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Energy Efficient House

Heat Pump performance during the cold snap

January 11, 2022
Emilie Phillips

This summer we installed a heat pump in our hangar. It is a Chiltrix CX34 air to water heat pump. Yesterday we had our first chance to stress test it’s performance. Outside, the temperature dropped to single digits. Heat pumps have troubles heating when the outside temperature is significantly lower than the indoor temperature. So […]

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Firewood

September 18, 2021
Emilie Phillips

I learned this weekend that cutting, splitting and stacking all our firewood in one weekend is not a good idea. The first hint was the blisters on my hands Saturday. Calluses take time and repetition to grow. The next hint was my sore muscles Sunday morning. Muscles take time and repetition to grow. The third […]

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I wasn’t going to let our new roof space go to waste. We installed a new array of solar panels. These panels will be offsetting the heating load of the hangar. This winter (2020-2021) we heated it with a baseboard heater and two space heaters. I am working on getting an air to water heat […]

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Hangar Door

December 7, 2019
Emilie Phillips

The very last step on the hangar is installing the door. We found an installer, and got all the equipment ready. Then Ike and I realized we hadn’t finalized the insulation plan. We did some hasty last minute calculations. We decided to do some rigid foam outside the structure and then spray foam on the […]

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Four walled, doorless hangar

November 24, 2019
Emilie Phillips

Lots of progress in November. The hangar is all done, except for the door. It’s kind of maddening owning a hangar with four walls, and no occupancy permit. Ike thinks he finally has found an experienced door installer. Read the full build story to see earlier and later stages. Siding went up. The crew spent […]

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Hangar Insulated and Interior Progress

October 30, 2019
Emilie Phillips

The hangar now has insulation. Fiberglass batts in the walls and blown in cellulose in the ceiling. I need to climb up into the attic to get a picture of the cellulose. The wall insulation should be R-25 in the bays. I need to calculate the average R value including the bridging losses. Similarly, when […]

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Hangar Enclosed (almost)

October 15, 2019
Emilie Phillips

Lots of visible progress in the first half of October. Getting the roof on made a big difference. Read the full build story to see earlier and later stages. Ike hired a framing crew to help out installing the trusses. The crane arrived at 6:30AM and by noon all the trusses were up, and the […]

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Hangar framing

September 30, 2019
Emilie Phillips

By end of September the external and internal walls were up and the trusses had arrived. See the full build story for earlier and later stages. Ike and Warren built the walls on the ground and then lifted them up with a forklift. While they waited for the trusses to be delivered, they built the […]

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We designed our own energy efficient house. We posted lots of updates while the house was being built, but since then there hasn’t been much to say. Checkout our overview of construction techniques.

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