burkins89 t1_j9er3fm wrote on February 21, 2023 at 11:42 AM

Reply to comment by [deleted] in Heat Pumps Sell Like Hotcakes on America's Oil-Rich Frontier by dolphins3

Up in my area of the northwest a lot of landlords don’t care one bit and some older rental houses are uninsulated and still running former coal furnaces retrofit to gas.

series_hybrid t1_j9frrmi wrote on February 21, 2023 at 4:37 PM

I oncelived where there very old houses on one side of town.

Wrap-around porches shaded the ground floor. Basement stayed cool even in hottest summers and canned foods were stored there.

I've seen homes that were not that old, and built to rent. No overhang/shade, no basement, no insulation, no garage

lupuscapabilis t1_j9g4bdg wrote on February 21, 2023 at 5:57 PM

>Wrap-around porches shaded the ground floor.

I can't believe that never occurred to me. I moved into a new house last year that has a wraparound porch for half the house (right next to the living room) and I was struck by how comfortable it was in there during the summer. I was used to sweltering any time the temp hit 80F.

series_hybrid t1_j9ggu7q wrote on February 21, 2023 at 7:45 PM

Contractors build what customers buy, not what is smart. I'll give you a great example.

If you are surrounded by free trees, you might consider a wood-burning stove, like the Franklin style.

But what size to buy? Plus you have to gather and chop the wood. People buy the large one because it "looks right", and they have yo keep adding wood frequently.

Where does the air come from that feeds the fire? There is n adjustable opening right now the lower front, so...it takes-in air from the room. Air that you burned wood to warm.

The fire is 1500F, so it doesn't care if you feed it 20F air from outside, or 70F air from the room. People heat the air in the room, and then throw half of it away up the chimney.

Duct some air from the outside to the intake, and you will only need to burn half the wood.

The wood is free, but, you just cut your gathering and chopping in half.

Plus now, you realize you can buy the smaller stove, and sell the big one.