Solar Experience in Montezuma County

This posting describes my success with simple passive solar principles. Some of these had been learned at an earth shelter house seminar at the University of Minnesota. I made a cardboard model of the house I wanted to build and handed it to a Montezuma County contractor. He built it. That was in 1980.

Standard materials and construction techniques were used. The house was economical to build. PV panels added in 2013 raise its efficiency. Empire Electric buys the surplus power. Here are the details:

• The rectangular 44’ x 24’ house faces directly south
• 4’ X 6’ windows and 6’ double pane patio doors admit the sunshine.
• The doors and windows have clear glass. If building code demands Low-E glass, try to get a variance.
• The objective is to admit all the sunshine that we can.
• Drapes close off and insulate the glass on winter nights and summer days.
• Concrete walls and floor for the lower portion are insulated with 2” rigid foam on the exterior and under the floor to serve as thermal mass. This mass absorbs the heat which has penetrated through the windows.
• It is critical to balance the mass with the amount of glazing. Imbalance will cause either overheating or a cold house.
• The upper floor is insulated with 1” rigid foam outside the studs and 3 1/2” fiberglass between them.
• The 2’ overhang is a permanent awning which restricts sun entry in summer when the solar angle increases.
• A small stove on the lower floor supplements heating. No butane or propane is used.
• A 20 gallon, 120 volt water heater is good for a family size of 3, even 7 when visitors come.
• Countertop oven, microwave, electric stove are used to prepare food in that order.
• A photo voltaic array was put on the south side of the barn in 2013. The installed cost was $15,500 for 14 panels. Rated capacity is 3220 watts.

The best performance centers on the several weeks of mid-winter. The sun angle is then low in our Colorado, and the cold, clear nights change to bright sunny days. The house then takes in enough warmth that temperature in the living space is above 70 degrees until bed-time at 10:00 pm. Although it can’t exactly be felt, heat goes into the concrete walls. But in the floor its warmth can be felt when in stocking feet even near the patio doors.

As I got older (I am now 88) I found myself wanting a wood fire at night even when the house temperature was 70⁰. But now, I can rationalize that it is OK to use a portable electric heater because of the photo-voltaic panels. On a cloudy winter day there will be enough warming radiance coming through the glass to keep me warm when I am engaged in regular household activity. The house is freeze proof. It can be left with the drapes half-closed and the temperature will not fall below 55 degrees. With the drapes are operated every day and night, the air temperature will not fall below 64 degrees.

For summer, there is a 500 BTU wall air conditioner. It gets limited use. The construction keeps the house cool. All appliances and water heating are electric. Monthly usage centers around 250 Kilowatt hours with one person living in the home. Electricity usage may reach 500 kWh if five persons occupy it. A clothes line is used for drying clothes.

Critical to lower hot water use is that the water heater, showers and all sinks are grouped on one wall so that pipe runs were kept to a minimum. A low flow atomizing shower head (Delta 52650-PK) works quite well with a full curtain that confines the water spray and maximize its heating effect.

There is an advantage of wood for the stove being available from the piñon juniper forest.   A hundred years of mismanagement caused the stand to be far too dense and most of the pines were killed in the beetle epidemic of 2003. Before the photo-voltaic panels made electric heat a responsible choice; about one cord was burned in the stove each year.

Ceramic tile was used for the lower floor. It goes without saying that there should be no insulation, no carpeting of this thermal mass.

About the Author

The electric meter spinning backwards
from William's solar

William Hendrickson lived through the depression and served as an engineering officer on merchant ad navy ships during WWII and Korea. He had a career with the National Park Service as manager and ecologist. He married into Montezuma County after meeting a waitress when they both had summer jobs at Mesa Verde. He is working to reduce the immense quantities of energy we all use.

It's Springtime - Get Gardening!

As I ride my bike to work, I can't help but notice the trees lining downtown neighborhoods bursting with pink and white flowers - petals scattering with the wind. Spring is most definitely here! To me Spring means tulips popping up in the front yard, hauling the grill out of the shed for dinners on the deck and prepping the garden beds for another bountiful growing season. Sometimes it's difficult to imagine gardening in the dead of winter, but now that the soils have warmed it's time to start adding compost, turning the soil, watering and getting some seeds in the ground.

Darrin Parmenter with CSU Extension has a weekly article in the Herald on backyard gardening and local food. This week's article titled "Eager to get gardening? Here's what to plant now" has some great suggestions on cool weather crops like peas and lettuces to get your garden started.

If you don't have the space to garden at home, or would like to garden with a community of gardeners of all skill levels and backgrounds, consider applying for one of the few remaining plots at the Ohana Kuleana Community Garden at 564 E. 30th St. below Riverview Elementary, Durango's first "public" use community garden started in 2013. For only $60 per year, you receive 150 sq ft of growing space, irrigation water, free gardening workshops throughout the season and the opportunity to grow your own food alongside other members of the community (discounted rates are available in exchange for extra volunteer hours). The Ohana Kuleana garden, which means "community responsibility" in native Hawaiian, is managed by the local nonprofit, The Garden Project of Southwest Colorado. The Garden Project's mission is to help grow a healthier community through the support and development of school and community garden programs that promote health and wellness, environmental stewardship and a sustainable local food system.

In addition to coordinating the Healthy Homes program at 4CORE, I am honored to have served as the Executive Director of The Garden Project for the past year. (I must say it sure is convenient to have two nonprofit jobs in Durango that are located right across a downtown alley from each other!) Helping create a healthier community through healthy homes education and gardening skills empowerment is an additional benefit, of course!

There are lots of ways to get involved with growing healthy food for our community. Every Wednesday  The Garden Project hosts a volunteer garden day at the Manna Soup Kitchen garden from 10 to noon  led by expert gardeners. Manna is one of the first soup kitchens in the nation to have their own garden that produced vegetables directly for the kitchen and clients. During the summer months our volunteers harvest around 50 lbs of fresh produce from the garden every week!

If you get fired up about kids growing and eating their own healthy food, consider getting involved with the Needham Elementary School garden. In 2013 the Needham garden was expanded from 8 raised beds to 24 - one for each classroom. This Spring students will be planting their beds with local farmers - rather than a field trip to the farm, the farmers are coming to the school to work alongside the students in the garden! Volunteers are needed to help care for beds over the summer months. You can sign up to volunteer for any of our gardens here.

One last thing, before you run outdoors and start turning your garden soil...

Mother's Day is right around the corner, and if you don't have a gift lined up yet, perhaps this is the year to give a gift that's a bit more meaningful. The Garden Project is hosting a Mother's Day Grow A Garden Fundraiser. Here's how it works: Choose gardening items and plants to donate on our website and we'll send your mom a handwritten note letting her know that a donation has been made on her behalf to support school and community gardens in Southwest Colorado. There are lots of options, from kids gardening gloves to bee and butterfly plants to fruit trees. Make this Mother's Day something special, and help Grow a Garden.

About the Author

Sandhya Tillotson is Executive Director of The Garden Project of Southwest Colorado, as well as the Healthy Homes Program Specialist at 4CORE. Originally from California, Sandhya earned her Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science from The Colorado College in Colorado Springs. After moving to Durango in 2010, Sandhya is thrilled to be working for a local environmental non-profit and spending her free time volunteering, running, biking, climbing and exploring the vast wilderness that makes up Durango's backyard.