Learned something new - solar water heating

Yesterday, we met with Maverick, a guy who builds solar powered "everything" and does it as a hobby! He even has a solar powered lawn mower, and we couldn't help but ask what his house must look like :-). Anyway, we were at the Alternative Energy Meetup, and though it was just us three, it was a greet meeting with lots of free information. The guy is an engineer who likes to build solar power projects, and the topic for the day was solar water heating.

There are several systems for heating your water, some really cheap and/or simple, and some can be elaborate, but a very doable DIY project if you know how to put together pipes.

1. Batch system, where sun heats water directly on the tank. The tank can be painted black to absorb heat and can be used alone or with an On-Demand water heater. Con is that it can freeze over because it is exposed to the elements. Typically used in the tropics, where the only likelihood is when hell freezes over! :-P


2. Thermosyphon, similar to the batch system, except in structure, where heated warm water travels up the tubes and to the top of the tank and cool water enters at the bottom of collector. Batch and thermosyphon systems are both non-automized systems, they work with physics, saving electricity, obviously!


3. Open loop direct, preheats water as it is consumed and controlled with a snap switch or digital controller in your house. A small pump (usually PV powered) circulates the hot water.


4. Glycol system, designed to be freeze resistant, where the collector fluid is a glycol/water mix and the heat exchanger transfers the heat from the collector loop to the consumption loop. It is within your home


5. Drainback system, similar in construction to the glycol system, but the collector fluid can be just plain water and requires the least maintenance. Water does not come in contact with freezing temperatures. The advantage is fewer parts and no chemicals!


A system with new parts and installation can cost about $3,500-4,000, or you can buy used parts & PV panels (solar panels) from e-bay, craigslist or through Maverick Solar and install it yourself for about $1,000 if you're a good DIY person.

Anyway, Maverick was very informative and gave us some great resource material. He says if you are considering solar panels, you must visit these places:

www.homepower.com (a must for solar power users, he recommends you subscribe to the mag and download the free PDFs)
http://www.eere.energy.gov/
http://www.fsec.ucf.edu

Alas, here's some free PR for him (although this is his hobby, he probably will consult):
Maverick Solar (http://www.mavericksolar.com)

If you contact him, please tell him where you heard about it!

Thought you couldn't afford solar panels?

Now there's an affordable and totally attainable solution! I was so happy to find that there is a way to have solar panels without spending the $25,000-30,000 for a 3 kW system. Unfortunately, we don't live in the Austin Energy service area, so we don't get to take advantage of their generous rebates AE members get (something like 75% of the costs!).

Basically, a company called CitizenRE, would rent you the solar panels and you buy the energy produced from those solar panels at about the same cost or much cheaper than what your electric company charges at a 25 year locked in rate if you sign the 25 year contract! CitizenRE would handle the installation and maintenance, and you only need to put in a deposit, but at least there's no big system purchase to worry about and the contract is transferrable if you sell your house. More details can be found on the CitizenRE site, and there's even a nifty solar calculator:


I like the part about how many trees you save, your carbon print on the planet and how many autos you take off the street.

I found Christian Soeffker's profile, an Independent Ecopreneur of CitizenRE, on an Austin Meetup board. He filled me in on how this is done, so if you contact him, please tell him where you heard about it!

House plans almost finished!

We used a designer/architect (Ted Mengers, Pyranak Design Group) to design our house plans as opposed to ordering ready made plans online. It was a VERY long process (took almost 1 year), but it was very much worth the effort. We did this for several reasons:

1. We searched several hundreds of plans online and none fit our needs. I wanted a guest room downstairs and the rest of the bedrooms upstairs, including the master bedroom.
2. We tailored the plans to our lifestyle. I love to cook and entertain, but don't like to be apart from company, therefore we have an open layout (no walls and halls!).
3. We wanted a modern home that is unique. None of the plans simply did not fit our style.
4. We wanted a higher standard, energy & space efficient plan. We don't think bigger is better and we are building with energy efficient SIP walls/roof, so we needed plans that were designed green.

We just got word that our plans are just about finished, and we have to approve the electrical and acoustic plans. In the electrical plan, you decide where the light switches, electrical outlets, lights, ceiling fans, cable/dataports and phone lines go. Though we will do wireless, Jan thought it was good to always be able to plug into the network for stability reasons. He's a total computer geek, so I believe him :-). Here's a sample pic of how an electrical plan looks like:

The $ are light switches, the filled triangle is a phone connection, the empty triangle is a data port, the circle with 2 slashes is an electrical outlet, etc...

In the acoustic plan, you decide where you want extra sound insulation in your walls. In the following picture, it is denoted with squiggle lines on the walls:


Next, we have to get the Structural Engineer to finish the structural plans. This should only take 1-2 weeks and then it's time to submit for permit approvals and financing!!! Can't wait!!!

