[Greenbuilding] simple energy-less home

Wed May 22 22:17:48 CDT 2013

My concern stems mostly from the distorting effects of the fixed charges
that--at what are considered low consumption levels by contemporary US
standards--can equal or even be more than the per unit charges. At those
levels the $-value of the monthly bill is hardly useful as a basis for
comparison outside of a utility territory. The more we talk about
kW-*hours*the more fluent we'll all become with that concept.

On Wed, May 22, 2013 at 8:12 PM, Steve Satow <naturalbuilding at shaw.ca>wrote:

> Sacie, I agree with you.
>
> The levity and validity of your earlier comment was clear to me.
>
> In a world over-burdened by crippling debt that holds most people in
> servitude to the banks, it is very understandable that most people view
> their world through a monetary lens. While - technically - dollars are not
> a measure of energy, for the majority of people they offer a useful
> measurement, particularly when those same people have no idea what a Btu or
> KW is.
>
> Perhaps we should measure happiness by blood-endorphin levels?  :)
>
> Sincerely,
> Steve
>
> On 2013-05-22, at 7:44 PM, Sacie Lambertson wrote:
>
> John, with sincere deep apologies, I did not mean to be flippant or
> disrespectful regarding your remarks.  In fact I nearly added to what I
> originally wrote how grateful I am you have remained a voice on this forum,
> because anything you say is relevant, knowledgeable and respected by
> readers.  If I was too light in response, I am sorry.  I would never
> question your authority or professionalism and I truly do appreciate what
> you say, indeed, I generally consider it the last word in the matter.
>
> It also remains true, regardless of its value as a valid assessment, most
> folks who consume energy do understand the concept of dollars relative to
> the amount of energy consumed.  And therefore appreciate a reduction of
> money spent when they, for whatever reason, consume less.
>
> Sacie
>
>
> On Wed, May 22, 2013 at 7:39 PM, <jfstraube at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I am concerned at your tone Sacie. This is not my "take" and you CAN be
>> sure that I am correct. Dollars are not a measure of energy use. And it
>> would seem that on this list of all lists that environmental impact and
>> energy not dollars would be what mattered.
>> A lack of numeracy and basic science amongst most of the public is IMO a
>> major obstacle to green building. Measuring energy with dollars is a
>> classic example.
>>
>>
>>  Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone. 5197417920
>>   *From: *Sacie Lambertson
>> *Sent: *Wednesday, May 22, 2013 20:23
>> *To: *Green Building
>> *Reply To: *Green Building
>> *Subject: *Re: [Greenbuilding] simple energy-less home
>>
>> Interesting take John.  While I'm sure you are correct, most people would
>> not possibly understand any other measurement.
>>
>> Certainly though, point taken.  The Kw used on our electrical bill is
>> half the entire bill.  And then one has to consider what the kw charge is
>> in each area; we're quite high here out in the country where our coop buys
>> from the big electrical makers.
>>
>> And then some people do measure happiness in dollars (:
>> Sacie
>>
>>
>> On Wed, May 22, 2013 at 6:56 PM, John Straube <jfstraube at uwaterloo.ca>wrote:
>>
>>>  Using dollars to measure energy is like measuring happiness with
>>> dollars. There is some correlation but quite limited.
>>>  I know of a cottage in Ontario that paid more then 30 per month while
>>> it's electrical system was torn out eg. it used zero power during that
>>> time.
>>>  Kwh or btu or even joules should be used for measuring energy use.
>>>
>>>
>>>  Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone on the Bell network.
>>>    *From: *Reuben Deumling
>>> *Sent: *Wednesday, May 22, 2013 18:21
>>> *To: *Green Building
>>> *Reply To: *Green Building
>>> *Subject: *Re: [Greenbuilding] simple energy-less home
>>>
>>>  Cool. I'd like to see numbers, though. When you have PV on the roof,
>>> $240 doesn't mean that much (at least to me).
>>>
>>>  My family's annual energy bills total $400 of which >half are fixed
>>> charges unrelated to usage and I have no PV.
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, May 22, 2013 at 3:12 PM, Sacie Lambertson <
>>> sacie.lambertson at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>>  Very simply designed house in Maine uses little energy to operate:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/10895176/list?utm_source=Houzz&utm_campaign=u284&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gallery1
>>>>
>>>>  Lots of readers' comments follow.
>>>>
>>>>   Sacie
>>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
>>
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>
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