Onward Through the Fog (or, hopefully, lack thereof...)

As a preliminary step to putting solar panels on our house, we have received an energy audit from the City of College Station.  The city has a wonderful program whereby they pay a considerable portion of the cost of installing solar panels and the necessary equipment to connect the photovoltaic system to the current electrical grid.  Naturally, to guarantee that this investment is properly assured of success, they want to confirm we are not wasting energy anywhere else in the house.

We expected a huge laundry list of things we would have to change; in fact, we don’t expect to go solar until next year at this time at the earliest.  We wanted to give ourselves plenty of time to fix not only the ‘low hanging fruit’ (things like weatherstripping, etc., which we have been slowly but surely handling on a weekly basis), but also any major structural problems.

We were pleasantly surprised by how short this list of necessary fixes really is.

Our air-conditioner, perhaps the most important piece of equipment in a Texas home, is in good shape.  We need to repair the ceiling of the A/C closet, because it is basically open air to the attic, which the inspector estimated is costing us roughly 150 kilowatts a month.  That’s the sum total of major repairs necessary, though.  Everything else falls under the category of tweaks.

Some of the more interesting suggestions:

• Heat the chicken coop in winter with a passive solar water heater.  This actually could be part of our rainwater collection system, although we are going to have to think long and hard about how to make this work correctly.  Basically,  the principle would be to place a large black water tank alongside the chicken coop; the sun will warm the water (even in the middle of February), and this in turn will keep the coop warm.
• Solid barriers for walls of the chicken coop.  This is actually something we were thinking about for summer cooling, as well – we are thinking along the lines of some kind of open-and-close contraption like the lean-to closing of a roadside kiosk, where we could provide additional shade for the ladies in summer, and perhaps make the coop more critter-proof at night.
• Digital monitor for the Air Conditioner.  At a cost of roughly $25, the estimated savings are significant, because we have a less-than-reliable analog monitor at present.
• A new grape arbor for the western exposure.  We actually intended to do this already, but our intrepid inspector assured us that there will be a significant energy savings from having vines (like our trusty muscadines!) soak up the sun’s energy before it ever reaches the house.  In winter, the deciduous vines will actually allow sunlight through, so there will not be any problem in terms of extra heating costs – it’s an all-season arrangement!

Between these small changes and the institution of our rainwater collection system, we figure we have plenty to accomplish between now and next October (when we hope to go solar).  That’s not even taking into account the gardening, or the organizing of Pulletpalooza, or the rearing of two junior Myrtle Maintenance personell.  We’ll keep you posted.

Happy farming!