solar panel

[Nigel Goodwin]

When I was in England many years ago I saw some houses with only HAY on the roof. It made a poor roof.

It's not 'hay', it's 'thatch'

It's also a VERY old roofing style - and even so it's not that 'poor' a roof, with a life expectancy of over 50 years.

While most thatched properties are older than Canada, apparently it's become popular on some modern highly expensive houses, purely for aesthetic reasons.

But thatched properties are really very rare, with most such old buildings having modern slate or tile roofs fitted - until the buildings got 'listed' and you weren't allowed to replace the thatch.

 

[tvtech]

It's not 'hay', it's 'thatch'

I think I sprayed beer all over my keyboard when I read this

Oh the images that come to mind....donkey on the roof eating it's hay....

Strangely enough here in SA thatch is very popular still. Suites our warm climate. Some of the most expensive properties I have ever seen (lot's in Cape Town) use thatch.

Here is an example of a place I photographed years ago in Hermanus a short drive from Cape Town:

I had to downsize the resolution....pic's original files too big

 

[audioguru]

Google Images shows many photos of "hay" used to make a thatched roof (without a donkey eating it). They say the hay must be well dried and completely dead (to prevent rot?) and is wired and screwed together and to the roof. No mention is made of the wires and screws rusting away or how often the roof needs "routine maintenance". Here is a photo:

 

[tvtech]

Heck, that roof looks smokeable. A little bit at a time

Nice thing with a thatch roof is that the house always smells clean and fresh. As a heavy smoker who has had the pleasure of living in a "small" one....the best.

Heck, the best days of my Married life were spent under a thatch roof house......no Air Freshners or anything else needed. My ex and I and my ex Parrot were all happy.

Regards,
tv

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Google Images shows many photos of "hay" used to make a thatched roof (without a donkey eating it).

Presumably you're a 'city boy', so don't know what hay is

It would be unusual to use hay for thatching, historically in the UK straw was the common choice - but, just as elsewhere in the world where it's still used, you use what is available locally.

 

[jpanhalt]

Here in Ohio, we have both straw and hay. How does one keep the straw from becoming moldy in your cool, damp climate?

John

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Here in Ohio, we have both straw and hay.

I presume any country area does

But hay is usually too short for thatching, and of course prone to being eaten

How does one keep the straw from becoming moldy in your cool, damp climate?

I presume nothing is done (and certainly not in the distant past where it originates), just laid on thick and skilfully?.

As it's not on the ground presumably mould, rot and damp isn't a problem?.

 

[tvtech]

GRR you make me cross sometimes Nigel

But I love you anyway. Who cannot but love a Teddy Bear like you....

Regards,
tv

EDIT: I posted this in the wrong thread...but for the sake sanity, I will leave it here

 

[nsaspook]

Back to solar

I'm working on some visualization methods to display net solar energy usage. My current experiment uses a 3D cube projection matrix that is controlled by the total energy level (size), in/out direction (color), solar voltage (X spin) and current (Y spin). It's hosted on a PIC32 using JavaScript to run the graphics on the client web browser.

I need to polish up the display and code but here's a video demo on a typical Oregon day with no sun.

 

[Scotophor]

This is for some of you posting about "hay" thatched roofs:
Thatch is one of the oldest roofing methods, and is quite durable and water repellent if done properly. No wire or screws needed, traditionally. Of course, there was and still is a certain skill set required, and if you undertook to re-roof, patch or repair your thatched roof without that skill set, you were in for problems.

Regarding slate/tile vs. shingles, the asphalt and fiberglass shingles available now typically come with 25 year warranties or longer. Here in fire-prone southern California, wood shake shingles are now outlawed though they were once common, and many homeowners have kept the wood shake look by installing wood-look tiles or shingles of less flammable materials. The main reasons not everyone opts for tile or slate are the cost (which can be several times the cost of asphalt shingles), and the sad fact that people and families tend not to live in the same house for so long. Why bother buying a 100-year roof if, in 10 years, the roof will become someone else's problem?

 

[b.james]

Some areas have better wind patterns than others. Never been to Pakistan, so I can't comment on that. There's a group of families in the mountains of Colorado that use windmills to provide a lot of their power. Their website is www.otherpower.com They have some good information for building windmills.

Bach On

Doesn't seem like anything free though . Trying to sell courses and you are promoting them!

 

[gary350]

I lived in Tennessee 35 years wind is very gusty all the time. Wind can be 10 mph then, 20 mph, then dead calm, then 15 mph, then 5 mph, every 30 to 45 seconds, all day long, it never changes. I use to live flying Kites in Arizona but could never fly a Kite in Tennessee. Wind mill is worthless in TN. TN gets 300 days of rain every year they have lots of very gray heavy over cast skis from Sept to May. If you like rain, mold, mildew, polin, tornados, and the best State Parks, National park, hiking, biking, camping, and GREAT southern food in the whole USA move to TN.

 

[Scotophor]

Wind gusts are a low-level phenomenon. Build a nice tall turbine on a ridge or hilltop and you will get fairly constant power.

 

[jpanhalt]

What do you mean by "low-level?" Gusts occur at heights that one is unlikely to build any tower to overcome. The ratio of gust to average speed does decrease with height. What you see with higher towers is a higher average speed. There will still be gusts though.

Source: **broken link removed**

 

[Scotophor]

What I mean is that these statements:

Wind can be 10 mph then, 20 mph, then dead calm, then 15 mph, then 5 mph, every 30 to 45 seconds, all day long, it never changes. (...) Wind mill is worthless in TN.

will be invalid if you build tall enough to get out of the zone in which the wind speed is so drastically variable.

 

[b.james]

I lived in Tennessee 35 years wind is very gusty all the time. Wind can be 10 mph then, 20 mph, then dead calm, then 15 mph, then 5 mph, every 30 to 45 seconds, all day long, it never changes. I use to live flying Kites in Arizona but could never fly a Kite in Tennessee. Wind mill is worthless in TN. TN gets 300 days of rain every year they have lots of very gray heavy over cast skis from Sept to May. If you like rain, mold, mildew, polin, tornados, and the best State Parks, National park, hiking, biking, camping, and GREAT southern food in the whole USA move to TN.

thats the land of Davey Crockett isn't it . Where its wet evrything thrives . In the dry everything dies so I know where I would rather live . I can always towel down if wet but in the dry even the dams go- Bit like Mars now ! All shrivelled up