Excellent article on energy use

[chuckChuck]

Interesting article Grass.

I am sorry you have put up with the assholes on this site who are so narrow minded they can only find fault in everything that doesn't fit their hyper political view of the world.

It makes the value of commenting on this site mostly a waste of time.

Klause you once said using a 300 hp vehicle for one person commute to work was a waste of resources. That makes you an environmental radical! LOL

As far as fracking, many wells in the tight shale across north america require repeated fracking and it drives up costs and energy usage.

The oil sands are very energy intensive compared to other oil reserves. Improvements are being made but this is energy expensive oil to produce.

Avis rightly identifies home and building heating as an issue. We can easily make improvements in building design and efficiency to reduce energy usage that pay for themselves. Net zero home technology already exist that allows homes to be heated with passive solar design and generate as much energy as they use. There are examples in Alberta and Ontario.

I am not sure why many of the assholes on this site are so opposed to efficiency gains and conservation of a finite polluting resource that makes economic sense?

[biglentil]

Efficiency gains are constantly being made in modern construction. Old brick buildings were not even insulated. Passive solar might be great for 3 hours in the winter, the other 21 hours its a thermal liability. In the summer passive solar creates unwanted heat and A/C becomes necessary. Triple pane Low E windows work well the other 21 hours. 95% efficiency furnaces, air tight envelopes, heat recovery ventilation is code. Spray foaming basement joist spaces, eliminating thermal transfer. The list goes on and on. Solar panel technology is just not ready. Btw I have solar thermal, photovolaic panels and a windmill at my home. Would I recommend it for everyone, nope.

[Klause]

I built 100 square feet of solar air heater... Thought why not. If it works can cut down on gas required.


Average heat rise on a January day... 11 degrees. That's counting sunny and cloudy days, 24 hours a day.


So you tell me how I'm going to keep my family warm when solar heat would keep the inside of the house 11 degrees warmer than the -27 it is outside...

[Klause]

Interesting article Grass.

I am sorry you have put up with the assholes on this site who are so narrow minded they can only find fault in everything that doesn't fit their hyper political view of the world.

It makes the value of commenting on this site mostly a waste of time.

Klause you once said using a 300 hp vehicle for one person commute to work was a waste of resources. That makes you an environmental radical! LOL

As far as fracking, many wells in the tight shale across north america require repeated fracking and it drives up costs and energy usage.

The oil sands are very energy intensive compared to other oil reserves. Improvements are being made but this is energy expensive oil to produce.

Avis rightly identifies home and building heating as an issue. We can easily make improvements in building design and efficiency to reduce energy usage that pay for themselves. Net zero home technology already exist that allows homes to be heated with passive solar design and generate as much energy as they use. There are examples in Alberta and Ontario.

I am not sure why many of the assholes on this site are so opposed to efficiency gains and conservation of a finite polluting resource that makes economic sense?

I don't have a problem with conservation and efficiency.


I have a problem with people spouting complete bullshit as fact.

And grass... Well... He's a whole nother story usually.


Did you know cenovus fuels their company vehicles on CNG produced as a byproduct of oil extraction?


How much less energy does transferring oil in a pipe use vs on a train or even worse a truck?

What's more efficient? Pumping oil out of a well in kerrobert and pumping it to Quebec, or pulling it out in Saudi Arabia (no environmental concerns), pumping it to coast, then loading it on a ship and sending it half way around the world? And which poses a greater environmental risk?


You and grassy both spout a lot of stuff but have zero real world experience or knowledge....

[chuckChuck]

"You and grassy both spout a lot of stuff but have zero real world experience or knowledge...."

Ya right Klaus. With all your vast knowledge and experience why are you still driving truck in the oil patch to supplement your lack of farm income? You should be CEO of Suncor by now! LOL

[chuckChuck]

Efficiency gains are constantly being made in modern construction. Old brick buildings were not even insulated. Passive solar might be great for 3 hours in the winter, the other 21 hours its a thermal liability. In the summer passive solar creates unwanted heat and A/C becomes necessary. Triple pane Low E windows work well the other 21 hours. 95% efficiency furnaces, air tight envelopes, heat recovery ventilation is code. Spray foaming basement joist spaces, eliminating thermal transfer. The list goes on and on. Solar panel technology is just not ready. Btw I have solar thermal, photovolaic panels and a windmill at my home. Would I recommend it for everyone, nope.