Choosing the U-build It Program

Owner-builder programs can save you huge amounts of money (in our case, we would easily save $60,000) because you are basically taking over the builder's job of managing your house project and controlling cost and choice which suits us perfectly fine. We are extremely picky about design and quality, due to our backgrounds, so this type of program is very appealing. You have to spend at least 1-2 hours a day and keep track of the schedule, do daily site visits, keep on top of things, etc... but it is a rewarding thing for us and many others...

Sound daunting? Yes, but you have plenty of support and information available to you and it's not rocket science. At the minimum, it is at least worth the investigation to see if you want to do it this way. Check out the various owner builder links I have listed and read up on it if you want more details.

After researching 3 owner-builder programs, we decided to go with U-Build It. They ended being the most thorough, responsive, and professional of the 3 networks. We also checked their references, and they received stellar reviews here in the Austin area.

So here is the cost breakdown to join up (in the Austin area, at least).

2419 square foot home x $5.50 per A/C square foot = $13,304

This includes:
- 20 site visits throughout the process
- Advice and guidance from professional builders
- Comprehensive manual on what to do next
- A list of reliable/tested subcontractors that we can use which is completely optional
- Financial backing when getting financing for your construction loan (they basically are responsible for your home if you don't end up finishing it!)

All 3 networks are listed on Better Business Bureau, and you should meet with them for an hour or two to see what kind of vibe you get.

I'll post our bids for our house in the next few days. You will see how costs have risen considerably since last I posted about our budget!!! I hope we can make it :-)!

Unique rock wall for drip cooling can be made affordably

Our architect, Ted Mengers, recommended making this gorgeous and unique pebble wall enclosed in wire mesh for catching and cooling breezes on our landscape. The possibilities are limitless, and we're considering using these dry pebble walls for surrounding our carport and storage for our rainwater collection tanks...

OUTDOOR SINK


WALL


EXTERIOR WALLS, EVEN!!


They should be cheap to make with wire mesh and odd size pebbles... and it looks beautiful in a very organic way.

Swedish toilets - why they rule!

I think the following story sums up why Swedish toilets are superior to American ones (and why my Swedish husband insists we get 3 of them for our home). It's a hilarious, yet honest take on poorly designed American toilets. By the way, if you're easily sickened, don't read :-).

Anonymous post on a message board (only corrected spelling):
"I have apparently used low-flow toilets here in Sweden all my life. I
have no problem with them. They have the water level lower so that the
flushing water gets higher speed when falling down.

So then I went to the US for a trip and found that not only do you pull
carpets into the bathroom and around the toilet (EWW!), the toilets
themselves are totally stupid! They hold a gallon of water in a bowl so
close to your ass that you have to hold your penis while taking a shit
so that it won't hang down into the water! Then when you flush, the
toilet pours another two gallons of water slowly into the bowl so that
you get to watch your turds carousel around and around for half a minute
before exiting the drainpipe. That is just plain silly!

Our low-flow/high-speed toilets go SLURP! and all the crap is gone and the
porcelain is washed clean from the aggressive burst of water in five
seconds. And we use less water too."

We found these Swedish toilets here in the U.S.:
http://www.ifo-usa.com/

Mainly, they are superior because they have a much larger pipe and use very little water. My husband says that they NEVER need to be plunged. In fact, he has never even used a plunger before in Sweden! Not only that, it's eco-friendly because you're saving that precious resource and getting much better performance as well. I'm sold.

Anyway, we are definitely going to buy these, they're worth their money.

Picking Concrete for Our Kitchen/Bath Countertops

I absolutely love this concrete that's so popular in modern homes. Mixed with river rocks and bamboo, I think it will have a very Japanese and modern effect that we are after. It's a very monolithic and organic looking material that we would like to use on our kitchen and bath countertops... and it comes in so many colors too!
Our designer told us about this company:
http://syndecrete.com/main.html
Here's a few photos:
EXAMPLE OF BATHROOM SINK

EXAMPLE OF ANOTHER BATHROOM SINK

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL, NOTICE THE ORGANIC TEXTURE...

SO MANY COLORS TO CHOOSE FROM, YOU CAN EVEN GET IT MIXED IN WITH COLORED, RECYCLED GLASS!!!

WE LIKE THIS STAINED BLACK CONCRETE FLOOR WITH BROWN MARBLE.... WE THINK IT WILL LOOK GORGEOUS WITH CONTRASTING COLOR FURNITURE:

A Word About Septic , Septic Design and Graywater

For those of you unfamiliar, most of the lots that are out in the countryside aren't connected to town sewerage, so you have to get your own septic tank. It is where all your wastes go after you flush your toilet or clear your garbage disposal, if you have one. We are opting to use compost for our organic trash instead of a garbage disposal, since Jan likes to garden with it. It's basically thrown in a container and fed to worms that make a juicy soil that plants love :-).

Graywater is the water flushed from your laundry machine, sinks and showers. Many green people use graywater to water plants, which is perfectly fine. You have to plumb for it, but Texas has restrictions that you can only use graywater from laundry machines as of now. We are plumbing for it, but I'm not sure if we are going to use it for watering yet. We will be using our rainwater collection for most of our watering needs.

