19.10.2022 Apple festival.

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 Wednesday 19th 41F. UP at 6.10.  The new light in the hall is bright but I am not sure I like the strip light format. It is rather "industrial." Will adding a second unit make it less so? I'm not sure.

 7.20 Just light enough now to see a thin [low] layer of mist over the front field. Dark clouds are visible from my north facing window. We are promised a fully sunny day. No stove yesterday. Despite this it is 63F upstairs. 59F downstairs this morning. [17C & 15C] I could probably boost that today with the greenhouse but I am at the museum today. 

 Solar heating, using a lean-to greenhouse, requires constant monitoring. If the sun goes in for too long. Then it could draw heat from the house. There is a simple way around this problem. Keep the doors shut. Use a solar panel to drive a fan. When the sun goes in, the fan stops pushing heat into the house. A thermostat controlling the fan is another option. If the greenhouse temperature falls then the fan stops pushing air into the house.

 Both of these solution raise the problem of returning cooler [house] air to the greenhouse. Sucking the air out of the greenhouse, without return vents, will pull in cold air from outdoors. Return vents need to be low down and large enough to be efficient. They also need well insulated flaps. For when they are not active and at night. Open windows can provide return vents but are limited to manual operation.

 Using a poorly insulated house, in this way, will not provide continuous comfort. The conditions for passive solar heating are far too infrequent and limited. Except in certain desert regions. With purpose designed, passive houses enjoying the benefits of almost continuous sunshine. Nor do they have hedges between their large greenhouses and the sunshine.

 In my case it is just my having some free fun. To save burning another log or two. My greenhouse already exists. So I am taking advantage of any sunshine. I would be much better off with larger southerly windows and a properly insulated front wall. Except that you can't dry your laundry, free of charge, with wall insulation. Nor have somewhere sheltered to sit out when greenhouse conditions are suitable. With efficient shade net to protect you from the blinding sun!

 8.00 Enough waffling. Time for a short walk. The mist was still forming close to the ground in places. I limited my walk to 15 minutes each way. To allow time for a shower and a change into suitable clothing for working at the outdoor museum.

 12.30 52F. Back for lunch. I have opened the greenhouse while I am at home. Today's museum projects were all to do with the apple festival. The many apple trees in the museum grounds had provided the fruit. The museum provided assorted machine for producing apple juice. These had to be made clean enough to do their work without contaminating the juice. So there was much scrubbing, tipping and lifting of the heavy implements. 

 The image shows a large, solid oak apple press. A bag of pulped apples sits inside within the arc of dowels. A ratchet draws down the handle via the rope. The bag is pressed and the juice runs out of the bottom into the huge, half barrel container. Ad infinitum. I was given the task of turning the handle on an apple shredder.

 After lunch I was back on lifting heavy, corrugated steel sheets onto the side of the machine shed extension. 

 Then I relaxed in the observatory before my English friend visited with his wife. The place looked like a tip! I hadn't put the books away yet. So the lounge floor was knee deep in boxes. I had the indoor temperatures up to 65-66F using the greenhouse.

 Dinner was a salmon pasty with pasta, peas and tinned tomatoes.

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