My Project - House and Garden

[user343434]

Cheers guys

sure any info is welcome. I am in the Windpower business but sure not suitable for my area. I was thinking about Solar Power a lot, also because of airco and pond pump for the creek.

With this size pond my wife likes a bit of a river size creek going through the entire garden.

I am quite lucky with mossies. As we monitored the area past 3 years at all seasons we slept in hammocks (beside in one Thunderstorm we came with the car) and didn't get any bites from mossies. Not in the rainseason nor dry season. The small fishes do their job.

I only woke up one morning with a massive Huntsman on my belly, but it made an escape jump before I could defend myself.

Shading the terrace is still in my mind. To be honest, NO idea at all. I want daylight in my Livingroom but also cover my wife's pool table on the terrace. Security glass as terrace roof might be a solution, but I have seen often that the frames are pure dirt collectors.

And how about underneath of a glass roof?

I know about Eucalyptus keeps mossies away and some lemon smelling flowers, but haven't been into it by now. Sure is my wife hates Eucalyptus. They have beside an air cooling effect.

[user343434]

btw, shading I thought about Avocado trees. They are growing fast, nice wide tops, almost no leaf drop.. Just need to know about caterpillars, if some butterflies are going for them forget it. My wife runs when she see a caterpillar no matter of size, and the tree will be torched in hours.

[GlutinousMaximus]

Cheers guys

sure any info is welcome. I am in the Windpower business but sure not suitable for my area. I was thinking about Solar Power a lot, also because of airco and pond pump for the creek.

With this size pond my wife likes a bit of a river size creek going through the entire garden.

I am quite lucky with mossies. As we monitored the area past 3 years at all seasons we slept in hammocks (beside in one Thunderstorm we came with the car) and didn't get any bites from mossies. Not in the rainseason nor dry season. The small fishes do their job.

I only woke up one morning with a massive Huntsman on my belly, but it made an escape jump before I could defend myself.

Shading the terrace is still in my mind. To be honest, NO idea at all. I want daylight in my Livingroom but also cover my wife's pool table on the terrace. Security glass as terrace roof might be a solution, but I have seen often that the frames are pure dirt collectors.

And how about underneath of a glass roof?

I know about Eucalyptus keeps mossies away and some lemon smelling flowers, but haven't been into it by now. Sure is my wife hates Eucalyptus. They have beside an air cooling effect.

Huntsman spider on your belly - yikes!

Those things are an arachnophobe's worst nightmare...very fast & seemingly intelligent with good eyesight.

[user343434]

Huntsman spider on your belly - yikes!

Those things are an arachnophobe's worst nightmare...very fast & seemingly intelligent with good eyesight.

They are.

If you have one in the house and you try to smack it with a shoe, they just jump off the wall and run. They even remember the way they came in though various rooms.

Worst is: you chase them away and next day they are back for having a sip out of your toilet bowl.

And believe me, I don't mind kicking a Cobra's butt till she flies out of my pond, but as the Huntsman Spider jumped of my belly, I even came in a split second out of my hammock. Huntsmans are non poisonous but the size matters

[Naam]

Hi Op

I am a Civil Engineer and in the the process of building exactly the same as you. A few things that i have included in my design are:

1. Natural AC which cools the house 24/7 without any energy costs what so ever. With the size of you plot you could very easily do the same.

2. I have positioned my house so that i have a large south facing roof on which i shall place Solar PV Panels.

3. Because of the large amount of water i have concentrated on planting shrubs and plants that actually repel mozzies. I don't expect to get rid of them all but I hope to greatly reduce their numbers

If you would like further details of my design please PM me. Also I would be interested to hear about any ideas you may have.

Tell us more about 'Natural AC' - I'm intrigued.

not only as a boy but also later as a physicist and mechanical engineer i was always interested whether it is possible to build a perpetuum mobile

11 years ago, when i built the fifth home in a tropical country i was trying hard to match low energy consumption with the demand "i am not spending my last years as a retiree sweating!"

unfortunately i failed miserably as far as energy consumption is concerned but live a comfortable life in an indoor environment of ~26.5ºC which is coupled with 55% of my total annual electric energy cost of ~200,000 Baht, id est ~110,000 Baht for airconditioning.