Passive solar design has to include enough thermal mass to stabilize temperatures. That can be accomplished in a variety of ways. Our upper level is warm and our lower level living space with lots of thermal mass is cool year round because of a cement floor.

Spring and fall are typically the most overheated times because the sun is low and the heating requirement is small.

I know this because I built a passive solar house and overheating is an issue. In the summer months when window shading is usually adequate it is an issue because good triple pane low E argon windows are still only R 6 at best. Maybe there are better windows but even R 8 is not that great. But a wall of windows is poor insulation against 30 C

Cooking, inhabitants, lighting, appliances, TVs all give off a fair amount of heat even the new efficient ones.

Adequate ventilation solves most of the problems except for a few days of the year.

Net Zero house design must have solved alot of these problems. Go read up on them.

Solar is here, it is being used more and more and denying that it can play a role in energy production flys in the face of fact.

Will it solve all our energy needs? No! Does coal provide all our energy needs? No

[Robertbarlage]

Chuck and grass what do u use to heat your house? all solar? or wind?

[Klause]

"You and grassy both spout a lot of stuff but have zero real world experience or knowledge...."

Ya right Klaus. With all your vast knowledge and experience why are you still driving truck in the oil patch to supplement your lack of farm income? You should be CEO of Suncor by now! LOL

Umm.

I don't drive truck in the oil patch nor have I ever...?

And that's the only come back you had...


It's a shame.

[grassfarmer]

"You and grassy both spout a lot of stuff but have zero real world experience or knowledge...."

Ya right Klaus. With all your vast knowledge and experience why are you still driving truck in the oil patch to supplement your lack of farm income? You should be CEO of Suncor by now! LOL

I don't think he drives truck in the oil patch chuck chuck - he claims to be a directional driller in the oil patch, a truck driver and custom sprayer in the grain patch, an international negotiator and shipper of farm products around the world direct to end customers, someone who performs advanced computer electronic adaptions learned on YouTube, an expert in the field of soil amendments and alternate crop production practices, a salesman of Russian made tractors (sorry, that was last year - now it's South American tractors), an expert on farming in several countries around the world - and yet has still time to keep us all right on Agriville among other internet forums he participates in.
I like youthful enthusiasm but sometimes the BS is just piled too deep to be believable.

[Klause]

I don't think he drives truck in the oil patch chuck chuck - he claims to be a directional driller in the oil patch, a truck driver and custom sprayer in the grain patch, an international negotiator and shipper of farm products around the world direct to end customers, someone who performs advanced computer electronic adaptions learned on YouTube, an expert in the field of soil amendments and alternate crop production practices, a salesman of Russian made tractors (sorry, that was last year - now it's South American tractors), an expert on farming in several countries around the world - and yet has still time to keep us all right on Agriville among other internet forums he participates in.
I like youthful enthusiasm but sometimes the BS is just piled too deep to be believable.

Um... I've never sold tractors...


Prove anything I say wrong.

As far as what I do... Well lots of members know me in real life unlike you two.


But hey whatever makes you feel good.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

Umm.

I don't drive truck in the oil patch nor have I ever...?

And that's the only come back you had...


It's a shame.

I don't recall Chuck ever making an agricultural related comment on here, just comments when defending the CAGW agenda. We are all free to draw our own conclusions, but it may be that Chuck's income source has nothing to do with farming, therefore, insulting a hard working entrepreneur who is building a farm against all odds in this environment, with a comment like that is completely uncalled for.

[grassfarmer]

Um... I've never sold tractors...

You were promoting them pretty hard for a while until you changed your tune.

[Sheepwheat]

I don't recall Chuck ever making an agricultural related comment on here, just comments when defending the CAGW agenda. We are all free to draw our own conclusions, but it may be that Chuck's income source has nothing to do with farming, therefore, insulting a hard working entrepreneur who is building a farm against all odds in this environment, with a comment like that is completely uncalled for.

I think chuck chuck could well be Nettie Weibe.

[blackpowder]

I for one have seldom been in the company of finer assholes.

[blackpowder]

I read the article as best a Neanderthal can.
Of course new home construction could be designed around more efficiency.
Let the market decide. It would seem we aren't changing fast enough for some.
Hence the Black Swan event mentioned by the author. Coincidence??
How could we more easily afford modern changes in building??
Billions a year in energy exports is an easy one that comes to mind.