Great start, thanks Joshua! Definitely agree that moving heat is one of the better items to be considering. There are a good few options for the ground-based systems depending on space available and funds. You hit on some YT channels that I typically look at on renewable/green info. One that I'd add to that pile is "Just Have a Think": https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRBwLPbXGsI2cJe9W1zfSjQ There's also a couple Tesla fan-boys @ "Now You Know". They do a good job covering some interesting renewable tech outside of Tesla as well, including other new (generally electric) transportation options and more: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMFmrcGuFNu_59L0pHcR0OA As an aside, Battery Hookup is great for sourcing used low-cycle count batteries that are ideal for things like DIY power-walls for home solar, if you really want to geek out on storage. They've also got a few (small-scale - i.e. camping-size) solar items still available from the Renogy liquidation sale that started a few days ago: https://batteryhookup.com/ (use a code on checkout - BATTERY or DIY normally work for at least 5%) Regards, Chris On 5/14/21 1:45 PM, joshua.gage.stone--- via WLUG wrote:
Hey everyone!
Thanks for another night full of discussion covering many interesting topics!
I'm interested to learn more about everyone's longterm plans for carbon-neutral/carbon-negative living! My wife and I have been researching on this topic for some time as we believe there are numerous benefits in reducing energy requirements, and we hope that when it comes time to become home owners we'll be able to start from the ground up with this type of living ingrained in our household!
It turns out that there's a *lot* of room for improvement in energy efficiency, and by extension, carbon reduction. While I think transition to green energy is immensely important as a longterm plan, I also think it's important for us to evaluate ways to reduce our carbon footprint as individuals
Examples include:
- Switching to induction stoves which are more efficient and safer than traditional electric stoves
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pftcQ6NGPfc
- Switching to heat pump dryers for reducing energy usage with the added bonus of eliminating the need for vents
https://www.energystar.gov/products/heat_pump_dryer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh-j0sWBEJA
- Switching to heat pump water heaters
https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/heat-pump-water-heaters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omivdhxdGv0
- Switching to air-source/ground-source heat pumps to replacing gas/oil/electric heating for hot water and heating
https://www.energystar.gov/products/heating_cooling/heat_pumps_geothermal https://www.energystar.gov/products/heating_cooling/heat_pumps_air_source https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zrx-b2sLUs
I think heat pump technology could be very promising for a wide number of applications, as it turns out that the most efficient way to work with heat is to simply *move* it around, rather than generate more heat through gas, oil, etc. With climate change and global warming being an existential threat, the last thing we want to do is add more heat to the problem!
A more ambitious longterm goal my wife and I have is that we would like to someday have a house built to Passive House standards, which is said to reduce home heating requirements by up to 90%:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=secB3R0sIYU https://phmass.org/ https://www.buildwithrise.com/stories/texas-passive-house-weathered-the-2021... https://zeroenergy.com/portfolio/all-projects https://zeroenergyproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/RPA_Scranton_Passiv... https://www.phius.org/home-page
Something I find especially interesting about Passive Houses is that they're often able to achieve net positive energy production and EV charging with even a modust solar panel installation. This means they can give back to the power grid with fewer panels compared to other houses built to code, reducing the total environmental impact from solar panel manufacturing.
Of course, there's a high upfront monetary cost to transitioning to eco-friendly living, but at least there are programs in place to help:
https://www.masssave.com/ https://multifamily.fanniemae.com/financing-options/specialty-financing/gree...
Hope to hear everyone's thoughts!
- Josh
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