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Minimum Power Consumption Housing

Design Parameters 

We need a fully wall and window insulated draught proof house but without any radiators at all.

The roof could be covered in solar panels as a way of charging the batteries in case grid power is unreliable.

If needed, cooking and heating can be on wood burning or gas appliances in the main living room.

As there is no heating upstairs the beds will have DC electric blankets and woollen bed cloths will keep us snug.

Dish washing and washing machines will probably need to become manual tasks; keeping us fit and agile 

In that electricity is difficult to generate economically will lead in future, to power sharing rotas

and we may expect to get grid supply only 4 hours per day mostly at night to charge batteries and heat water..

Expected battery power consumption per day could typically be 

Electronic broadband and TV etc [0.5kWh], electric blankets[0.5kWh], lighting [0.5kWh], 

Fridge {1.0kWh], Microwave Oven [2.0kWh]

Parents
  • A note to the comments about fiddling with the time controls on the hot water, some older central heating programmers only allow you to set the hot water at the same times as the heating, so over the winter the hot water can be on for many hours a day and the boiler can cycle unnecessarily.

    Swapping an old programmer for one that allows different time settings for heating and hot water makes significant savings by reducing excessive  boiler cycling.

Reply
  • A note to the comments about fiddling with the time controls on the hot water, some older central heating programmers only allow you to set the hot water at the same times as the heating, so over the winter the hot water can be on for many hours a day and the boiler can cycle unnecessarily.

    Swapping an old programmer for one that allows different time settings for heating and hot water makes significant savings by reducing excessive  boiler cycling.

Children
  • I grew up in a house where it wasn't possible to have heating without hot water.  The boiler heated the hot water tank, and the heating system took the heat out of the tank.