We’re pleased to have Sweet Tree Passive House buttoned up for the winter. Getting cars into the garage (that is a landmark of unpacking) before the first snowfall was satisfying.
Autumn maple leaves painted amazing patterns on our new concrete.
The tiny elm leaves blew around and left no marks.
October has shown us more clouds than sun, and turning to early November, we’ve got cooler days and nights with little sunshine relief as the transition season of autumn continues. According to the National Weather Service, we’ve had the cloudiest autumn since the mid 1980s.
Even sedum on our “green” garage roof turns color in autumn.
We’ve watched the thermometer outside take a steady, gradual slide in cooler days and nights, and one snowy dusting as a promise for the future.
On sunny, cold days, our PV array makes electricity and sunshine warms our home through the large, southern windows. Overcast and cool days are a challenge: we schedule activities to keep as much heat in, and make use of big-draw electricity users one at a time, rather than all at once. The battery has been on back-order for months, so there is no stored electricity for overnight use.
With some leaves still blocking from the south, this shows noon tree shadows on the panels. Because modern panels are still able to function even when some shading occurs, we continue to get energy on days like the one above. (October 16)
Just about a year ago, windows and doors were installed, closing the big gaps, and the house began to feel warmer than the out-of-doors temperatures. The high for November 5th of 2017 was 43F, the low was 27F. The exposed interior concrete walls (a thermal mass) have gradually warmed since then. We have a fairly steady basement temperature of 67, and
In 102 days, we:
Made 3159 kW (30.97/day)
Bought 888 kW (8.7/day)
Sold to the grid 2455 kW (24.1/day)
Consumed: 704+888=1592 kW (15.60/day)
First Halloween.
Winter will bring new challenges, like, “Snow on the PV panels? What do we do now?”
Sweet Tree Passive House 