Minutes - Conference call July 07

Conference Call 07-02-09  8:30-9:30a.m.

Kevin, Amy, Jeff, Brent, Michael, Hans & Emmanuelle

Climate Batteries:

Michael has almost completed the climate batteries design, which will require a 12 inch exhaust riser in the island bed or in the floor of the mezzanine with a grate on top so that is doesn’t stick up (Marilyn style!).

Jeff and Michael have visited about the design for a 5feet deep aquaculture, which would require a deeper foundation.  A 30-inch deep tank might be sufficient for a variety of fish species, and the tank is far enough in that it does not get much direct sun and would not overheat.

Insulation:

The house is completely sealed up apart from 2 garage doors, which Hans will insulate while he installs the front door -which should arrive july17th and be ready to install the last week of July.

Chad could come to do a blower door test at the end of July or August 1^st.

Geothermal/Solar:

Brent completed a new energy simulation taking into account all suggestions to shave electrical usage on geothermal equipment, lights -with Ledtronics bulb replacement-, and eliminating the 2 wine units, hot tub, appliances, cutting almost 10,000kw and bringing down the array to 15,000k dual axis.

Brent was able to shave 3-4,000kw with the geo equipment by using a better heat pump and compressor. The simulation does not include any load reduction from the tighter existing envelope.

Brent sent Ledtronics led lamps to Jeff to compare spectrum, color, wattage and luminosity.

Brent thinks that the soils’ values will be within 5 to 10% of estimated values. The final design will be easy to adjust by eliminating a hole or half loop.

The attic has an average of 12inches of cellulose insulation, which provides an R43 value and would not significantly reduce heating loads by adding insulation. Later improvements of electronic equipment might lower the load by 100 to 1,000kw but will not have a large impact.

We need to look at the infrastructure required to go to a battery backup system as a future option –location, size and cost.

Scheduling:

Hans thinks that it is realistic to schedule the foundation for early fall, and thinks it would be beneficial to move forward with construction asap while prices are competitive and contractors are available.

Jeff also thinks that the upstairs should be closed in before winter. The green house should also go up fairly quickly, and could be built soon after.

We should try to obtain bids from 3 different contractors for each major system supplier as soon as plans are finalized.

Watercatchment:

Two large water catchment storage tanks from the southern wetland area and one in the upper area could be installed, with the option to pump from the lower to the upper tank. Runoff from a variety of contaminated sources such as the driveway could also be filtered by an additional filtration pool next to the aquaculture system.

The design and planning for water catchment and heat sink tanks to be coordinated simultaneously in order to maximize excavation time and use of space.

Brent is planning for a 3 to 400gallon tank containing water for the solar thermal system, which could be stored in the mechanical room.  This tank could be as small as 100 gallons.  Final calculations should allow us to determine the optimal size.

Polycarbonate:

Jeff is in the process of restructuring the green house with 32mm panels, which will provide U-Value of .25 and a VLT of 73% –While 40mm has a U-Value of .19 and a VLT of 71%, it is not available in the US.

Action Items:

1. Michael will ask Gerome about the depth of the tank necessary to have several kind of fish. How much more life could it sustain?

2. Jeff will get with Michael Ehrlich and determine the difference in cost between 5’ or 30’’ deep tank.

3. Hans will try to expediate the shipping and installation of the 3point lock on the front door.

4. Hans will price Ledtronics lightbulbs and research rep in the area.

5. Amy and Kevin will look at Ledtronics light sample upon return.

6. Brent and Susan will provide parameters and estimates for a battery bank.

7. Brent and Hans will coordinate to schedule 2^nd blower door test with Chad asap.

8. Emmanuelle and Lisa will schedule for a site visit to design water catchment system mid-July, and provide an estimate for wetland construction system.

9.  Hans/Brent/Jeff will start selecting contractors and obtain 3 bids as soon as survey is obtained and each project design is finalized.

Thanks for the review Jeff!