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oprn Samba Member
Joined: November 13, 2016 Posts: 12730 Location: Western Canada
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 8:53 am Post subject: Do you use your home efficiency? |
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It's a fact that our vehicles are used very inefficiently (2 ton 6 passenger trucks and SUVs that spend most of their life on the road virtually empty) but what about our homes?
We heat our homes in the winter and cool them in the summer but how much of that house gets used on a daily basis? I will start.
Our home is a very modest 1.5 story 1000 sq. ft. older farm house with 5 bedrooms, 2 baths, Kitchen/dining room, living room and family room. On a daily basis we only actually use 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom and the kitchen/dining room. If family comes (4 or 5 times a year?) it increases to another bedroom or two and the second bathroom. In actual fact for day to day living we could easily get by with a home half this size.
How about you? _________________ We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)
Last edited by oprn on Fri Dec 02, 2022 5:15 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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steve244 Samba Member
Joined: March 18, 2022 Posts: 1666 Location: GA
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oprn Samba Member
Joined: November 13, 2016 Posts: 12730 Location: Western Canada
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 10:00 am Post subject: Re: Home use efficiency |
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Interesting! We are not taxed on heated space just the footprint of the building. Our basement is finished and heated. It contains 1 bedroom, bathroom and family room. The second story of the house is not heated and contains 2 bedrooms under the peak of the roof. If we use them we put a temporary electric space heater in them just for the duration of the usage. _________________ We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age) |
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steve244 Samba Member
Joined: March 18, 2022 Posts: 1666 Location: GA
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 10:08 am Post subject: Re: Home use efficiency |
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How insulated is your house? What year was it built?
In GA in the 50s insulation was optional. Walls are just an airspace between the sheetrock and the brick. I blew insulation in the attic and swapped the windows to 2 pane glass. We replaced the 80% efficiency 20 yo furnace with a 95% efficiency. Both natural gas. I had guilt pains over not converting to a heat pump, but I want to be able to heat the house without power (no fireplace). The gas furnace, lights and fridge will run off a 2kW inverter generator in a pinch. _________________ 82 AC vanagon approx 200K miles (3K are mine).
DD is a 2015 Leaf
Road Trip to Hell (FL 2023)
The Vanagon's drivetrain and chassis restomod thread. Best sung to the tune of I Did It My Way... |
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kingkarmann Samba Member
Joined: November 05, 2003 Posts: 4111
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 10:13 am Post subject: Re: Home use efficiency |
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We could "get by" with basic shelter. I guess the Tiny House movement is what immediately comes to mind.
But since you asked
I prefer our "NeverDone Ranch" along with the enjoyment we get from living here.
I try not to think about the inherent waste that comes with owning things. _________________ "Depression is a malfunction of the instrument we use to determine reality.”
Mike Gerson
What is your "Bespoke Reality"? |
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Manfred58sc Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2009 Posts: 3382
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 10:18 am Post subject: Re: Home use efficiency |
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1400 sq ft Earthship, oriented 10 degrees east of true south, vertical glass,6" concrete floor.
Y'all lose this one
180,000 lbs of thermal mass _________________ Fat chick owner/operator |
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steve244 Samba Member
Joined: March 18, 2022 Posts: 1666 Location: GA
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oprn Samba Member
Joined: November 13, 2016 Posts: 12730 Location: Western Canada
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 12:19 pm Post subject: Re: Home use efficiency |
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steve244 wrote: |
How insulated is your house? What year was it built?
In GA in the 50s insulation was optional. Walls are just an airspace between the sheetrock and the brick. I blew insulation in the attic and swapped the windows to 2 pane glass. We replaced the 80% efficiency 20 yo furnace with a 95% efficiency. Both natural gas. I had guilt pains over not converting to a heat pump, but I want to be able to heat the house without power (no fireplace). The gas furnace, lights and fridge will run off a 2kW inverter generator in a pinch. |
Built about 1945 with the state of the art wood shavings insulation and double pane glass. Heated concrete pad in the basement with hot water baseboard heating on the main floor. I have replaced about 1/2 of the shavings with fiberglass insulation and there is virtually no difference. The shavings do a pretty good job! The natural gas boiler is about 80% efficient. We have a wood stove in the basement and if we use it consistently it cuts out natural gas bill in half.
