Desert Gardens

» Sally Morton - Bob, do you know offhand if there is a way to harness the energy

Bob, do you know offhand if there is a way to harness the energy for other purposes, such as powering things -in place of electricity etc? I'm not asking you to research it; I know your hands are full, but if you know already...

I want a passive solar home and I'm compiling research on ways to produce energy without oil, gas or electricity.

I found this article very informative. It just seems like we could do more with it than make gardens fertile.

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» Robert Dailey - Bob, do you know offhand if there is a way to harness the energy

In response to Bob, do you know offhand if there is a way to harness the energy posted by Sally125:

Sally:
It's a great idea but I don't think we have the technology to take advantage of it at this time.
The reason is that humus takes a relatively long time to decompose, even in composting situations, so the heat and energy given off, though substantial, can't be harnessed.
Having said that, composting does give off heat, and there may be a way to convert that heat to useable energy, although I'm not sure how it could be done.
I like the passive solar idea for a house.
In Santa Fe and Taos, there is a large number of passive solar homes, as well as active solar "earthships" as they are called.

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» Sally Morton - Bob, do you know offhand if there is a way to harness the energy

In response to Bob, do you know offhand if there is a way to harness the energy posted by bobcajun:

Just by positioning a house to face due South seriously cuts energy bills. I'm amazed how ignorant I was about alternative energy! I have really learned a lot in the past six months. I asked about the energy possiblity because I was researching about algae. Algaculture is a growing field and algae has so many uses, including as biodiesel. Algae can be grown to produce biomass, which can be burned to produce heat and electricity. It can also be used to absorb fertilizer run-off from farms; then re-used as fertilizer after it absorbs it. Maybe somebody will come up with something for humus - necessity is the mother of invention!

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