From sdsu!usc!apple!bionet!ig!ames!lll-winken!uunet!wiley!ries%arcturus Sun Jul 23 15:27:54 PDT 1989 [I  have  cross-posted  to sci.energy because of the
      solar subjects within, and the  list  of  useful  (I
      have  recieved  excellent material from all of them)
      energy-related informational sources at the  end  of
      this article]

>My wife and I currently live in Southern California, but plan on selling
>the house (maybe - see below) and move to Portland.  We are looking at 
[...]
 Check  your  local library.  Practical Homeowner magazine
 had their  annual  "Best  Paybacks  in  Home  Remodeling"
 articles  in  a  earlier 1989 issue.  Something along the
 lines of kitchen and bathroom remodeling and  landscaping
 were  good "return on investments".  Never spend too much
 money or incorporate  too  extreme  designs/fixtures,  as
 they  can either quickly become "old fashion" or turn off
 the  "average"  buyer.   In  all  cases,   if   you   can
 (professionally)  do  the  work yourself, you will almost
 always get a good payback.

>I'd like comments, complaints, etc regarding the following items for
>our new house:

 The  biggest  question  I have is ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE A
 HOUSE custom built or just buy one?  Many of  the  things
 you   are  talking  about  work  best  and/or  work  most
 effectively if they are planned out with the house design
 in mind.

 The  Smart House is best implemented in new construction,
 not  retrofits.   Solar  (passive,  active,  PV)  options
 require  specific compass orientation (i.e., facing solar
 South),  as  well  as  proper declination.  If you go PV,
 where  are  you  going  to  store  the  batteries,   etc?
 Crawlspaces   generally   lose   more   heat   then  slab
 foundations, etc.

>Smart house - is it worth it?  I'd like to find a couple of people who
[...] 

 The  Smart  House  will  probably not be available to the
 average buyer until at least 1992, possible  1995.   Even
 then  it  will  probably  require a Smart House installer
 (not necessarily because it is too technical, but because
 Smart House wants to  maintain  "control"  of  the  Smart
 House market).

 BUILDER,  a  trade  magazine  for  the NAHB (the National
 Association of Home  Builders  --  they  initiated  Smart
 House) is the place for current updates.

 There  is  one monthly magazine called "Electronic House"
 that covers a wide area, although a large  percentage  is
 devoted to X10 installations (just like the real world).

>Photovoltaics - worth it?  What voltage 12v, 24v?  
>      Is it practical in the Portland area?

 Electricity  is  fairly  cheap in the NorthWest.  How far
 will you be from the nearest grid connection?  Are you  a
 conservationist or environmentalist?  Voltage depends on
 the equipment and specific installation. Etc.

>Solar hot water
>Solar space heating
>Ground water space heating / cooling
>Slab or foundation/crawl space / full basement construction

 Again.   Are  you  trying  to  save a few bucks?  Make an
 environmental statement/contribution?  Extra  insulation,
 a  tight shell and passive solar orientation are probably
 the least expensive/tramatic  methods  to  gain  alot  of
 efficiency   at  relatively  low  costs  and  with  minor
 architectural modifications.

 If you are really interested in further information, I
 would suggest:

      1)  Purchase  RMI's  (Rocky Mountain Institute, 1739
      Snowmass   Creek   Road,   Snowmass,    CO    81654)
      Research-Efficient  Housing  Guide  (~$15).  Look at
      the subjects you are interested in, and  obtain  the
      publications/magazines/books  to  read and gain more
      knowledge.

      2)  Contact  the  OR  Dept.   of  Energy  (Labor and
      Industries Building  #102,  Salem,  OR  97310),  the
      Solar  Energy Assn.  of OR (2637 S.W.  Fifth Avenue,
      POB 1760, Portland, OR  97207)  and  the  Bonneville
      Power  Administration  (Office  of  Conservation and
      Power Resources-KR, POB 3621,  Portland,  OR  97208)
      and   inquire   about   publications/information  of
      interest  (e.g.,  Passive  Solar  Design  Handbooks,
      Energy-Efficient Housing Guides, Home Plans, Etc.).

      3)     Contact    other    leading    Energy-related
      organizations for their free,  low-cost,  or  member
      publications like: NorthEast Solar Energy Assn.  (14
      Green  Street,  POB  541, Brattleboro VT 05301), New
      Mexico Solar  Energy  Institute  (New  Mexico  State
      University,  Box  3  SOL,  Las  Cruces,  NM  83003),
      Florida Solar Energy Center (300 State  Road,  #401,
      Cape  Canaveral,  FL  32920),  The  Southface Energy
      Institute (Box 5506, Atlanta, GA 30307), the Georgia
      Office of Energy Resources (Room 615, 270 Washington
      Street SW, Atlanta, GA 30334), the Center for Energy
      Research/Education/Services, Ball State  University,
      Muncie,   IN   47306),   the   National  Center  for
      Appropriate Technology (POB 3838, Butte, MT  59702),
      the   National   Appropriate  Technology  Assistance
      Service (POB 2525, Butte, MT 59702), the Small Homes
      Council - Building Research Council  (University  of
      Illinois  at Urbana-Champaign, One East Saint Mary's
      Road, Champaign, IL 61820), etc.

      4) Get involved/motivated!  

     Marc Ries
           <somewhere>!ries

     "PHOTOVOLTAICS: safe/clean Electricity from the SUN"


From sdsu!usc!ucsd!ucbvax!agate!shelby!labrea!cdp!abalone Wed Sep  6 11:29:03 PDT 1989


Another aspect to this as pointed out in the first reply is the cost
of evaporating all that water.  You might let go of you new fangled 
washing machine and get your hands on a new old Speed Queen Wringer 
washer.  The wringer just like the one grandma used, gets out far more
of the water and of course these machines have lifespans of 20 to 40
years depending on how well you take care of it.  They are still being
built and sold.  You can get a copy of the Real Goods catalogue who 
sell it by sending a note to them at 3041 Guidiville Rd, Ukiah, Ca
95482.  The cat also has a wonderful selection of alternative gadgets
unequalled about anywhere else....