3:41 PM
| Sunrise at | 10:45 AM | in direction | 150° | South-southeast |  |
| Sunset at | 3:09 PM | in direction | 210° | South-southwest |  |
Civil Twilight began at 9:28 this morning and ends at 16:27. We have 7 hours of usable light. Since there has been cloud cover all day, sunrise and sunset was not noticeable. The weather has become cold again. We had one day where it was 0F on our deck when we came home from work. But now it is hovering around -20F.
The middle level, or main level of our house is timbered logs. The logs are flat sided10" by 8". This amounts to R10, if the logs are fully heated. The tongue and groove fit included a foam insulating strip and caulk to reduce drafts between the logs. True North Log Homes is out of Ontario, Canada. I imagine that when the sun hits these homes at those latitudes, it sufficiently heats them that residents receive the benefits of the logs' thermal mass. But we live in many hours of dark with no contribution of sunlight for thermal warming. Even when the sun is shining at -30F, there is no appreciable warming from the sun on the exterior of the logs. R30 is considered the minimum needed for this climate.
Diesel fuel heats houses in Fairbanks. Anchorage has the luxury of natural gas, but we do not and so we pay slightly less than what you see at the pump per gallon. Yep, as oil prices go up, so does our heating bill. Our first year, when diesel was relatively inexpensive, we paid $300+/month on the budget plan.
After one year in the house, I knew we needed to do something. We have a wood stove, but once we left for the day, the radiator would come on quickly. And the house was not comfortable. The head of our bed was against one wall and we could feel the cold radiate off the wood across our heads. I got into the habit of putting an extra pillow flat against the wall like a head board. When we put our hand on the wall side of the pillow, it was ice cold.
The next year we caulked between the logs with a sealant designed for log homes. We added rigid foam and drywall to the wall behind our bed. The sealant reduced drafts, but made no difference with respect to heat retention. Putting foam and drywall behind our bed, however, greatly improved our comfort. So, that spring we applied for State of Alaska funds to retrofit our house by bringing the exterior walls up to R30. Based on research from the University and the Cold Climate Research Center, the recommended way to insulate is to put foam on the outside of the house, leaving the interior timbered. The timbering on the inside heats up to contribute thermal mass.
We did that on three sides of the house, leaving the front of the house undone because Gary was working alone and we'd run out of time and money for that summer season. We did not have money to install siding either, but this is Alaska where folks put blue tarp over roofs rather than repair them. We let it go.
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| Corner showing back of the house. |
The photo above shows the top floor exterior which appears to be logs, but is siding matched to the original timbers of the house. The wood at the top of the right hand side of the photo shows the roof eaves.
The next year, we finished out the foam on the corners and added insulation to the ground level. We also added R10 and drywall to the inside of the front of the house. The front of the house remains timbered to the outside. Taking off the second floor siding to add enough insulation to make it flush with the retrofit on the back of the house for the main floor challenged Gary and my son-in-law Jamie, taking the better part of a weekend to finish it. We have large, large windows in front, so we decided against the recommended approach. Nevertheless, the added R10 indoors had greatly reduced drafts and improved heat retention, just as it did on the wall in the bedroom.
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| Basement Apartment Window |
When we submitted our follow on evaluation, we had raised the Star Rating by one full star so the state reimbursed up to $4000 for our costs.
Last year we were able to install corrugated steel siding to the middle level. Some thought it horrible that would would cover the timber, but it is really very nice looking and to be honest, I DON'T CARE what others think. Fuel prices have gone up dramatically since 2007 when we bought the house. We were paying @ $2.00/gallon in those days and now we can pay over $4.00.
It's hard to compare the savings for heat since the hot water system is also heated by the same boiler. Also, I extended our payments to include the summer months. Where we paid $324+/month for nine months, we are now paying $265/month for 12 months. But, what was $324 in 2007 would now be @ $600/month. $600 x 9 months is $5400 for heating and hot water. We pay $3180 at the maximum for a year of hot water and heat.
It is already too dark for me to take a good photo of the back and this same corner with the new siding. I will post that tomorrow.
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