I too am fascinated by the tiny home movement! At this point in life though I still need space to pursue other hobbies and interests. Not ready yet to throw in the towel and just exist...
I guess to be honest I spend a lot of time in my garage/workshop, not so much in the house. I could easily live in a tiny house if I could keep my workshop! _________________ We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age) |
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steve244 Samba Member
Joined: March 18, 2022 Posts: 1666 Location: GA
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NJ John Samba Member
Joined: September 21, 2007 Posts: 2223 Location: HdG, MD & NJ
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 2:25 pm Post subject: Re: Home use efficiency |
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We have a 1972, 2800 square footer. Unfinished basement under the main house. The family room, laundry and garage are a slab. Baseboard hot water heat, but forced air a/c. The boiler is in the basement, so it’s warm. Garage is cold, been trying to figure out some easy heat for there. Our bedroom is over the garage and I can see where they spacaled over holes for blown in insulation. It all seems to help. The fire place has a pellet stove insert, I haven’t used it yet. Been in the house just over 2 years. _________________ 1973 standard, yellow, lowered, 3” narrowed front, 1600 blo-thru turbo w/single dell 15.4@86, so far
11.41 et buggy. Long gone
Let’s go O’s! Let’s go O’s!
https://www.youtube.com/@AirSpooledGarage |
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madmike Samba Member
Joined: July 11, 2005 Posts: 5292 Location: Atlanta,Michigan
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 2:34 pm Post subject: Re: Home use efficiency |
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We have a 1200 sq foot 'Chalet' steep ass roof (We built our self & insulated the shit out of) ,a couple loft's one is Open,you know a 'Cabin' one bath , two bedroom ,Sunroom takes up most of the south side of the house,, half basement other 1/2 Root Cellar & Sauna,,Wood furriness ,coil in stove heats the floors with pex tubing, Wood CookStove heats the house up to 80*-90* when I'm Baking it also heats all our Hot water We have NO Gas Bill and we lowerd out Electric bill with Solar Panels and Battery bank.
Cheers,Mike _________________ 'Black Ice'Drag Buggy 'Turbo'
Rail Buggy 1915 turbo
76 Drag/Street bug 2180cc 'Turbo' 11:85 @113 mph"If I go any faster I'll burn up the Hamster" ,gets 28 mpg. also 10/09/22 11.90 @115 mph
"If I'm ever on Life Support,UNPLUG Me, Then Plug me back In see if that Works" |
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Abscate Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2014 Posts: 22668 Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 3:00 pm Post subject: Re: Home use efficiency |
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madmike wrote: |
We have a 1200 sq foot 'Chalet' steep ass roof (We built our self & insulated the shit out of) ,a couple loft's one is Open,you know a 'Cabin' one bath , two bedroom ,Sunroom takes up most of the south side of the house,, half basement other 1/2 Root Cellar & Sauna,,Wood furriness ,coil in stove heats the floors with pex tubing, Wood CookStove heats the house up to 80*-90* when I'm Baking it also heats all our Hot water We have NO Gas Bill and we lowerd out Electric bill with Solar Panels and Battery bank.
Cheers,Mike |
It will never catch on. What if the whole world does this? Wont the sun run out of photons? Fox News’s says a scientist says this is possible _________________ .ssS! |
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madmike Samba Member
Joined: July 11, 2005 Posts: 5292 Location: Atlanta,Michigan
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 3:48 pm Post subject: Re: Home use efficiency |
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Dude, Turn off the T.V.
