Day 620: Progress from the south

Day 618: Electrical distribution board

Quiz: What do you get when you allow an electronic engineer to design a house’s electrical system?

Answer: A very interesting and complicated distribution board

Day 617: Steel stairs… in progress

Day 614: Moving the geyser

Anyone who has ever lived in an estate knows that “estate people” can be difficult.  We received a complaint that the solar geyser should be hidden from view. Luckily we thought of a very clever solution to suspend a structure from the roof and locate the geyser inside the closet space. 

Day 613: Gutter

Rain water from the gutter is collected in a basement storage tank. This grey water is integrated into the house’s water supply where it is used for irrigation and toilet flushing.

Day 607: Progress report

Day 606: Solar water heater

During the time that passed since we started planning this house, the solar water heating system we planned to use has been discontinued. We did another storm of research re-evaluating heat pumps and solar water heaters. An informed decision was made to install a 200l thermo siphon solar water heater with evacuated tube collectors. This system requires no maintenance and should minimise the amount of electricity used to heat water. Theoretically we should have solar heated water throughout the year and only use the backup electricity in the early morning hours. The first step in the installation has been completed and our solar water heater is on the roof. Early next week when the water connection is ready the evacuated tubes will be installed and the system will be connected.