[GlutinousMaximus]

Hi Op

I am a Civil Engineer and in the the process of building exactly the same as you. A few things that i have included in my design are:

1. Natural AC which cools the house 24/7 without any energy costs what so ever. With the size of you plot you could very easily do the same.

2. I have positioned my house so that i have a large south facing roof on which i shall place Solar PV Panels.

3. Because of the large amount of water i have concentrated on planting shrubs and plants that actually repel mozzies. I don't expect to get rid of them all but I hope to greatly reduce their numbers

If you would like further details of my design please PM me. Also I would be interested to hear about any ideas you may have.

Tell us more about 'Natural AC' - I'm intrigued.

not only as a boy but also later as a physicist and mechanical engineer i was always interested whether it is possible to build a perpetuum mobile

11 years ago, when i built the fifth home in a tropical country i was trying hard to match low energy consumption with the demand "i am not spending my last years as a retiree sweating!"

unfortunately i failed miserably as far as energy consumption is concerned but live a comfortable life in an indoor environment of ~26.5ºC which is coupled with 55% of my total annual electric energy cost of ~200,000 Baht, id est ~110,000 Baht for airconditioning.

Phew - quite a hefty bill compared to my 3K or so a month. But as you say, it's certainly nice to be comfortable (if you've got the cash). The heat grinds you down after a while, always the sweating and the bodily discomfort and the mental irritation that goes with it it plus it never lets up - 24/7 for weeks/months at a time. Call me crazy, but I sometimes yearn for the cold, drizzly UK just for a bit of respite.

[ResandePohm]

Tell us more about 'Natural AC' - I'm intrigued.

It is one of two methods used by the Romans to keep their villas cool in hot climates.

One method was to run water through the cavity walls of their villas. This is OK if you have plenty of water, the Roman aqueduct system to supply it and never have droughts

The second method was Natural AC. The principal is very simple. Hot air rises so you need a chimney in the apex of the roof preferably painted black. Hot air will rise and go out the chimney.Cooler air is then drawn into the house from an underground cavity. The cavity needs to be at least 2 m underground where the temperature is fairly constant. The air in the cavity is chilled down by the ground temperature and will be 3 or 4 degrees lower than the ambient temperature outside. The cavity needs to be large so you don't run out of cooled air. This cooled air is drawn into the house and will lower the house temperature making AC usage less if not redundant. No energy required to make it work. My architect tried to tell me i would need a fan to draw out the hot air in the house. He really didn't understand about convection currents and how they work. A fan is totally unnecessary.

If you want to know more just Google Natural Air Conditioning.

[ResandePohm]

Hi Op

I am a Civil Engineer and in the the process of building exactly the same as you. A few things that i have included in my design are:

1. Natural AC which cools the house 24/7 without any energy costs what so ever. With the size of you plot you could very easily do the same.

2. I have positioned my house so that i have a large south facing roof on which i shall place Solar PV Panels.

3. Because of the large amount of water i have concentrated on planting shrubs and plants that actually repel mozzies. I don't expect to get rid of them all but I hope to greatly reduce their numbers

If you would like further details of my design please PM me. Also I would be interested to hear about any ideas you may have.

Tell us more about 'Natural AC' - I'm intrigued.

not only as a boy but also later as a physicist and mechanical engineer i was always interested whether it is possible to build a perpetuum mobile

11 years ago, when i built the fifth home in a tropical country i was trying hard to match low energy consumption with the demand "i am not spending my last years as a retiree sweating!"

unfortunately i failed miserably as far as energy consumption is concerned but live a comfortable life in an indoor environment of ~26.5ºC which is coupled with 55% of my total annual electric energy cost of ~200,000 Baht, id est ~110,000 Baht for airconditioning.

That is a huge bill.

Why not consider producing your own electricity? Solar PV Panels will give you free electricity during daylight hours. Alternatively a windmill if you have a windy plot will give you electricity 24/7. If you have a stream running through your land I have even seen a watermill that produced electricity.

