Archive for June, 2007
Cabin Plans
On June 24, 2007 in Uncategorized
I’ve been working on the digitized cabin plans this morning, and reworking a few things in the design. Here is what I have so far. I will be adding dimensions as soon as I finish it up. This was all done using Google’s free version of SketchUp and it only took me a couple of hours while I was working on other things at the computer.
Second Stage of Driveway Construction
On June 20, 2007 in Uncategorized
This morning I got up bright and early to work on the driveway for the cabin. Not much progress was made (about 1 bucket load of dirt removed) before I hit the second big rock mentioned in my post regarding yesterday’s work.
To make removal of this monstrosity easier, it conveniently broke into pieces when I tried to dig it out with the tractor’s bucket. It was still too big though, even in pieces, so I had to move them with the chain again.
shot of tractor chained to rock from the road
another piece of rock being lifted with the tractor’s bucket and a chain
these pieces of rock were all about this thick
In the future we hope to make some stairs out of them, or possibly a floor for the gazebo we plan to build in one of the shady groves on the property.
After the chunks of rock were moved, there was really only some finish work left on the entrance to the driveway.
driveway with rock chunks removed
From there it only took a little time with a shovel and a rake to make the driveway look like this.
There are still some rocks poking out of the sides of the driveway, that will likely need to be smashed off with a sledge hammer before the gravel is brought in.
These rocks would have been impossible to move without Dad’s tractor. Too bad it rolled a tire off the bead just as I was about to start moving rocks further up the trail…
That concludes day 2 of the passive solar cabin build
Ground is Broken
On June 20, 2007 in Uncategorized
Last night, I began the task of making a usable road to the future site of our cabin. The plan was to borrow my dad’s tractor in order to dig through the large mound of dirt that was blocking access to our soon to be driveway from the road.
There wasn’t anyone around to help/take pictures, so that got to be my job as well.
Here is the progress (shown from the road) when I first remembered that my intention was to document every step of the job. There were only a few bucket loads taken from this side so far. This will be the entrance to our driveway.
The mound is growing much smaller on the side of the hump towards the woods. The driveway will follow the tree line up into a trail in the woods.Quite a bit of dirt has been removed from this area so far, and was used for fill in a low spot to the left of the picture.
The only setback I had while digging through the mound were two large rocks. This is the first rock that was moved with a chain, as it was too heavy for the tractor to lift. The smaller rock not chained up was easily scooped up by the bucket on the tractor.
large rock
I moved the big rock over into the trees simply by dragging it with the tractor.
moving the rock
It’s final resting place was well out of the way of the driveway.
rock moved
rock moved
The last picture (taken just before it got dark and started to rain) doesn’t show all the progress that was made in the short 2.5 hours that I worked. Today was my first time using a tractor with a bucket, and so I would like to thank my dad for letting me borrow it. With a rented tractor and easy digging like I had, a first timer should be able to get this far in an afternoon.
end of the day
This is the conclusion of Day 1 (driveway diggin’)
Overview of upcoming content
On June 14, 2007 in Uncategorized
I apologize for the current lack of original content. In the coming weeks I will be posting articles dealing with every step of our passive solar cabin construction.
Right now I am working on getting my hand drawn plans put into a cad program so that I can distribute them freely on the internet. From what I can tell, free, detailed plans for any kind of structure are almost impossible to find on the internet. Not to mention free plans for a passive solar cabin.
The plans that I am using are from another source. I will cite this when the plans are posted, as I don’t have it in front of me, but I have modified them to the point of it not being the original design. The plans were scaled down as the original was about 8 feet too long on each side. There were no window sizing calculations done, it was a bare cabin frame with space for clerestories.
Currently the land has been purchased, the site decided upon, and the plans have been drawn up including window sizing and heat load/loss calculations. Ground will be broken next week for the driveway, then on to building permits and the foundation.
As it is a relatively small cabin we will be using concrete tube forms to create piers (see this link for details) for our base plates. This will eliminate the need for a traditional concrete block foundation. The frame of the cabin will be what I like to call a “modified timber frame” as it is partially timber frame and partially stick frame design. This is due to my modifications of the original design.