Anyway, so we got the Septic guy out there. In Austin, there's a process you have to go through before you can get to building. It goes like this:

1. When plans are finished and engineered, go to the Travis County office and apply for your building permit. It's like $35 for the permit application. You'll get a building permit number, but the building permit takes time to process.
2. Tell your septic installer that you got your permit number, and you supply him with some documents and then he submits the septic design and application to the county office. ($460 fee for this)
3. Your building permit gets approved based on septic design, and it will take about 30 days for you to get your permit and septic design approved.
4. You can start building!

About the septic design, our Septic guy was very adamant about only designing CONVENTIONAL PRESSURE DOSE SYSTEMS - NO AEROBIC SYSTEMS!!!!! He says that big builders always put in aerobic systems, and they are high maintenance and costly because with aerobic systems you have to sign a maintenance contract with a septic guy that LINES their pockets. They basically want you to buy aerobic systems because they get so much in maintenance agreements. But here's what happens:
1. You have to pump out your aerobic system every 1-2 years. The holding tank for the aerobic system is so much smaller, so you have to pump more frequently (yuck!). The pump is used all the time, wasting energy and it wears out faster.
2. Sign an agreement with someone to do this maintenance, and if he dies, moves, or disappears, then you are screwed the money!
3. Aerobic systems don't last, but they are cheaper, so builders get it, but the homeowners are stuck with the maintenance costs and headache. Builders wash their hands of it after building completion.

Conventional Pressure Dose Systems:
1. They have much larger tanks, so you only need to pump every 5-6 years and have a much simpler design.
2. Pumps are only used when water is flushed, so since it is used so much less, they last up to 15 years.
3. You don't need to sign a maintenance agreement, and they don't require maintenance much. They are a few thousand dollars more expensive, so that's why more people/builders don't get this system, even though it is better quality, folks!

Septic costs (in Austin, Texas but they'll at least give you an idea!):
$14,500 - Septic total, 1250 gallon septic tank (for up 2800 sq. ft. home), using conventional pressure dose system, includes installation, materials, labor, design fee of $800 for septic engineer
$350 - Soil test drilling
$460 - Septic application approval fee (goes directly to Travis County)

TOTAL=$15,110

Here's a sketch of our septic design:

Sweating for this View

We (or more like Jan and Sami) started clearing out our lot. And we discovered this beautiful oak nestled between water-sucking cedar plants:


Here in Austin's Hill Country, live oak trees are prized if you have really large ones on your lot. They give a very bonsai-ish/African Serengeti look to your landscape. But beware that cedars (the ones that look like large bushes) try to surround oaks and hog up the water, so it's best to clear them away from the oaks so you can enjoy the beauty of them.

Here's another look at this stunning oak tree from our future breakfast nook:


The other day, we had to get the septic guy to start designing our septic and get our application in and approved before they can even start to build! Yeah, it's the first thing on our list of what to do.

And now, we have to decide who it shall be for the owner builder network, OBCH or OBN?

Our Budget

This is the most Frequently Asked Question, so here it is, straight from the hip:

Our max budget:
325,000=construction costs for 2500 square foot energy efficient SIP home
77,500=3 acre lot cost
25,000=soft costs (home/septic design, structural & septic engineering)
55,000=swimming pool (16 ft x 40 ft)

TOTAL=$482,500

However, we may swallow the soft costs and pay for that out of our own pocket.

We'll let you know if we go over or under this budget. We will try to reduce the construction costs as much as possible.

Floorplans!

And introducing... the Leyonberg Estate (story to follow)
This 2500 square foot home, utilizes a lot of outdoor spaces to take advantage of fine Austin weather (8 months of the year, at least!). There will also be an open-air, detached garage port not shown on these plans.

These are pretty much finalized, but we have a few tweaks to do:

CLICK ON PICS BELOW TO ENLARGE

1st FLOOR


2nd FLOOR


The name "Leyonberg" is my husband's paternal grandmother's maiden name in Sweden, which is going extinct. There are only approximately a dozen people left in the world with this name. Not only is it relatively unique, but has a strong meaning, which I love... "leyon" is Swedish for "lion" and "berg" means "mountain". Lions are symbols of courage, honor and strength, and we think this house will fit it well, being one of the best green projects, requiring honest/good quality materials.

Elevations (Colored In)

I spent many hours coloring the elevations of our dream house... yes, I know, I'm a bit overzealous when it comes to our future home. I hope this will be an informative blog as well. Here are the 2-D images:

SOUTH (front)


NORTH (back)


WEST


EAST


Last weekend, we went to the Austin Energy Green by Design Workshop, which was an 8 hour, enlightening experience. According to them, as well as our own wonderful designer, Ted Mengers at Pyranak Design Group, either North or South should be the front elevation and the sides of the house should be oriented East-West. Yippee! We did it right.... and it looks gorgeous too.