The OLDER Photographers' thread...

Timphoto wrote in post #11853716
We've just completed a remodel of our house and much of what we did was related to energy conservation like improved insulation, dual pane windows, more efficient lighting, and on demand water heating. It's a little too early to tell, but if the preliminary results hold up, we've reduced our energy needs by at least 28%.

I've heard mixed results about the "on demand" heaters, so it will be interesting to hear how you think it goes.

One thing I've shied away from is the high efficiency ( > 92% ) furnaces. Everyone I have talked to, including several HVAC installers, say that between the additional up front cost and the sky high repair cost when they break there is no real savings. Because they are 10x more complex, they also tend to break much more frequently.

I have no way to separate the hot water heating usage from the overall home heating usage, so it is impossible to prove the on-demand system is more efficient. The water heater needed to be replaced, and there were tax credit incentives too. Overall LP gas usage is clearly down, so I'm pleased.

mbellot wrote in post #11853911
I've heard mixed results about the "on demand" heaters, so it will be interesting to hear how you think it goes.

We have on demand water heater, fueled by natural gas in Australia.. Absolutely brilliant.. Instant hot water, never runs out and cheap to run..

The on demand systems are great. Your not heating water sitting in a tank and not being used. They also take up considerably less space.

They're not kidding when they advertise endless hot water. With the old water heater we could barely fill up our tub and have it toasty warm. Longer showers would become cooler. It's absolutely no problem with the on demand system. The water is hot, period. In fact if we're not careful it will make the tub water too hot.

skygod44 wrote in post #11853618
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This sounds positive!
And Tim, I don't want any political stuff coming in here, either....don't see the need to go in "that" direction!!!!!!
No. This is merely a ponder on what we'll all be doing if/when we can't rely on oil providing the backbone to what we now take for granted.

And, as the OLDER people, it's us who've used the most of the black stuff, so shouldn't we be coming up with positive ideas for our kids?

For me, my first aim (and this is 100% real!) is to get our home-building project underway this year.
Want to build using "old" Japanese and European methods combined, thus avoiding mass-produced components. And as a self-build project, any problems that come up in the next 10~20 years I should be able to fix myself.

Simon, I'm very interested in your future building project. And this seems as good a forum as any to share experience and knowledge on topics like this...no need for it to be political at all.

It's more about what decisions one makes in view of the new technologies available, and what alternatives to old forms of energy become practical as they come on stream.

Please keep us informed of the progress....

A lot of the problem is so many of the "average person" just does not want to think about it. The "live for today" philosophy seems to run pretty rampant in most societies.

The other problem is most are consumed with just getting by these days. Work pressures have certainly increased, people no longer carry lots of stock items, so "just in time" delivery is now quite commonplace. Everybody wants everything done NOW, they don't want to wait.

Sometimes I think it would be nice to just go back to the 60's or 70's, before life got too hectic to sit back and smell the roses.

L.J.G. wrote in post #11856481
Everybody wants everything done NOW, they don't want to wait.

Sometimes I think it would be nice to just go back to the 60's or 70's, before life got too hectic to sit back and smell the roses.

We live in a "me" world, and no one wants to wait. The drive for the almighty $ has driven the providers of goods to have the consumer at this point.


I agree with you about what seemed to be a slower, less worrisome life style of the 60's and early 70's.

pbelarge wrote in post #11856622
I agree with you about what seemed to be a slower, less worrisome life style of the 60's and early 70's.

Late '60s, riots in the streets, MLK and RFK assassinated. Early 70's had Vietnam still going full bore, and my draft lottery number was 37.

That wasn't my idea of slower and less worrisome.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I think it's VERY easy to look back at "the good old days" and ignore what problems we had in the world, which is why I try to recall the good stuff and use it to improve my/our future, rather than wishing I could turn back the clock.

So, on with the house, and Missus Skygod (MkII) is, as many know, a pro' soprano opera singer, so we're going to build 2/3 'home', 1/3 'concert hall' which will, as luck would have it, double up as a great space for me to do photo shoots as we're going to have the ceiling up at rafter-level in that part of the house.

Now, here's the crazy part: I'm 99% determined to construct the walls with the Japanese equivalent to "wattle and daub". Getting info' about that now, and if the weather (and planning permission!!!) look promising, we're hoping to get all the foundations (which will include underground parking for 6~8 cars) done by late-summer.....

More, as and when!

And if anyone has knowledge of wattle & daub, well, don't keep it to yourself!

Cheers for now,

Simon

Wattle & daub looks a lot like lath & plaster to me, but I have no experience building with either one.

Love the idea of a large high ceiling room. We're doing the final finish details on THIS one ourselves. It has lots of natural light - something I highly recommend if you can do it.

But Simon, I can't help but ask - how does an underground parking garage for 6-8 cars fit in with the "green" theme?

Timphoto wrote in post #11860547
Wattle & daub looks a lot like lath & plaster to me, but I have no experience building with either one.

Love the idea of a large high ceiling room. We're doing the final finish details on THIS one ourselves. It has lots of natural light - something I highly recommend if you can do it.

But Simon, I can't help but ask - how does an underground parking garage for 6-8 cars fit in with the "green" theme?

Hybrids?? Electric?? Flintstone??

Probably not a big diesel truck like I would prefer to have in the driveway!

Jill-of-all-Trades wrote in post #11860592
Hybrids?? Electric?? Flintstone??

Probably not a big diesel truck like I would prefer to have in the driveway!

From a "green" standpoint ever 6-8 hybrids or electrics would be a stretch.

What are you going to do with a big diesel truck?

Timphoto wrote in post #11860547
But Simon, I can't help but ask - how does an underground parking garage for 6-8 cars fit in with the "green" theme?

Obvious answer to that is...Skygod has a car, Mrs. Skygod has a car, and the rest of the space will be Skygod's workshop...he's a guy with things to make, projects to complete!
I should be so lucky! :p

Timphoto wrote in post #11857303
Late '60s, riots in the streets, MLK and RFK assassinated. Early 70's had Vietnam still going full bore, and my draft lottery number was 37.

That wasn't my idea of slower and less worrisome.

Yeh I went through conscription (draft) as well. Yep, there were problems in the world, there usually is, but what I meant was there were no mobile phones, no faxes, no email, life was not so much a rush as it is these days. If something was going to take a week to do, we accepted it. Now if you say to somebody a job is going to take a week they want it done in 2 days.

Most people were friendly, not withdrawn, self centred and self serving like many are today. Kids played outside, not glued to a TV or computer. You could let kids safely walk down the road without fear of anything happening to them (well, here you could). If you had a car that did 100mph you were the absolute king of your town.

If you got into a fight and one of the participants went down you waited till they got back up, you didn't lay the boot in and get all your mates to join the fun just because they could. Life was still tough, it was just a lot less complicated than it is today.