window unit (600 watts) with a modest PV system?
Either that, or maybe an intermittant absorption system to make ice at night. Then you could rig up some kind of chilled water system with a heat exchanger. You'd still have a fan and a pump to power, but those loads might be more manageable than the amp draw from a compressor.
Sounds like fun. Where there's a will, etc. , etc.

[Prichard]

Heck, I've got overhead plumbing in my house. This time of year, for the first 30 seconds or so, the water just stored in the pipes in my atic is blazing hot.

Well, until they figure out how to run a conventional compressor on solar electricity without me changing around my whole house, then it's useless as far as I'm concerned. I'm not big on running generators around the house either, except maybe for emergencies. They produce noxious exhaust and noise; and require refuling. Besides, who wants to hop in the car and drive a few miles (wasting gas) to fill up the gas tank on your generator just to get some cool air in your house? With as much as I run the A/C, I'd be spending just as much on gas to get gas for my generator as I now spend on electricty to run my A/C.

The SoCool looked interesting, so I checked into it a little. After doing a little reading on it, it appears to be nothing more than a "swamp cooler" - not something you want here in Florida! The manufacturer doesn't tell you how it works, about its efficiency, or much of anything about the unit. How hard could it be to develop a DC motor that can turn a conventional compressor? It doesn't even have to be a heat pump, just a good old A/C compressor.

[tallrick]

Water heater just circulates water from the tank to the solar panel. Small pump activated by thermocouple moves the water. The pump is 12 Volt and runs from a battery with a 50 Watt PV panel.

As for the generator it is quieter than a central air unit, and runs on free fuel (wood tires etc) so it's a hurricane buster. I am going to build one for my parents and take pics of the parts, and it will help them out unless Team Metro punishes then. Really easy to make solar powered air conditioning, and storing ice isn't a bad idea! If a home is designed to be efficient from the ground up (all concrete, no attic, green roof, plaster and foam wall insulation, regular windows) and has a good quality duct system, or individual fan coils I can see solar doing the total air conditioning package. PV should not be used to run a compressor, use the sun's heat directly. Absorber cooling is less efficient than mechanical, but you will not lose all that energy from the solar cells to the batteries to the compressor.

[Sleestak]

Tallrick,

Those are all very good ideas. Sadly, I'll be stuck in an apartment for another year... but after that, I get to start building my cabin. I'm toying with the idea of building a Dogtrot style house with a shaded breezeway in the middle. It's supposed to enhance the natural ventilation. If a hurricane knocks the grid down for a week, the breezeway might serve as a cool(ish) place to sleep. I'd have to put in insect screens though.

Just remembered another AC option. I remember reading something about dessicant wheels for dehumidifying indoor air. If the dessicant wheels could be regenerated by solar/gassifier heat, then that would reduce the latent btu load. Then you'd just have to deal with the sensible cooling part.

[tallrick]

Originally Posted by Sleestak

Tallrick,

Those are all very good ideas. Sadly, I'll be stuck in an apartment for another year... but after that, I get to start building my cabin. I'm toying with the idea of building a Dogtrot style house with a shaded breezeway in the middle. It's supposed to enhance the natural ventilation. If a hurricane knocks the grid down for a week, the breezeway might serve as a cool(ish) place to sleep. I'd have to put in insect screens though.

Just remembered another AC option. I remember reading something about dessicant wheels for dehumidifying indoor air. If the dessicant wheels could be regenerated by solar/gassifier heat, then that would reduce the latent btu load. Then you'd just have to deal with the sensible cooling part.

Those dessicant wheels are used in canada, and are supposed to work well. it's an adsorptive system. Where will you find space in Florida for a cabin? Will you build a real log cabin?

[Sleestak]

Originally Posted by tallrick

Those dessicant wheels are used in canada, and are supposed to work well. it's an adsorptive system. Where will you find space in Florida for a cabin? Will you build a real log cabin?

I'll be moving back to the coastal region of North Carolina next year. Parts of the coast are crowded, but there's plenty of land if you go about twenty miles inland. I was actually thinking of using a modified pole barn design. The picture below should give some idea of the general shape that I have in mind. Also, I'd use a sliding panel or swinging doors so that I could enclose the breezeway in the winter. Breezeway in the summer, sun room in the winter.

[tallrick]

Very smart idea! Also going north will cut your air conditioning load, and you will have a nicer average temp so geothermal storage may be an option. It's going to be nice getting out of Florida isn't it?

[Sleestak]

Originally Posted by tallrick

Very smart idea! Also going north will cut your air conditioning load, and you will have a nicer average temp so geothermal storage may be an option. It's going to be nice getting out of Florida isn't it?

Already done that. I was living in Pensacola for the last couple of years, but the average rent on an apartment became absurdly high after hurricane Ivan. I moved to Huntsville, AL. last year and am generally working like a dog to save money. I should have enough for the cabin by next year. Why Huntsville? Distance from the coast (needed a breather) and a great local economy.

[tallrick]

Originally Posted by Sleestak

Already done that. I was living in Pensacola for the last couple of years, but the average rent on an apartment became absurdly high after hurricane Ivan. I moved to Huntsville, AL. last year and am generally working like a dog to save money. I should have enough for the cabin by next year. Why Huntsville? Distance from the coast (needed a breather) and a great local economy.

Let me knoe how you like it there, Huntsville is the most likely area I will move to if Florida doesn't get its act together. I would be happy to concentrate on building a business instead of litigation with corrupt government.

[Sleestak]

Originally Posted by tallrick

Let me knoe how you like it there, Huntsville is the most likely area I will move to if Florida doesn't get its act together. I would be happy to concentrate on building a business instead of litigation with corrupt government.

The Huntsville area (Huntsville-Madison-Decatur) has a very strong economy. There are a lot of engineering, IT, aerospace, and defense related companies located in the area. Huntsville will also receive several thousand new defense related jobs when the latest round of Base closures and consolidations takes hold. So... there is plenty of money flowing through the local economy. Should be a beneficial climate for new businesses in general. From what I've seen, the local politicians are pro-business for the most part.

The cost of living is very affordable. Housing, insurance, etc. would probably be much lower than that of Key Largo. There is a state income tax, but it tops out at about 5%. Otherwise, the total tax burden in Alabama is one of the lowest of all the states.

Socially, Huntsvillle is a very diverse city. There are people coming and going from all parts of the country, from all parts of the globe for that matter. It's a very polite and well mannered area... it might be described as "Suburban, Hard Working, and generally Understated". That last part could be good or bad, depending on what you're looking for. There are plenty of things to do locally, but the city is not a hotspot for "nightlife". On the other hand, you can go hiking, canoeing, fishing, caving, etc. all within an hour's drive. Lakes Wheeler and Guntersville are easily accessible.

If I didn't already have land (and relatives) in North Carolina, I would be seriously tempted to stay here.