The recent IPCC climate change report has got my colleagues in the high performance home and Passive House fields scrambling to relate it to what we do in terms of sales and marketing and simply “doing the right thing” Which is fine.
I find myself thinking about it more in terms of how it relates to me and my family. I’m thinking about how underinsulated and non-air tight my walls are and the new windows I need as well as that pair of Lunos I bought a few years ago and never installed for fresh air. I’m thinking that when (not if) I do that kitchen addition, perhaps it needs to go on a full basement with a cold cellar built in for food storage. I am already planning on a small wood stove that I can cook on/in.
Vermont Bun Baker from Lehman’s
The full basement section could also contain a wood fired boiler for hot water and heat rather than a mini-split and PV. I’m looking at the commercial grade greenhouse kits in the Growers Supply catalog. Perhaps I need to look at growing more of my own food. I’m thinking about the ice storm from 2008 when we lost power for 9 days and how I hauled water from the spring which, thankfully, was not dry. Perhaps I need a new well with a hand pump. Perhaps I should build a dry and protected (from mice) storage room in the barn for grain storage. I’m also eyeing those huge pine trees that rise over the house to the West and North and how much damage one could do to the house if it toppled in a high wind.
oooo shiny!
