Meeting minutes: 05.18.09

Participants: Kevin, Amy, Jeff, Hans, Brent, Michael, Jerome, Emmanuelle, and Lisa

Time:8:30 am -9:45 am

Summary of Discussion:

Energy:

Solar/geothermal:

Sun power Panels are 230 watts the others are???

Solar glass panels on green house would need to be customized to a trapezoid shape and therefore be expensive.  There is no other place on house to put other panels either than on the master bedroom roof and the spot determined by Brent on the side of house.

With some improvements to make the existing house 10 to 20% more efficient, 15kw should be sufficient to run the house, and provide for 5% excess (e.g. pumping for geothermal). By law, the maximum is 20kw, otherwise you we have to become a power distributor.  The energy estimates do not take into consideration the retrofit of a more efficient boiler, which could possibly cut the heat consumption down 12%.

Would be great to have solar collectors to supplements hot water and heating as well

Geothermal would be ideal, but solar thermal might be more cost effective for now. Solar thermal would provide domestic hot water, but with a system 200, 000 btu (20 solar panels) would only cover up to 70% of the radiant heat needs, which would not provide a net zero solution. If geothermal is added later on, the redundancy of the system become a problem for maintenance and getting rid of heat in summer time.

Need to decide on the geothermal option and drill a test hole.  An estimate of 8 to 12 holes would cost about $40,000, and will  determine the final sizing need to be made, the site might be as good as a thermo conductivity of 1.

Price of geo driller are going down, see cost of 10-20 dollars a foot. Horizontal is about the same cost that a vertical loop field now. Cheapest route is to keep hole on the flat and use vertical wells, which gives better conductivity.

Scheme F:

Deck of master bedroom:

Would a transparent porch - with glass or polycarbonate floor- porch of the master on the east side –small: 4 by 6-8’- be too much of a sun lost? Because of the  overhang, early morning sun in the winter would be  lost is there you will lost . A deck on the west would work best.

3 solutions:

1.     cover deck to the south

2.     carving out on the west wall of the master, moving master bedroom space into light monitor on the east

3.     one large opening instead of the 3 single opening with rap around deck a feeling of outside in the master.

Wainscoat inside green house on existing wall should be changed to  all rock would create more thermal mass.

Snow accumulation on south side of green house:

Brent has not included radiant snow mount in front of greenhouse in his estimations. The amount of heat that is required to melt snow from underneath is “exhortative”. Could you use energy to melt only when needed, but could still be  looking at 100-125 btu.

The stone on the bottom section of the green house would heat the snow naturally from radiance. Gerome thinks that 3feet wall should be sufficient. Michael suggested that zinc or copper would absorb sun faster and more efficiently than rock. But usually when snow builds up there is no sun.

jerome suggested that some of south glazing be equipped with a hoper window, could open in to get ventilation instead of pushing snow if needed?

jerome, Michael and Lisa can do shadow studies to see what we can grow on floor panels, and determine if semi transparent solar panels would be of benefit to the green house.  They will start developing a planting floor plant for the green house.

Action Steps:

1.     Call with John Grove Weds 11am MST to discuss grey water options

2.     Hans and Kevin to go to Basalt to see Jerome’s greenhouse

3.     Evo and kyle o review landscape

4.     Jeff, Jerome, lisa to begin looking at floor plan

5.     Brent, Kevin and Jeff to continue work on energy analysis