Not gonna lie – the pool has been a challenge. We did not properly tape the seams where the pool liner meets the liner for the ponds at each end of the 40′ lap pool and it leaked on first fill.
So I drained the pool to below the level where it leaked and waited for the patching materials to arrive. During this time I temped in the air system so that the water constantly moved to prevent stagnation and mosquitoes breeding. By the time I was able to fix the seams, it was the dry season and could not spare rainwater for the pool.
Then time got away from me again and it was too cold to fix the seams. By this time there had been water in the pool for over a year so I decided to drain the rest of the water to wash the pool before refilling.
I do not have supplemental heat in the greenhouse and am dependent on solar gain to be able to rise much above the outside temperature. As has been the case the last 2 years, temperatures have reached 70 degrees farenheit (21C) inside the greenhouse in March even while the outside temperature is in the 50s. It has taken several days to wash the entire bottom of the pool but that is done!
Turned on 1 hose from the rainwater tanks last night at 7:30pm and at 7:30am water depth was about 12″ and used around 1,800 gallons although it’s been raining lightly all night so the tanks are refilling only a bit slower than they are emptying. Water temperature is about 50 degrees. The water’s force from the hose is not sufficient to move the entire length so at about 14″ depth I turned on the temporary circulation systems on each end.
Water is now 18″ deep and still no leaks evident. I’ll stop at about 24″ deep for a few hours to check for leaks and let the rain refill the tanks.
Hello Shawn
This is Brian and Linda, living a little north of you in North Vancouver and on our Sunshine Coast. We have been following the Swedish and Belgian spreading of Naturhuuses for some years. Thanks so much for the essential local, rainy data!
Here are some questions
1. Do you have the rough total budget for house, architect, and greenhouse? (You said it’s coming, right?)
2. Did I miss the electrical bill for year, or variation summer and winter?
3. We want to build a Climate Resilient house to retire to. And are living in a tiny apartment now. Prepare for Heat Domes and Deep Freezes. A Green house that can open right up in summer I assume. So, more expensive.
4. Have you needed any AC yet in the hottest heat so far?
Reply to your questions:
1) I put that out in video on the YT channel
2) I really hesitate to discuss my utilities because electricity rates vary so much across the US and you’re not even in the US. Then, my electricity usage may be very different than yours (or anyone else). I have all electric appliances in the house, electric radiant floor in the bathroom/laundry/shower area, electric fans circulating air through 3 A2G systems, electric air pumps for the pool, 2 electric fans in the greenhouse. The house is super insulated so I rarely turn on the heat outside the bathroom. Your utility costs would be very different.
3) Greenhouses where the sides open would do better in the heat of summer if that’s your only criteria. Consider, though, how important to you are a) critter control (deer, rodents, birds, etc), b) insect control, c) cost for opening sides, d) effort to open and close the sides. As I discuss in a couple of my YouTube videos, it was definitely a mistake to not include more air intake during construction (it was in the plan but got axed) so I now need to retrofit. But, I never considered a greenhouse where the sides open because of how I, personally, answered each of those questions a,b,c,d.
4) Yes, I have turned on the AC a handful of times in the hottest part of the summer. It isn’t every day, not even every week. If I open the doors and windows overnight when it is cool and close the doors, windows, and curtains during the day, even when the greenhouse temperature may get into the 90s, inside the house rarely gets to 80.