Journal pages coming soon!

I have been meaning to post some of my writing. I haven't had a chance to create a journal page yet. Not sure if anyone would be interested in the writing, but I have been wanting to get it out there. I have been writing all summer, not only fiction but views on a variety of topics such as life, politics, world events, green building, sociology, family, etc.. I don't have dates for my journal entries since I write on one big file, but I did leave spaces on the different days. I will be getting that figured out in the next week or so so look for the page.

Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.” ~ Cecil Beaton

I did a quick graph to show the temperature differences!

So her is a quick graph showing the temp. differences. The blue line is the air temperature. My data logger is situated inside the cabin in a shady area. The green line is the air temperature as it enters the cabin. The data logger is behind the fan. The pink line is the air temperature in the tubes just below the fresh air inlet. It is about 1-2 feet below the ground.

Getting caught up with pictures.

I'm busy getting caught up with the posting of pictures and the data from my tubes. I managed to have the fan blowing air for thirty six straight hours so I could get a better indication of how much coolness the air is absorbing as it travels through the earth tubes. I am pleased with the results, but have not yet finished the graph. There is a seven degree difference diring the peak hot hours according to my data loggers. Good results. The pleasant surprise is the difference in temperature at night. While the air temperature is as low as five degrees, the air entering the building is 12 degrees. Here are some more photos.

Some photos I haven't posted yet.

I wanted to post some of the photos

I haven't posted yet. I didn't always have my camera and so the sequence of photos may seem out of sync. Here are some of the surrounding area. The hammock is in a nice shady spot. The steps are for climbing the tree.

Here is a photo of one of the many abandoned homesteads in the area.

And this is my little road into the cabin. It sure isn't fancy.

New battery fixed the power problem!

The fan is working, and I'm not having to stop it to recharge the battery. I got five hours worth of data today with the fan running. I will plot a graph with the results, promising so far. I had as much as five degrees difference with the air temperature. I need to see what the air flow is, a little fast, but it was the only fan I could find. I'm still looking for a small computer fan Which I think would be the perfect speed. But I'm more interested in the results. On a side note, I registered to write my LEED green associate exam in early september. The photo is the view of the cabin from across the pond.

Bought a new battery!

I bought a new battery to run my fan system. The one that I have been using was quite old, probably 5 years at least if not more. I was trying to save a bit of cash by using the one from my tent trailer, but it wasn't holding it's charge. So $100 dollars later, I will get a better idea of how well the tubes perform with a fan drawing the air constantly.

Cabin shell is close to lock up!

So the shell  of the cabin is close to complete. I will be building a loft, deck, pergola and small kitchen area. At this point though I'm simply worried about the building envellope. I want it to be good, but it is tough having used windows and lots of culled lumber from thesale piles. I will take my time with the finishing, interior and exterior once I get to lock up. I'll probably work on it this winter. For now, I need to start worrying about school, and I will be taking my LEED green associate exam soon. I am looking at a new battery, not sure if my battery is the problem, or wether or not I need more panels. I will relook at my calculations to see where I went wrong. The cabin has a nice feel to it though. I'm looking forward to having it done. It won't win any awards, but will be a good getaway.

Fan system is great for cooling air!

So the battery I have to power my system is not holding a charge long enough. However, for the hottest couple of hours that it ran today, it brought the air temperature down to 20 degrees celcius. Pretty good I think. I was pondering how useful it would be in a system with a furnace. On a thirty degree plus day, consistent air coming into the home at twenty degrees would certainly make a building far more comfortable for very little energy use.

Photovoltaic system and fan!

Well the little photovoltaic system I set up is working great. The fan is a little stronger than I'd like, but would do well in a larger building. I don't have data on it yet, my battery wasn't holding a charge for long enough. I have it charging and I am hoping to get some data with the fan running continuously. I want to see what effect a faster airflow has on the temperature.

Here is a graph of the potential of an earth tube system for your home or building.

The orange line represents the air temperature, the blue line is the air temperature entering the building, that has been conditioned by the underground temperature . The yellow line is the temperature deep inside the tubes. I have found that it fluctuates between 16-18 degrees. I will be trying to get a better measurement, but for now it serves as a good guide for when the outdoor temps have been high during the day. As you can see from the graph, the cooling potential for this type of passive system is significant. One of the positive offshoots of the system, is the potential for heating applications as well. The temperature differentials are not as large, but as you can see, the potential is there.

Solar system for running fan.

