I don’t like the concept of heat pumps as they produce air conditioning, which is something I don’t believe much in a temperate climate like our own. I think air conditioning, while nice in automobile stuck in traffic or in a corporate office, kind of makes people lazy and isolates them from the outdoors.
That said, they probably are an excellent way to heat suburban and urban residences efficiently. Heat pumps produce no local pollution and maximize the value of the energy contained in electricity. Electricity can come from many sources, both carbon-based and otherwise. A lot of people want air conditioning in the city, as it’s hot, and in suburbs it’s become a standard part of McMansion living.
But I am not sure if I want to include a heat pump in the initial construction of my off-grid cabin. For one, heat pump compressors use a fair amount of electricity, especially for heating in the winter when solar is week. That said, I do expect my battery bank and solar set up to be fairly well sized, as it’s going to have to operate a well pump, which has a heavy inductive load when first started. As such, a heat pump might not actually be as energy intensive as you might think, and heat pumps are increasingly popular on off-grid applications down south, where it’s not as cold and air conditioning is more popular. But I don’t want to include air conditioning in my building.
I want to use “real” tangible source of energy, namely wood as my primary heat source, though I may want to have propane as a back up just ensure pipes don’t freeze or batteries get too cold when I’m away from the property for an extended period of time. But maybe it’s a potential future upgrade.
One of the things I don’t like about owning land is the long commute. Everybody warns me about it, but it’s not like I’m unfamiliar with it having lived in Dormansville for many years growing up and commuting various jobs in the Greater Albany area. I haven’t driven to work in many years, but I do remember those days well. I also drove from Dormansville up to Hudson Valley Community for two years, five days a week. That was about 30 miles each way.
Some people do long commutes to get more affordable property. Other people do it because they like the rural lifestyle, they want acerage, land they can call their own. That’s the camp I fall into. I have determined that a 30 mile commute — 45 minutes each way or an hour and half total is a reasonable trade off for a rural lifestyle. Especially if much of that commute is on fast-moving, 2 lane rural highways, it’s something I can live with even if it’s a pretty big nuisance.
Things have changed in my life — working in the suburban office with acres of parking, and a 9-5 schedule. Except for those dark days in November, December, January and early February, most of the time I will be driving in the daylight. It’s much different then when I was working the late nights, in a downtown office, where the only option for parking was off-site in a large parking garage.
At roughly 350 miles a week (assuming up to 10 miles per day side trips), it’s a lot of driving and it’s tough on cars. As much as 18,200 miles a year. Each week 7 1/2 hours spent motoring if it’s 45 minutes each way. Then again, I guess the flip side is that’s about what I spend on bus between the time getting out to the stop, waiting for the bus to arrive and head home. But a whole lot more expensive. And that’s time I can’t spend exercising or doing other things, though I can certainly stream podcasts and audio books as I drive.
I can figure on using a tankful of gas each week. Probably not an $80 or $100 tankful, as I don’t think my big jacked up truck has all that much useful life in it, but certainly $50-75 a week in fuel, especially if I end up something like a 4×4 compact pickup like a Toyota Tacoma. Probably going to need something with four-wheel drive out in the country for the winter and mud season. When fuel prices inevitably go up to $5 or $6 it will become a big pain the but though my budget and salary can absorb it. Plus replacing the vehicle every 8-10 years due to the mileage more then the age. Again, I’m sure I can afford it but do I want it?
I don’t know, I kind of like living in the city and busing and biking it to work. I don’t have to worry about weather or breakdowns. But the flip side, is I like being out in country, having fires, burning things, listening to frogs and howl of the coyote and the idea of owning my own land, and not being a pawn at a landlord’s game. Where I have a real home, not a moldy shit shack where I get my mail and plan my next escape to the wilderness. It’s where my roots are. I really struggle to know what’s right but I’m deeply unhappy with the my current situation.
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