The lake effect is a really cool phenomenon, I really love being around it even in the dead of summer.Detroit wrote: ↑Fri Feb 12, 2021 9:11 amI need to go into some of the behind how the house was engineered and designed.wap wrote: ↑Thu Feb 11, 2021 6:09 pm
Right, but if you're "prepping/notprepping" you'll want some real back up, no? I mean, solar as a primary back up that far north is , no? I know how many non-sunny days we get down here...
And, a half day in the dead of winter or the heat of summer can really suuuuuuuuuuuuck.
Although, your buried bunker should be somewhat protected against sudden, wild temp swings.
Built into the hill, facing exactly south with all windows on the south side. The placement of the roof and windows was designed specifically to let sunlight in the house in the winter, but have sunlight hit the roof (buried in the ground) in the summer. A sunny day in the winter it can reach 74 in the living room without the furnace turning on once, even if it's 10 degrees outside (happened last week). And the concrete is heating up, so it retains that heat well after the sun goes down. You're right, the house takes a long time to drastically change temperature as a result.
I wouldn't view solar as a backup but as a primary energy source with the grid as backup. The house doesn't use a ton of energy by nature, so solar with a good battery storage thing could probably be primary most of the time. Because of the sun exposure, solar panels could be as efficient as possible in Michigan, which on our hill somehow ends up getting an amount of sun compared to Detroit. I think it has to do with our elevation and proximity to water (surrounded by big water) that messes with the clouds and weather patterns. But even when it's somewhat cloudy, the sun manages to get through a bit, our plants in the window sills are going insane this winter.
Your home's design is , how old is it?