[Greenbuilding] Wood by the pound.

[Kathy Cochran]

Of course.  The house is just shy of 1600 sq ft.  I think I am at about 3000
HDD, based on the Camp Pardee Weather Station about 15 miles from here.
They are only at 658 ft elevation, I am at 1000 feet.   I am in San Andreas,
(Calaveras County) in the foothills, southeast of Sacramento,  northeast of
Stockton.    The house was built in 1939, when they didn't insulate
anything, but since I moved the house, (it was cut into 4 pieces, due to the
basic "H" configuration of it) every place where we opened up a wall, we
stuffed in insulation.  Certainly not by any means a complete job.  Of
course original dimension 2x4 stud walls, stucco outside, plaster inside.
The center section of the attic still isn't insulated at all because I am
waiting for someone to come help me straighten out an electrical nightmare
up in the attic before I insulate.  

 

Mostly all new Low-E Windows, but not the major one, the 8' wide, 7-1/2'
tall living room window which is arched, and covered with insulated
curtains.  

 

The living room, where the stove is, may be 76 degrees at times, but if the
rest of the house is about 66-8 degrees, that is okay most of the time.  The
wood stove doesn't get much heat to the bathroom or bedrooms at all.  The
house just isn't laid out right for that to work efficiently.  I have a
MORSO 3610 woodstove, which I learned about on this list.  I am very happy
with it.  I hope to get the attic fully insulated by next winter and look
forward to seeing a decrease in wood usage.    And, to further complicate my
wood requirements, as of last February I have an alternate heating (and AC)
system, thanks to this list  -  3 Fujitsu mini-splits.  I keep the one that
feeds the living room & dining room set at  66, anything above that is
provided by the wood stove.  The one in my bedroom isn't even turned on in
the winter, because I have been sleeping in the living room so I can stay
warm by the wood stove.   I have a ceiling fan in the living room, and one
in each bedroom, which are both closed off now. 

 

Compared to 4-5 years ago when I was living in the un-insulated garage, with
a propane "eyeball" heater, while the house was still in pieces, I think I
am in heaven now! 

 

I wonder how much more efficient the house will be when the attic will be
fully insulated.  I would love to see my wood useage drop as dramatically as
yours, Reuben!

 

Cheers all!

 

Kathy Cochran

 

 

 

 

From: greenbuilding-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org
[mailto:greenbuilding-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org] On Behalf Of Reuben
Deumling
Sent: Saturday, December 25, 2010 1:00 PM
To: Environmentally-preferable design, construction, building elements
Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] Wood by the pound.

 

 

On Sat, Dec 25, 2010 at 12:56 PM, Kathy Cochran
<kathys_old_house at goldrush.com> wrote:

When I first started up my wood stove, people told me, "oh, you'll need
about 3 cords."  It has turned out to be about 4-1/2 cords.  (Northern
California)


Interesting. Thanks for that datum. Can you say two words about 
- the temperature at which you like/try to keep things, 
- the square footage of your house, 
- the insulation levels?

Reuben Deumling, 
who now after finally getting around to completing the insulation in his 660
square foot 115 year old house with 2x4 walls is anticipating dropping below
1.5 cords this winter (~4,000HDD), down from close to 3 cords when we had no
insulation to speak of.

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