The cabin is severely off the grid, so until all the parts are in for the photovoltaic and battery systems, we will be providing electricity with a generator. I have sourced several generators but am still doing my research and trying to find a good deal. At this point it looks like either a small diesel or a small gasoline engine converted to run on propane will be doing the job.
Water is the main issue at this point. There is a spring-fed creek down the ridge from the cabin site, so I am looking into a hydraulic ram, but will probably end up with a drilled well. The water will be heated with the sun, of course 
In short, be sure to check back often as I will be adding original content as frequently as possible. I also plan to increase the reference sections to epic proportions.
Beer Bottle Water Heater
On June 13, 2007 in Uncategorized
Beer + Sunshine = Hot Water
“A Chinese farmer has made his own solar-powered water heater out of beer bottles and hosepipes.
“I invented this for my mother. I wanted her to shower comfortably,” says Ma Yanjun, of Qiqiao village, Shaanxi province.
Ma’s invention features 66 beer bottles attached to a board. The bottles are connected to each other so that water flows through them.
Sunlight heats the water as is passes slowly through the bottles before flowing into the bathroom as hot water, reports China Economy Network.
Ma says it provides enough hot water for all three members of his family to have a shower every day.
And more than 10 families in the village have already followed suit and installed their own versions of Ma’s invention.“
Solar Powered Datacenters
On June 13, 2007 in Uncategorized
From www.wired.com
“This Blog Is 100 Percent Solar
Amit Asaravala 
06.09.05 | 2:00 AM
But for a select few, the pride comes from knowing that the electricity coursing through their servers is 100 percent clean.
Over the past several years, these boutique firms have carved out a “green” niche in the crowded web-hosting market by running data centers powered entirely by solar panels.
The panels are not only good for the environment, they’re also good for business. In addition to saving the companies thousands of dollars a month in electric bills, they’re drawing in customers from all over the world who want to host their websites in a green data center.
“That was a big plus for us,” said Phil Nail, technology manager at Southern California’s Affordable Internet Services Online, or AISO, which converted its data center to solar power in 2002 as a cost-saving measure. “We’ve brought on probably a good couple-thousand customers since the panels were installed. The majority of those customers were searching for green hosting options and found us.”
Customers who signed up with AISO long before the panels were installed are also pleased.
“It’s a nice match with what we do,” said Mike Lutz, director of distribution at MacGillivray Freeman Films, an Imax film production studio in Laguna Beach, California. “Over 30 years, we have focused on delivering films that feature science and conservation, and working with a company that is powered by solar power certainly fits that bill.”
The positive response is not surprising to John Gethoefer, president of Portland, Oregon, company ecoSky. Gethoefer launched ecoSky in 2003 with the goal of serving companies that want to operate with the least impact on the environment.
“What it comes down to is that there’s a lot of movement in this country and in this world by people trying to live more sustainably,” he said. “A lot of business owners are responding to that.”
Data center owners are responding, too. In addition to AISO and ecoSky, the list of green web hosts includes Elfon, Locomotive Media, Solar Data Centers and Sustainable Marketing, among others.
Not all the companies get their power from on-site solar panels. Some buy renewable energy credits from their regional power utility. The utility, in turn, agrees to purchase a set amount of electricity from a green producer, like a solar farm or a wind farm.
But the end result for the companies’ clients is the same: They feel better about themselves at the end of the day.
“Customers who are residential subscribers — they get the peace of mind knowing that they’re part of something that is improving society’s relationship with the environment and reducing pollution,” said Gethoefer.
“For business users, they also get to extend that to their customer base,” he added. “There are a lot of business users who advertise that they have an environmentally responsible website.”
Indeed, some ecoSky clients feature small “Powered by Solar Energy” logos at the bottom of their web pages. Similarly, AISO clients often display a “Site hosted with 100% Solar Energy” button.
Unfortunately, as well-meaning as they are, these gestures aren’t likely to have much of an impact on the world’s overall energy consumption — at least not until major data centers begin to follow the lead of the boutiques. And that’s not going to happen anytime soon, say energy analysts.“
