Things we’d do differently
When building a new house, it is always easy, with hindsight, to think of ways we
could have built the house better. Here are some of our thoughts:
- Think about snow and your solar panels. Our panels are at about a 45 degree angle
on our upper roof, which is not quite steep enough for the snow to slide off quickly.
Originally we planned a gantry which ran in front of the panels so we could sweep
off the snow easily, but we didn’t construct one for budgetary reasons. Make sure
that your panels are positioned so that they don’t accumulate snow, or so that you
can safely remove any snow, or you’ll lose valuable energy in the winter.
- Put in way more power points than you think you'll need. You'll need them! Keep
an eye on the electricians and make sure they put them all in. Once the dry walling
is done, it's much more expensive to fix later.
- Think about how you'll dry your laundry. Tumble dryers use a lot of energy, whether
gas or electric. If we ever build another house, we will include a solar drying room.
This will be a south facing room with lots of passive solar heat, and perhaps a solar
space heating panel, which produces warm air from sunlight (here’s an example from
Northern Tools). With the right design, this would give a free supply of warm air
to dry clothes on sunny days - at zero energy cost. We are also looking at a way
of diverting the exhaust hot air from our tumble dryer in winter so that it heats
our utility room instead of venting valuable heat outside.
- Pay attention to the well pump. If you might get your electricity from solar panels
in future, your choice of well pump can have a profound impact on the cost of your
solar electric system. Many well pumps run off 220V and have a very high starting
current. Your solar electric system will have to supply 220V and cope with this
high starting current, requiring you to buy much more expensive inverters. Look at
getting a solar friendly well pump system, even if you don't initially buy solar
electric panels.
- Keep it simple - our radiant heating system is very effective, but it uses 5 zones
with a multitude of pumps and valves, all of which can draw power (and go wrong).
With hindsight, we probably could have simplified the heating system somewhat, reducing
the initial cost and power consumption.
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