We've been doing this for 35 years _________________ 'Black Ice'Drag Buggy 'Turbo'
Rail Buggy 1915 turbo
76 Drag/Street bug 2180cc 'Turbo' 11:85 @113 mph"If I go any faster I'll burn up the Hamster" ,gets 28 mpg. also 10/09/22 11.90 @115 mph
"If I'm ever on Life Support,UNPLUG Me, Then Plug me back In see if that Works" |
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Bonesberg55 Samba Member
Joined: January 18, 2012 Posts: 1270
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 4:25 pm Post subject: Re: Home use efficiency |
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We have a 2000 sq. ft. cape cod style log home on approximately 2 acres. There are 4 of us so we basically need most of the space. I converted the great room to extra living space a few years ago by making it 2 levels. We have lived here for 23 years and for about the first 10 years it felt like we were on vacation. Log homes look great but are a maintenance headache. Our plans are to cover the logs with vertical steel siding so the endless caulking and painting will stop. I replaced a small rotten log section a couple of years ago and don't want to deal with that either. My wife and I are both in our mid to late 60s and don't want to spend our retirement years dealing with constant maintenance. |
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NJ John Samba Member
Joined: September 21, 2007 Posts: 2223 Location: HdG, MD & NJ
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 4:55 pm Post subject: Re: Home use efficiency |
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We had the solar salesman sitting at our dining room table, twice last month. Way too much money. Especially if you want a battery to have power during outages. If I was younger, maybe. _________________ 1973 standard, yellow, lowered, 3” narrowed front, 1600 blo-thru turbo w/single dell 15.4@86, so far
11.41 et buggy. Long gone
Let’s go O’s! Let’s go O’s!
https://www.youtube.com/@AirSpooledGarage |
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oprn Samba Member
Joined: November 13, 2016 Posts: 12730 Location: Western Canada
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 5:26 pm Post subject: Re: Home use efficiency |
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All good to share but we have drifted a bit off topic. The original intent was to see how much of our houses we actually USE and how much is dead space. I would say about 45 to 50% of ours is dead space for the vast majority of the year. _________________ We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age) |
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Glenn Mr. 010
Joined: December 25, 2001 Posts: 76936 Location: Sneaking up behind you
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 5:33 pm Post subject: Re: Home use efficiency |
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4 bedroom cape cod built in 1954. Not sure of the total square footage, but we use all but the 2 bedrooms and bath on the 2nd floor on a daily basis.
Basement is 1/2 finished with a big couch and 62" TV. Other side is mechanicals, laundry, storage and work shop.
Main floor is bedroom, home office, and living space.
Could do with less space but it would cost more to move.
_________________ Glenn
74 Beetle Specs | 74 Beetle Restoration | 2180cc Engine
"You may not get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get"
Member #1009
#BlueSquare |
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Marcdeb Samba Member
Joined: May 22, 2019 Posts: 3033 Location: Vermont
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 5:48 pm Post subject: Re: Home use efficiency |
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oprn wrote: |
Our home is a very modest 1.5 story 1000 sq. ft. older farm house with 5 bedrooms, 2 baths, Kitchen/dining room, living room and family room. |
This can't be correct? 1,000 sq ft? _________________ Marc
68 Karmann Ghia Cabrio Autostick
71 Karmann Ghia Cabrio
Previously Owned:
2011 VW EOS Hard Top Conv
2008 Saab 9-3 2.0T Conv
2003 Saab 9-3 SE Conv
2001 Saab 9-3 Conv
1998 BMW 3 Series Conv
1997 Saab 900 Conv
1997 Mazda Miata
68 Ghia Vert Survivor with 22,350 miles: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=768107&highlight=
71 Ghia Vert Restoration: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=726710&postorder=asc |
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steve244 Samba Member
Joined: March 18, 2022 Posts: 1666 Location: GA
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Glenn Mr. 010
Joined: December 25, 2001 Posts: 76936 Location: Sneaking up behind you
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 6:38 pm Post subject: Re: Home use efficiency |
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180,000 Sq ft
_________________ Glenn
74 Beetle Specs | 74 Beetle Restoration | 2180cc Engine
"You may not get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get"
Member #1009
#BlueSquare |
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