Here is the set-up I built to run my fan. The whole package cost about $150 for all the parts. I took the battery off my tent trailer, since it is meant to be drained and recharged. The panel is from Blue Planet, it is rated for 5.5W with a current of 400mA @ 15V. It is ideally suited to recharge a 12V battery. The Inverter is a small one from Canadian Tire and was one of the cheapest I could get.  Here is what the set up looks like. Missing is the fan which has been wired with a regular plug-in, which is plugged into the inverter. The battery is used to keep it running at night, and the panel runs the fan during the day and recharges the battery.

Here is the fan for the tubes!

I don't think I have posted the fan system for my blog yet. It is a small 4" fan that I purchased at Princess Auto. A computer fan would probably be best, since it probably uses less power. I will post photos and drawings of the power system I rigged up to power the fan soon.

Trying to catch up!

As things stand now, I'm trying to get caught up on my posting. Stay tuned for more photos, graphs and charts that I haven't scanned or downloaded yet. I also need to update my reference materials, since I have been reading library books pretty much all summer.

Interpreting Data!

I have been compiling data from my data loggers for a few weeks now. I have been trying to get a feel as to where to place them, and what variables are coming into play that is affecting the results. What I found was the direct sun was giving me abnormally high readings. The data loggers are black and so absorb the heat, as does the corrugated tubes. SO the tubes were covered and some insulation place around them. SInce I have taken these measures, my readings have been more consistant. I have named my logging locations as the inlet, the outlet and the ambiant air temperature. The ambiant air temperature will become the interior of the cabin temperature as I want to record the effect on temps from the tubes. but for now, that logger is inside the framing, in the shade. I have also taken the temperature of the bottom of the tube system, which remained relativelly constant, fluctuating slightly between 16 degrees and 18 degrees. Here is that graph taken on AUgust 6th and 7th. I have been collecting my data every few weeks in order to stay on top of things and make sure I am eliminating some of the factors in order to maintain  accurate data. If you want  to look at the graphs and photos more closelly, simply double click on the image.

Progress and Data Results Thus far!

Things have been moving along so far this summer.I still have not been posting as often as I would like. I'm in the process of putting the roof on the cabin, Sheathing next week. My Data collection has shown a lot of promise. When it has been hot, my temperature differential has been about 13 degrees celcius. At night, the air in my system has been as much as 8 degrees warmer. The temperature near the bottom of the tubes has maintained a 16-18 degree temperature throughout the day. My goal is to have the cabin at the lockup stage next week so I can measure the temperature inside the cabin. Here is an example of one of my data graphs.

Changing the name and purpose of my blog.

So now that my blog assignment is done, I have only been using it for my research. I will continue doing that, but since I like writing, I want to use it more as a vessel for my thoughts and ideas on a variety of topics. When I was in my twenties, I read a book called Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I am shamelessly stealing that title for this blog. I have been thinking about alot of things lately, some thoughts on big topics and small alike. That is what I'm going to do with this blog. I don't think many people from my program are looking at the blogs anymore, so What the hell?

A little thought about the Cabin.

I have been building the cabin for a little while now, trying to make time whenever I can. It's been tough, with working graveyards (good name for the night shift since I feel like death at the end of my work week), doing my LEED course and trying to fulfil my family obligations. I also do not have any power on site, and decided against a generator, since my budget is very limited. I could probably save alot of time with one, but I am finding it neat doing things old school. Here are some photos of my progress.

I have been examining some of my data. Good results so far.

My data loggers are on and collecting a temperature reading every half hour. I have been looking at some of the results and am pleased with my system thus far. I have observed an 8 degree difference between the intake and the outlet. I still need to perfect my data collection in order to eliminate anything that could lead to a wonky temperature reading, such as the tubes (the exposed parts) getting too hot in the sun. Also I don't have a fan system as of yet, I am still looking at options, but the system seem to be drawing air without it.

Good news and bad news!!

Well here we are already into the Month of August. I guess that could be bad news as the summer is coming to an end. The good news is that I have finished my LEED green associate course and will sign up for the exam as soon as I get my confirmation number. The course was very interesting and I would highly recommend it. We learned alot of the concepts in our various courses. Anyways, the bad news is that I lost a months worth of Data on my data loggers. I should have put in new batteries before going to New Brunswick, but I didn't. And so I have no data to show for the month of July. I will have to continue collecting data through September, so hopefully it will be hot. The cabin is comming along, but I am way over budget. I will end up with a small writers cabin out of the deal so I don't mind. On a side note, I met Paul Fletcher from Riverside Energy. They did the solar system on the Dream home. Very interesting guy, I priced out a small system for my cabin, which hopefully, I'll be able to get later in the year.