Just a few thoughts

[user343434]

Funny, I forgot in this forum to mention. I am not building a 2nd storey because I was living in a one storey house with a very well isolated roof but it had 2 of these chrome outlets that were turning at all time.

The sealing was mounted at the roof so the rooms were quite high. That was the coolest house I have been living in, I just had a fan running. This obviously ancient idea combined with some nice shading trees should do an extra effect.

The door was off cause open during the daytime and created a permanent draft supported by one Fan near the door.

But you're right, the heat went up in the room and fresh air came in, it was an automatic circulation.

The heat radiation from the roof top was almost zero due to the very good isolated sealing. And long overstanding roof sides covered the Walls with shade at the hottest time of the day.

It was a brilliant house, mistake, we told the landlord we like this house and she (Thai) raised the rent from 17000 to 25000 THB.

We moved almost immediately and after 5 month she was calling and wanted us to come back, for 20000, then 19000 and then 17000 Baht.

But my wife is the same as I am, we told her we have lost the trust to her and therefore she can shuffle the house up...........

[GlutinousMaximus]

Tell us more about 'Natural AC' - I'm intrigued.

It is one of two methods used by the Romans to keep their villas cool in hot climates.

One method was to run water through the cavity walls of their villas. This is OK if you have plenty of water, the Roman aqueduct system to supply it and never have droughts

The second method was Natural AC. The principal is very simple. Hot air rises so you need a chimney in the apex of the roof preferably painted black. Hot air will rise and go out the chimney.Cooler air is then drawn into the house from an underground cavity. The cavity needs to be at least 2 m underground where the temperature is fairly constant. The air in the cavity is chilled down by the ground temperature and will be 3 or 4 degrees lower than the ambient temperature outside. The cavity needs to be large so you don't run out of cooled air. This cooled air is drawn into the house and will lower the house temperature making AC usage less if not redundant. No energy required to make it work. My architect tried to tell me i would need a fan to draw out the hot air in the house. He really didn't understand about convection currents and how they work. A fan is totally unnecessary.

If you want to know more just Google Natural Air Conditioning.

Yes- very interesting, I thought it was something along those lines. Traditional Thai teak houses make use of this effect as well I believe - i.e. constant movement of air up and out through the roof.

If you plan your house right with these kinds of (simple) technologies built in, I bet you can save a ton on energy bills. Even if it reduces your bills by 50% or so, it's still a big help.

I was reading a blog post by this Japanese guy in the Philippines a while back - his post mentions stuffing the basement with rocks which can be cooled down by drawing cool air in (to the basement) at night and extract the cool air from them into the house during the day. That coupled with a well-insulated roof plus some passive extractors in the roof : http://www.kotaronishiki.com/

He also talks about positioning the house on its plot to minimise the solar radiation falling on the walls - simple but good idea

[xen]

Another feature for natural climate control is having a veranda around the house to protect the walls from both the sun and the rain . It would be interesting to see if the extra cost of a veranda would offset not having to have cavity walls . Also verandas are excellent recreational areas and act as a barrier to the interior of the house . Entertain your guests on a comfortable veranda so they can't go inside to sticky beak what you have in your house. You can keep your kids running about on the veranda where it is safe in both hot and rainy weather.. Many, many reasons to consider a veranda around your house.

[Naam]

Funny, I forgot in this forum to mention. I am not building a 2nd storey because I was living in a one storey house with a very well isolated roof but it had 2 of these chrome outlets that were turning at all time.

The sealing was mounted at the roof so the rooms were quite high. That was the coolest house I have been living in, I just had a fan running. This obviously ancient idea combined with some nice shading trees should do an extra effect.

The door was off cause open during the daytime and created a permanent draft supported by one Fan near the door.

But you're right, the heat went up in the room and fresh air came in, it was an automatic circulation.

The heat radiation from the roof top was almost zero due to the very good isolated sealing. And long overstanding roof sides covered the Walls with shade at the hottest time of the day.

