[SunRescue] RE: Natural cooling

[Ken Hansen]

Well, there is a little problem to consider - market dynamics.

I have a friend whose father built a house with a solar water heater - not too radical, really, but the installation is a maze of pipes and knobs in the attic.

His wife used to say that if he died, she would have to move, cause she would never figure it out!

Odd houses don't sell *nearly* as fast as conventional ones do, fact of life. Unique homes need unique buyers, a hard match to make.

Most people want to have a knob on the wall, and be able to dial a temperature and have the house brought to that temperature...

In my area there was a *beautiful* house that I would have bought, but it had electric heat, not gas or oil. This was a huge turn-off. I later found out that the house was *built* for electric heat, meaning it had triple-pane windows (not the more conventional double-pane), and the exterior walls are 6" thick (not the more conventional 4", indicating the ext. walls had 50% more insulation). It cost no more than a conventionally heated house, potentially less, but it sat unsold for over two years...

When I bought my house it was very important to me that the school district be a very good one, not for my kid (he'll be attending private school in the fall - Pre-K), but that is what potential future buyers will be looking for. When my house goes on the market, I will be very upset if it takes more than 2 weeks to get a firm offer at my asking price. (This is typical in my neighborhood) I couldn't imagine spending two months, let alone two years waiting for someone to buy my house...

Homeownership is a different bird, it's (probably) the largest investment you will ever make...

Ken


> Is anyone of you guys running on natural cooling ??
 
> Should be cheaper than ordinary Air-condition.

One of my professors does.  Most new homes don't seem to though.  I don't
know why.  My current house is from the 60s (including the great
innovation of ceiling hear). The last one was from 81. I gather that
geothermal heating (that's what we call it around here) has only been
practical these past ten years.  Personally, I think it is a great idea.
When I become a property owner, I'll probably consider it.