Possible outlawing of baseboard electric heat!

[BB.]

Probably the closest people will be able to get electric power from wood without a HUGE risk of blowing themselves up (i.e., home made steam boilers)--is Wood Gasification connected to a converted gasoline/propane genset.

Not to say that gasification is safe--you have less explosion energy potential, but you still have carbon monoxide poisoning, etc. potential--but it is probably the only practical low tech way to make electricity.

A recent discussion here:

Garringer Gasifier I think this would work good to back up my solar

-Bill

[russ]

I've been around that particular gasifier story - I would not touch it. I certainly would hope none of the neighbors has anything like that. I spent 40 years working with commercial, large scale H2 generators (reformers) and am well aware of the potential problems.

From what the owner said, he appears to be a backyard mechanic tinkering with something he knows little about.

The gas products are either potentially explosive or non lıfe supporting.

If someone somehow manages to backdraft the thing or get air in at the wrong location you can do some serious damage.

Russ

[techntrek]

Sure there is, see my post here: http://www.wind-sun.com/ForumVB/show...1&postcount=34 ;^)

I'm already in that situation, chevenstein. Middle of the woods, doesn't get above 92 even when its 102 in the city. But I'm also where it is humid, which as you mentioned in your post makes no A/C a non-starter.

[Photowhit]

That's my solution! Wish there was a way to power A/C from wood, too.

http://www.jxcrystals.com/ThermoPV.htm

[Photowhit]

When we needed new siding 3 years ago we tore off the entire outer layer and extended our walls from 4" to 6". Then added another layer of insulation and sealed it up well with a vapor barrier over the new plywood.

The rule of thumb is the vapor barrier goes on the "Warm in winter" side of the wall. Might check that you don't have a vapor barrier on the inside of your wall and trapping moisture!

[waynefromnscanada]

The rule of thumb is the vapor barrier goes on the "Warm in winter" side of the wall. Might check that you don't have a vapor barrier on the inside of your wall and trapping moisture!

Vapor barrier on the outside will, in climates requiring homes to be heated in Winter, lead to rotting of the outside walls. Moisture making it's natural way from the inside will come to rest and condense on the cold outside vapor barrier, soak the wood under the barrier, and rot will son set in. Big problems a few years down the road.
However, vapor barrier on the inside of the warm wall, blocks the normal moisture that always exists in warm, lived in areas, from traveling through the insulation and getting to the cold outer wall where it would then condense and rot the wood. To protect your home, the vapor barrier must always be on, and only on, the warm in Winter side of walls.

[Cariboocoot]

In some places the vapour barrier goes on both sides of the insulation. It's main purpose is to keep moisture from condensing within the insulation and ruining it. This means that in most cases it goes on the inside, to prevent vapour migration driven by interior heating. When the moisture gets cool enough while traveling from warm to cold it condenses, making the insulation (fibreglass, rockwool, cellulose, etc.) soggy and useless. In warm climes the hot, muggy air gets driven inwards towards the air conditioned cool interior. Same result with reverse moisture flow. If you have to heat and cool you end up with the dual problem.

The tighter houses get, the more problematic it becomes because you still need to keep humidity from rising too high and you still need to provide fresh air exchange. It's difficult to get it right, especially without mechanical ventilation (required in the Vancouver area due to the high humidity and mould growth problems).

[waynefromnscanada]

In warm climes the hot, muggy air gets driven inwards towards the air conditioned cool interior.

Very true, my bad for not asking location. In my corner of the world, warm weather for longer than perhaps a dozen at most days a year just doesn't happen, so inside barrier is the only way to go here.

[Cariboocoot]

Very true, my bad for not asking location. In my corner of the world, warm weather for longer than perhaps a dozen at most days a year just doesn't happen, so inside barrier is the only way to go here.

We don't worry about it much here either because even when the outside temps approach 40C the humidity is still less than 50%. Some areas of the Cariboo are actually classified as desert!

[techntrek]

Where I live all houses are built with the vapor barrier that comes with the insulation on the inside wall, and then a Tyvek wrap goes on the outside between the sheathing and siding. We get lots of hot and humid in the summer, and then lots of cold and dry in the winter.

I added a ventillation system after that remodel, the first winter I started getting bad headaches every night sitting on our couch. I finally realized what the problem was and after installing the system I've been fine.