FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) - Karl Kassel fell in love with the site during the ptarmigan hunting in 1975. At the top of the Murphy Dome, its octagonal wooden House overlooking Denali and the Murphy dome Valley. He was 2 below zero outside and 70 degrees inside when he woke up a recent Wednesday. It was not heated at home for three days.
Solar energy of its windows, solar photovoltaic panels, wind turbines and thermal panels was being hidden for the next winter."If it remains well sunny for days to come, we will probably not have light the fire until October," he said.Kassel, his wife Billie and their 15-year-old son moved into the home off the grid last January.
"It is crazy the amount of energy which is available here in Fairbanks, that we waste," said Kassel, which dreamed since the 1970s up to the House. "I said, ' I'll do." It is logical, the available energy efficient designs are here. We know how to do this. Why are not we? ""So Kassel hired Thorsten Chlupp, general contractor and owner of Reina LLC, to build a very efficient House who made the most resources of the region. They designed a House that combines passive solar architecture, renewable energy technologies and energy storage to make the variable sunlight to Fairbanks last almost throughout the year. They are studying its performance to make the design more effective, less expensive and less dependent on fossil fuels.
The South side of the House of 1,800 square feet of Kassel is primarily windows, leaving each drop of available solar radiation.The Octagon is more effective than a design square by 20 percent, because it has a lower surface-volume ratio and corners more sweet, which is where you lose most heat, said Chlupp.It was as hot in the gateway in the Arctic shaded by the window of the Sun.
"You have no loss, you do not have any messy," Chlupp said. "You can feel very comfortable in a House like this in the 64, 66 degrees."The Interior has a theme of plein air with the sculptures of the tree, an island of freeform in the kitchen with cabinets of birch manufactured locally with hand-picked rock handles. The House contains 16 tons of rock from excursions on the river and a rock band. A blue river crosses of sand on the floor of colored concrete and the living room is filled with flower beds containing two tonnes of dust.
"We like being outdoors and floating in rivers," says of Kassel. "If we have designed the House to look like camping on a bed of gravel."All these elements, more close to 13,000 gallons of hot water, are designed to absorb and store the maximum amount of heat.
The heating system focuses on energy savings in the tank of water for later use. Heat moves, through glycol by thermal solar panels in loops in the floor and a 120-gallon domestic hot water tank in a closet. When Kassel starts a fire, in the masonry heater coils carry heat in the water tank. When the inner tank reaches 140 degrees, it diverts additional heat in a heat exchanger to a 12,000 gallon tank buried outside.
The electricity produced by a solar panel of 1.6 kW and 3 kW wind turbine first powers of the refrigerator, water pumps and needs of other public services. The system produced 400 watts Wednesday afternoon and the House, with lights, was only using 290. The extra power has accused a Bank of battery sitting in the closet, which stores about three days worth of power, said Kassel.
Once the battery is full, wind and solar are channeled into an electrical heating element for heating the water tank."Photovoltaic panels are awesome," said Kassel. "They operate more efficiently in cold weather, and you get double light from the Sun because the reflectivity on the snow."The wind is also a surprisingly constant resource, he said."Several days ago, I not really feel a breeze on the ground, but my wind is 80 feet and it is fair to hum."
If there is no sun, steps from wind and heat in the water tank not enough, it is time for a fire. Kassel used two strings of wood in the last year to meet two-thirds of its request for heating. The rest came from a propane heater.It has a backup diesel generator, which only kicked on three times in the last year, to recharge the batteries.He went through 170 gallons of propane - counting devices - and is expected to consume 20-30 litres of diesel fuel this year.
Although the House has already screams efficiency with walls 18 inches, triple-pane windows and learn how to shave the consumption of energy - and fresh - still more efficient lighting, Chlupp and Kassel.With bigger reels in the masonry heater, it would not need the propane. A thicker Foundation, with a UNDP under the floor, would also reduce heat demand, said Kassel."It is a great lesson that we learned here." We need more weight, "he says.Chlupp wants to eliminate any unnecessary part of the system.
"The simplification of the mechanical system is what I'm after - less pumps, less electricity, less what can go wrong,"he says."Kassel has spent $100,000 on renewable energy systems, he said.He received a refund of the sum of $7,500 of the State and is eligible for more than $20 000 in tax credits renewable energy through federal programs that give credits of 30 per cent of renewable energy systems.
The rest would pay for itself within 7 to 16 years, according to the system, the conditions, the price of oil and many other factors, he said.But it is not to focus only on the payback period."It's the kind of investment that is difficult to put a value on." ... When you paint your home, what is the recovery period? ", he asked.You cannot quantify the comfort, small footprint and stable energy costs, he said. Or knowing that one of the most effective houses around you.
"Seven months to Fairbanks without heating your home." ... How many people in this town are not heat their home now? Information: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, http://www.newsminer.com