It was a brilliant house, mistake, we told the landlord we like this house and she (Thai) raised the rent from 17000 to 25000 THB.

We moved almost immediately and after 5 month she was calling and wanted us to come back, for 20000, then 19000 and then 17000 Baht.

But my wife is the same as I am, we told her we have lost the trust to her and therefore she can shuffle the house up...........

the heat went up in the room and fresh air came in

and the house was cooled by the incoming fresh air which from april till august is 32-36ºC from 0900 till 1700 hrs. brilliant indeed!

[Naam]

not only as a boy but also later as a physicist and mechanical engineer i was always interested whether it is possible to build a perpetuum mobile

11 years ago, when i built the fifth home in a tropical country i was trying hard to match low energy consumption with the demand "i am not spending my last years as a retiree sweating!"

unfortunately i failed miserably as far as energy consumption is concerned but live a comfortable life in an indoor environment of ~26.5ºC which is coupled with 55% of my total annual electric energy cost of ~200,000 Baht, id est ~110,000 Baht for airconditioning.

That is a huge bill.

Why not consider producing your own electricity? Solar PV Panels will give you free electricity during daylight hours. Alternatively a windmill if you have a windy plot will give you electricity 24/7. If you have a stream running through your land I have even seen a watermill that produced electricity.

Just a few thoughts

i neither have a windy plot nor a stream running through the land. to produce my own electricity by photovoltaic means would require a huge area for the panels plus an investment of several hundredthousand Dollars (US not Zimbabwean Dollars ).

[Naam]

Another feature for natural climate control is having a veranda around the house to protect the walls from both the sun and the rain . It would be interesting to see if the extra cost of a veranda would offset not having to have cavity walls . Also verandas are excellent recreational areas and act as a barrier to the interior of the house . Entertain your guests on a comfortable veranda so they can't go inside to sticky beak what you have in your house. You can keep your kids running about on the veranda where it is safe in both hot and rainy weather.. Many, many reasons to consider a veranda around your house.

i don't have a veranda but an enclosed terrace / pool area which is used as an alternative living and dining room during the cooler period end of october till mid march when only moderate airconditioning is required. if we used cooling during the hot season my electricity consumption would be extremely high. we built a near identical house before in Florida and initially our American neighbours thougt "those crazy krauts". but when we entertained them on a 4th of july in a comfortable and shaded environment they changed their minds

[Naam]

Just completed our design house down south............... 2 beds/2 baths 120 sq.mtres 7.5mm QCon blocks Cpac Monier roof tiles (insulated) 1.3 million.

Good luck with your project and be patient 85.JPG

Nice tidy build at a very reasonable price. I'd challenge anyone to get that built in Europe for 32K Euro!

in my home country Germany you can get a nice double garage for €32k

[Naam]

See Will

Building in LOS, to me, quality mats essential. Labor - some luck required.

Living in a semi-tropical clmate, insulation is # 1.

Q-Con bricks - bigger the better - we used 15cm x 10cm but you can get bigger. W

there are no Q-Con of that tiny size Fang. did you mix up centimeters with inches?

[ResandePohm]

not only as a boy but also later as a physicist and mechanical engineer i was always interested whether it is possible to build a perpetuum mobile

11 years ago, when i built the fifth home in a tropical country i was trying hard to match low energy consumption with the demand "i am not spending my last years as a retiree sweating!"

unfortunately i failed miserably as far as energy consumption is concerned but live a comfortable life in an indoor environment of ~26.5ºC which is coupled with 55% of my total annual electric energy cost of ~200,000 Baht, id est ~110,000 Baht for airconditioning.

That is a huge bill.

Why not consider producing your own electricity? Solar PV Panels will give you free electricity during daylight hours. Alternatively a windmill if you have a windy plot will give you electricity 24/7. If you have a stream running through your land I have even seen a watermill that produced electricity.

Just a few thoughts

i neither have a windy plot nor a stream running through the land. to produce my own electricity by photovoltaic means would require a huge area for the panels plus an investment of several hundredthousand Dollars (US not Zimbabwean Dollars ).

