PV Gap

Antonio Said:

Will another layer on my floors increase or decrease thermal mass?

We Answered:

Absolutely increase, anything you add, will only increase thermal mass. To insure, and promote maximum benefit, use a dark color.
The more "mass" you have for heat absorption and storage will increase the efficiency of the system.
As an analogy, a piece of aluminum foil will store very little heat, a big, heavy cast iron frying pan will store more and remain hot MUCH longer, again, because of the increased mass.

Herman Said:

Has anyone heard that Al Gore's mansion is an ungreen energy hog?

We Answered:

Funny how some don't see the hypocrisy in telling others to ride bikes to work while flying private jets all over the world and using 20 times more power than the average person.

I think actions speak louder than words and if he doesn't think "global warming" is that important then why should the rest of us? He got a "peace prize" for this and he doesn't even believe in it?

Here's a link to the home comparisons you spoke of:

http://www.snopes.com/politics//bush/hou…

At least Bush is environmentally conscious. Gore apparently isn't.

And say what you want about Clinton. At least he was smart enough not to ratify that ridiculous Kyoto Protocol.

And now even the new socialist prime minister of Australia has backed out of the Kyoto garbage. I guess he found out how dangerous it was.

Clyde Said:

Will another layer on my floors increase or decrease thermal mass?

We Answered:

adding something would add to the thermal mass.

The problem I see is that the surface needs to absorb the sun's radiation, so it can't be shiny. Also you need good thermal conductivity.

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Sylvia Said:

How can I see visually how celestial bodies will move across my property for home designing purposes?

We Answered:

If you google "www.stellarium.org" you can find several ways to access the free download stellarium program that is used by many amateur astronomers.

Regina Said:

Sustainability features in Canadian homes?

We Answered:

Insulation has been routinely installed in Canadian homes for many years now. I'm not sure exactly how long since it was mandatory in new construction and renovations but it's got to be at least 25 years, and many older houses have had it retrofitted. Double glazed and even triple glazed windows are very common. Energy efficient lighting is becoming popular lately. Water saving toilets are mandatory in some jurisdictions if you're installing a new toilet. Some areas have water meters so the more you use, the more you pay. I haven't heard of water saving taps at all, but water miser shower heads are being installed more and more. If by water tanks you mean cisterns, they're practically non existent in Canada except possibly in some fairly remote areas with poor water supply. I know of no houses that have one. Many people compost, and there are municipal compost programs where you can take plant material and tree trimmings and buy it back later in bags. Roof ventilation depends on the climate, if you mean something that takes hot air out of an attic space. In areas that get very hot in summer, you do see them. Mostly, we have soffit vents which are a passive way to keep air moving through the roof space, mainly for keeping the roof structure free of condensation which could rot the wood. They accomplish nothing in the way of cooling.

Solar and passive systems are becoming more common but due to the high cost of installation, it's usually done on custom built homes in higher price ranges. Unfortunately, in some areas such as the BC coast, it just isn't practical at all unless you're lucky enough to have an ideal location, because there isn't enough sun when you really need it, like right now. My house gets no direct sun(when it's shining at all instead of being cloudy) whatsoever from about mid September to about late April. I get little glimpses of the sun through the trees and that's it. Solar anything would be useless here. I would have to spend more than $10,000 for tree removal before even considering solar which would only be useful part of the year anyway. I don't even get enough sun in summer to keep solar walkway lights functioning as they should. And of course, with the cold temperatures in much of Canada in winter, it's got to be one heck of a system to keep an average house warm.

We don't have true water shortages as you do in Australia. We have lots of water almost everywhere in the country. The problem is usually in management of the supply, since there is least likely to be rain in summer when water demand is highest. It can be hard to store enough of it behind dams to last the whole summer, in places that require to do that. Many places have restrictions on watering your lawn and garden in summer.

We also have very low electricity costs compared to much of the world, which gives us less incentive to conserve power than there is in other places. A lot of our electricity comes from hydro-electric generation, and what Canadians mean when they say "the hydro bill" is the electricity bill. My hydro bill, for instance, in a small house and with ordinary measures like turning lights off when I don't need them, and keeping the place a bit on the cool side, is a bit less than $1000 a year and that includes electric heat which is probably half of that amount. Installing an alternate heating system wouldn't save me a lot on my hydro bill, and it would be a long time before a very efficient or passive heat system would show me any true financial benefit. I asked once about geothermal heat and was told that it would cost at least $15,000 to install, so you can see how the figures would go. I probably won't live long enough to see any financial benefit.