> A goal for the build was to limit impact to the site during construction, and then to limit the footprint of the home after completion. In pursuit of this we planned an efficient mechanical design that would feature solar panels for electricity generation tied to the grid, geothermal for heat exchange, and no fossil fuels.
Oh, great, sound like you have some good environmental principles!
> However, we quickly ran into several problems with this approach.
Yeah, it can be a bummer to sacrifice your own comfort. But it is worth it for the environment!
> The bigger issue was that the energy demands for the house, which included hot water heating for the pool and hot tub, outstripped the electrical supply we could get on a rural residential build: 400A.
Wow, that's a lot of electricity. Like, a loooooot. Maybe we can pare it down a little bit -- limiting our impact is important, right?
> We eventually settled on supplementing our electrical generation with propane, which we had hoped to avoid
Right?
O-oh. Oh so you're using propane to heat the pool.
> A goal for the build was to limit impact to the site during construction, and then to limit the footprint of the home after completion. In pursuit of this we planned an efficient mechanical design that would feature solar panels for electricity generation tied to the grid, geothermal for heat exchange, and no fossil fuels.
Oh, great, sound like you have some good environmental principles!
> However, we quickly ran into several problems with this approach.
Yeah, it can be a bummer to sacrifice your own comfort. But it is worth it for the environment!
> The bigger issue was that the energy demands for the house, which included hot water heating for the pool and hot tub, outstripped the electrical supply we could get on a rural residential build: 400A.
Wow, that's a lot of electricity. Like, a loooooot. Maybe we can pare it down a little bit -- limiting our impact is important, right?
> We eventually settled on supplementing our electrical generation with propane, which we had hoped to avoid
Right?
O-oh. Oh so you're using propane to heat the pool.
Yeah.