Sounds very expensive. Mine is costing me approx 180000 Baht,

[GlutinousMaximus]

Sounds very expensive. Mine is costing me approx 180000 Baht,

What's the output of your system?

[user343434]

and the house was cooled by the incoming fresh air which from april till august is 32-36ºC from 0900 till 1700 hrs. brilliant indeed!

Well, I actually went for the warmth, do many things by walking, going spinfishing, doing garden grafting and even play football with the neighbors.

32 - 36 degrees is ok as long a little draft in the house. can be a fan or even natural draft.

The one can stand the heat the other not, I definetely can.

For me it was the perfect house, just the landlord became greedy..

[ResandePohm]

Sounds very expensive. Mine is costing me approx 180000 Baht,

What's the output of your system?

I am still in the designing stage for my array. It will be at least 4kWp system. Current price a little over £5000 in the UK. Currently looking at different makes of Panels. Plan to do most of the installation myself. My planned budget is 180000 baht. Unless I go for solar tiles which are more expensive i believe that budget is reasonable

[GlutinousMaximus]

Sounds very expensive. Mine is costing me approx 180000 Baht,

What's the output of your system?

I am still in the designing stage for my array. It will be at least 4kWp system. Current price a little over £5000 in the UK. Currently looking at different makes of Panels. Plan to do most of the installation myself. My planned budget is 180000 baht. Unless I go for solar tiles which are more expensive i believe that budget is reasonable

That is good - 4KW is quite a nice chunky system.You could probably drive the whole house off that during peak output if you have power-efficient appliances and are judicious with your use of air-con etc. If nothing else, it should really help to mitigate your spend on mains power.

The other good thing about solar in Thailand is that due to lax/non-existent planning controls, you can put them anywhere - e.g. in a metalwork array in your garden (I suppose that makes them easier to steal though). I'd like to be able to install a basic system, then add the odd 250W panel here and there as budget allows.

Will your system be grid-tied and you'll get a feed-in tariff etc. ?

[user343434]

Sounds like a good one.

Saving some cash when I am retired from Offshore is always a good issue.

4KW sounds like a good house number.. Any drawings or photos? Brands will be also interesting. I might take this into consideration..

[ResandePohm]

Sounds very expensive. Mine is costing me approx 180000 Baht,

What's the output of your system?

I am still in the designing stage for my array. It will be at least 4kWp system. Current price a little over £5000 in the UK. Currently looking at different makes of Panels. Plan to do most of the installation myself. My planned budget is 180000 baht. Unless I go for solar tiles which are more expensive i believe that budget is reasonable

That is good - 4KW is quite a nice chunky system.You could probably drive the whole house off that during peak output if you have power-efficient appliances and are judicious with your use of air-con etc. If nothing else, it should really help to mitigate your spend on mains power.

The other good thing about solar in Thailand is that due to lax/non-existent planning controls, you can put them anywhere - e.g. in a metalwork array in your garden (I suppose that makes them easier to steal though). I'd like to be able to install a basic system, then add the odd 250W panel here and there as budget allows.

Will your system be grid-tied and you'll get a feed-in tariff etc. ?

The local electricity supply in the village where i am is very weak. Difficult to run a washing machine on it I am told. So yes i shall be connecting to the grid. Hopefully this will help my neighbours too.

If you are going to have a system where you add additional panels later you need to take into account the size of your inverter. You will need the correct size for your system. This is an additional expense.

[ResandePohm]

Sounds like a good one.

Saving some cash when I am retired from Offshore is always a good issue.

4KW sounds like a good house number.. Any drawings or photos? Brands will be also interesting. I might take this into consideration..

I am still looking into what is available in Thailand. However what you will need are:

1. Solar panels or tiles (tiles are more expensive but are less conspicuous). Enough panels to produce your designed output or alternatively as many as you have room for on your roof.

2. An inverter of the appropriate size for you expected output. This is what converts your electricity from DC to AC.

3. Then I will install a metre so I can measure how much electricity I am producing.

4. Finally check if you have a couple of spare slots in your house consumer unit. If not then you will need to get a new larger one.

