Testing the Improvements…

Every year the Lair gets a little more winter-friendly. Summer 2017 brought the crowning improvement, of course, in the form of a heavily-insulated bedroom addition with a vented propane space heater and a thermostat! Ah, the humble thermostat, bringer of civilization.

But small incremental improvements go on, and only need winter mornings to show their worth. Here’s one…

I woke up very interested to learn whether I still had running water, or would need to spend mid-day crawling around replacing pipes under the Lair. Again. But this time the new insulation did its job and water continues to pour only on the right things. Last April Big Brother and I installed a 12v ceiling fan in the new bedroom…

…and it was a big help through the hot part of the summer. On high speed it pulls rather more amperage than would be right if I were running it in the dark, when the solar panels are only collecting frost. But on its lowest speed the effect on the batteries is barely measurable.

And with improvements to the battery bank and low-wattage appliances like that new fan and LED lighting and this new ‘pooter, I no longer have to sweat every little millivolt – especially since the very cold morning tells me it’s going to be a very sunny day. So this morning I have the DC fan on in the bedroom and the AC fan on in the main cabin to circulate heat out of the loft, the woodstove has been up to temperature for only an hour or so and at quarter to six in the morning the coat is off and the sweatshirt is getting uncomfortably warm. Shirtsleeve interior temperatures in winter before sunrise used to be a distant dream – now they are achievable reality.

Of course it’s only mid-November and it’ll get colder than this. But not really a lot colder, and so far we’re looking pretty good.