Eco Housing Facts 2006

Engineer Richard Bointon has built his house with the following eco friendly features.

• Walls: Hi-density concrete blocks with a thick layer of rockwool insulation on the outside, which is then civered with a waterproof membrane. "This acts like a storage heater because the concrete stays the same temperature all year round. RB"
• Roof: There are over 270 individual solar tiles on the roof instead of the more usual large panels. In the loft there is an 'inverter' which allows RB to sell any excess electricity he generates to the National Grid.
• Windows: Double glazed and filled with argon gas; they offer three times the insulation required by building regulations.
• Water: Two giant water tanks collect up to 2,000 litres of rainwater (grey water) from the gutters and downpipes. A pump takes it to the loft from where a pressure system delivers it to the loos for flushing and to the washing machine. Mains water is used for drinking, cooking and showers. A state-of-the-art hot water tank heats water in an instant.
• Sewage: A customised septic tank is buried in the garden.
• Conservatory: A two-storey glass conservatory runs along the front of the house, incorporating the living rooms with a spectacular 'minstrels' gallery' leading to bedrooms and bathrooms. It faces south allowing the sun to warm the air inside. The hot air rises by convection to the top of the house, leading to natural circulation of air. Two log burners help out in winter.
• Floor: The wooden floor sits on thick slabs of pink foam insulation.
• Ventilation: Extractors suck all the damp, warm air from the bathrooms and kitchen and pump it to a heat exchanger in the loft, which helps heat the house. "We achieve 72% heat recovery in the house; it is totally air-tight with no draughts. RB"

For more details: bointon.demon.co.uk/eden.htm
2006 Daily Mirror news item

Room Temperatures in the Home

There is a broad consensus on what we need for health.

Public Health England recommends the following levels:

• 21 degrees C for living areas
• 18 degrees C for bedrooms

• Below 16 degrees C, breathing may be affected
• At 12 degrees C, blood pressure starts to rise 

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Comfort cannot be defined absolutely, but the World Health Organization's standard for warmth says 18C (64F) is suitable for healthy people who are appropriately dressed. For those with respiratory problems or allergies, they recommend a minimum of 16C (60.8C); and for the sick, disabled, very old or very young, a minimum of 20C (68F).

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Living room temperatures

• 18 to 21 C = comfortable temperature
• 9 to 12 C or 24+ C = risk of stroke and heart attack
• 21 to 24 C or 16 to 18 C = some discomfort
• 12 to 16 C risk of respiratory disease
• Less than 9 C = risk of hypothermia

Source: Study by housing expert Richard Moore

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
Max Ehrman, 1927

Max Ehrman (1872-1945) wrote the prose poem Desiderata in 1927. It was included by Rev. Frederick Yates in a compilation  of devotional materials for his congregation; the compilation included the church's foundation date (Old Saint Paul's Church, Baltimore, AD 1621) and so the text's authorship was (and still is) widely mistaken to be 1692.

M

I Sing the Life by Jane Duncan

I found this poem in The Singing Life: The Story of a Family in the Shadow of Cancer by Elizabeth Bryan (Vermillion, 2008).

I Sing the Life
I sing the life that is born in all of us,
Ours to use the best way we can.
I sing the death that is yet in store for us
Linking back to the place we began.

The paths we travel are often in shadow
But words are lanterns to guide our feet
And the joy of friendship and peace of solitude
Help the myth and the meaning to meet.

We tread the labyrinth of our being
To reach the shore on the other side.
We feel the wear and the grime of our journeying
Each alone, with the thread for our guide.

Jane Duncan

Winter Roads

To clear an area of snow effectively

• When it snows, shovel it out of the way, then sweep the area clear, then sprinkle with salt. Do not use water as this will quickly re-freeze leaving icy patches.
• You can use salt from one of the council grit bins if it is for a public road, or your own table salt if for your private driveway or land. One tablespoon of salt for one square metre of road or pavement should be spread thinly to be most effective.

Can I be sued if I clear a pavement or road myself?

• There is no law preventing you from clearing snow and ice on the pavement outside your property, pathways to your property, or public spaces. 
• It is unlikely you would face any legal liability, as long as you are careful and use reasonable care to ensure you do not make the pavement or pathway clearly more dangerous than before.
• People using areas affected by snow and ice also have a responsibility to be careful themselves.

Salt facts

• Salt is not as effective once the surface temperature reaches below minus 8 degrees C.
• Salt requires tyre action to make it more efficient.
• If it rains, the salt will be washed off the road; we (Wiltshire Council) always try to salt after it has rained. 
• Putting salt on thick snow will do nothing; the snow must be removed before salt is put down.

Wiltshire Council Your Wiltshire Magazine (2010?)