I believe the best panels are manufactured in England or Germany and maybe even Australia (not very familiar with these). Certainly the best Inverters are German. Panels manufactured in China or India are definitely inferior and can lose as much as 50% of their production capacity over the 25 year design life of the panels. European panels are guaranteed never to go under 90% of stated capacity.

If you are going to build such a system there are other things you need to consider.

1. Placing of the panels. Best is south facing. Can be on a roof or on frames on the ground.

2. Also the placing should be shadow free. No passing shadows from trees, telegraph poles, chimneys etc. Passing shadows will greatly reduce your capacity or even knock it out for the duration of the shadow passing.

3. Inverter design life is 10 years so you may need to put in a new Inverter every 10 years.

Hope this is helpful to you.

[Naam]

not only as a boy but also later as a physicist and mechanical engineer i was always interested whether it is possible to build a perpetuum mobile

11 years ago, when i built the fifth home in a tropical country i was trying hard to match low energy consumption with the demand "i am not spending my last years as a retiree sweating!"

unfortunately i failed miserably as far as energy consumption is concerned but live a comfortable life in an indoor environment of ~26.5ºC which is coupled with 55% of my total annual electric energy cost of ~200,000 Baht, id est ~110,000 Baht for airconditioning.

That is a huge bill.

Why not consider producing your own electricity? Solar PV Panels will give you free electricity during daylight hours. Alternatively a windmill if you have a windy plot will give you electricity 24/7. If you have a stream running through your land I have even seen a watermill that produced electricity.

Just a few thoughts

i neither have a windy plot nor a stream running through the land. to produce my own electricity by photovoltaic means would require a huge area for the panels plus an investment of several hundredthousand Dollars (US not Zimbabwean Dollars ).

Sounds very expensive. Mine is costing me approx 180000 Baht,

i assume you don't consume between 120 and 140 kWh/day in the hot season like i do.

[Naam]

I was reading a blog post by this Japanese guy in the Philippines a while back - his post mentions stuffing the basement with rocks which can be cooled down by drawing cool air in (to the basement) at night and extract the cool air from them into the house during the day. That coupled with a well-insulated roof plus some passive extractors in the roof : http://www.kotaronishiki.com/

ignorant smartàrses and their various advice are one Satang a dozen

[Naam]

and the house was cooled by the incoming fresh air which from april till august is 32-36ºC from 0900 till 1700 hrs. brilliant indeed!

Well, I actually went for the warmth, do many things by walking, going spinfishing, doing garden grafting and even play football with the neighbors.

32 - 36 degrees is ok as long a little draft in the house. can be a fan or even natural draft.

The one can stand the heat the other not, I definetely can.

For me it was the perfect house, just the landlord became greedy..

mileages vary, especially with age. i could stand the heat when i was 35 years younger working in the desert and the african bush. now i feel cold at 25º and sweat at 27º

[user343434]

I started with 25 working in tropical areas and just the last 4 years i do summerjobs in the North Sea. The winter I am at home and start in April again.

But you are right, if I could make it comfortable with green energy, sure I would switch to 28 degrees in the room.

I guess now with 52 it's ok but later I will think sure the opposite and love some cool down.

I will check out the PV in Germany and see what fits on the roof.

[Naam]

I started with 25 working in tropical areas and just the last 4 years i do summerjobs in the North Sea. The winter I am at home and start in April again.

But you are right, if I could make it comfortable with green energy, sure I would switch to 28 degrees in the room.

I guess now with 52 it's ok but later I will think sure the opposite and love some cool down.

I will check out the PV in Germany and see what fits on the roof.

52? young man... you could be my son. report back how you feel at 72 although i won't be able to read what you write

[Somtamme]

Looking at the plan, it seems you have water in the area below the house, meaning gradients likely fall to the area of the pond.

As an engineer, it strikes me, you have not mentioned the ground conditions? What is the geology, where is that water coming from?

But, yes, interesting suggestion re: passive cooling, and creating void bgl, with conduit for warm air. Just, would like to add, look up passive cooling on Google, there is wealth of information.