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Saturday 7th 6C/42F. Early rain clearing to cloud and quite windy. Up at 7.15 after earlier wakening.
The place is steadily reducing in the volume of its "excess baggage." I just need to organise it more efficiently. So I can steadily plough through it all and bring some useful order over time. Unless it is sorted it has little value to anyone. The time involved in finding anything makes it much easier to go out and buy something. Which is a huge waste of a potentially useful resource. Particularly if car fuel is involved.
What the world needs now. After a paint-on super insulation. Is a high efficiency air-water heat pump at low cost. I would be wasting my money buying an air-air heat pump when I have underfloor piping unused.
Yet the air-air system uses a liquid between the outer pump unit and the inner fan circulation unit. It just needs that fluid to become universal and cheap. So that it can be pumped around a standard domestic heating system. Heat pumps are best suited to underfloor heating. Because of the low working temperatures involved. Radiators have to be much larger to make use of these lower temperatures.
I am being fairly successful at spreading the warmth from the stove in the lounge, Though it isn't very efficient and needs my presence to function at all. Nor does it maintain its warmth overnight. When outdoor temperatures are usually lower. The well insulated attic is at a cosy 20C/68F this morning. While the lounge has dropped from 21C/70F to 17C/62F overnight. This is based on a remarkably mild [for Denmark] 6C/42F minimum outdoor temperature.
If there had been an overnight frost then the indoor temperatures would have dropped dramatically. The difference is very noticeable indeed. It is all down to the levels of insulation in the walls. Or rather lack of them.
I have another thermometer in the window nearest the stove. It reads higher than the thermometer placed more distantly but drops much further overnight. The 7m/22' long, lean-to greenhouse clearly has only very limited value in maintaining warmth in the southern wall it covers.
This was discussed way back on Abusenet discussion groups on "alternative energy" years ago. Lean-to greenhouses are undeniably attractive. However, a thin layer of insulation is far better at keeping the adjoining house warm. Particularly at night or when there is no sunshine falling on the glazed enclosure.
At the same time you can't grow tomatoes. Nor sit warming yourself in the sunshine with wall insulation. The greenhouse enclosure obviously has many other desirable features. However, depending on its construction costs, its "payback period" for solar heating alone may stretch indefinitely. Unless, of course, its value as a growing and relaxing space is also taken into account. Anybody hoping for useful heat gain had better live in a desert. Where winter sunshine is practically guaranteed.
It is far better to fit insulation on the back [house] wall of the lean-to greenhouse. To keep the house warm overnight or in cold/overcast conditions. However, if the insulation is removable. Or built in the form of a folding, slatted or roller blind. Then it could be adjusted for solar infall [including angle] and temperature.
Or even become a solar heat absorber when the sun is available. The warmed air from the collector[s] then has to be brought indoors to make use of the "free" solar heat. During the summer the back wall insulation can protect the house wall from being baked. Though layers of shade netting can help here. The high angle of the sun makes shading of the rear wall and floor much easier.
10.00 44F. Thick mist. 200m. Stove lit. Internal doors open. Washing up done. Morning coffee over. What next?
Using silicone to fix the new toilet bowl down. It had been rocking since I installed it. The problem was that I was afraid to use the long screws provided. They risked penetrating the underfloor heating hose. So now I am going to use silicone sanitation adhesive to fix it down.
First I cleaned round the toilet bowl and then marked the footprint with a pencil. To guide my silicone application. Then carefully lifted the heavy toilet bowl clear of the drainage fitting [muff] in the floor. Having already removed the water supply hose. I lifted it over an old washing up bowl to empty the water in the trap. Only to discover that it was far too heavy and awkward. For me to manage tilting it over in the very confined space.
So now there was water on the tiled bathroom floor! I put the toilet bowl down again and fetched a load of newspapers. Mopped up as much of the water as I could and discarded the paper. Then laid more paper to soak up the remaining water. By now my pencil outline had been rubbed away. Nor could I guarantee the floor or WC bowl were dry enough to safely apply the silicone. 😬
My plan is to use paper towels to dry the floor tiles in the area of the toilet. Stand the bowl on battens. So I can dry around its base with more paper towels. Then carefully replace the toilet bowl to mark the footprint [again] with the pencil. Lift off again onto the battens to double check it is still dry. Before I apply a generous run of silicone all around just inside the pencilled footprint. Finally replacing the toilet bowl in place, tidying the silicone and leaving it to set, cure or whatever.
The silicone bead I applied was much too generous but better safe than sorry. I cleaned up the excess with paper towels.
The width of the base of the bowl's ceramic casting will provide a large surface area. For secure adhesion to the floor.
I ran a bead of silicone along the back of the new basin as well. Against the tiled wall while I was there. Next time I will do it before I fit the mixer tap.
Dinner was a salmon pasty, with tinned tomatoes and pasta.
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