The size of average homes has increased hugely in recent years, a luxury that will pass, no doubt, you don't need so much, and don't need to heat it all either ... we heat only with wood here, got electric baseboards for insurance purposes but never use them, it helps to be a logger by trade and constantly faced with fuel byproduct right beside the truck and saw, still you can buy firewood in many places for far less than its BTUequiv in any other form
This house is on the small size, overinsulated with double and taped airtight vapour barrier, designed and built in the late seventies when we thought oil was 'high', i put a lot of planning into things like window/eaves correlation - 21Dec all light through the window is permitted by the eaves, 21Jun the eaves block it all ... just a matter of angles, bit of research on the height of the sun on those dates ... also other touches, like several cubic metres of masonry, brick, concrete and stone under and surrounding the stove, including oversize chimney, gives good flywheel effect for the heat, stove can go out completely and it takes several days for the house to cool right down ... it only takes the off-cuts that two or three acres of BC bush produces in a year, to heat this place, pretty sustainable, and the ashes are great in the garden, can't ever have enough of them |
