The lounge room is where we spend a fair amount of time in the evening, particularly seeing as this is where (or near where) the primary source of heating and cooling for the house is, and as such it is part of our cool refuge and (if there is such a thing), warm refuge.
Heating and Cooling
Our main heating is provided by the Nectre bakers oven which is very efficient, especially after having an open fireplace as a source of heat for many years, although the open fire place was augmented by a since passed on kerosene heater. The baker’s oven also allows us to cook on and in it, so that the energy from the wood we burn does double duty. The oven is also used for dehydrating food for storage and we are currently working on a system to transfer heat produced in the oven into the bed to provide warmth in that area when we leave the warmth of the fire to head up to the cooler bedrooms.
The lounge area, as part of the whole house, has fibreglass batts as insulation, but in winter we apply bubble wrap to the very large lounge room windows. This acts as a type of insulation (sort of like double glazing) but at the same time it lets in plenty of light during the winter day which we find very useful from a psychological as well as environmental point of view (we don’t need to use extra lighting during the day. We also have roll down shutters fitted on the outside of the front windows (including the lounge) which cuts down on the heat getting in and we don’t miss the light so much in summer because we get plenty at other times!
In terms of cooling, there is an overhead fan in the lounge room, but the main cooling (when it is required) comes from the small air conditioner in the Kitchen/Dining area, which is positioned so that the output can be directed into the lounge area as well. We have a fan which we use in the large doorway between the lounge and kitchen/dining area which picks up the cool air and directs it into the lounge.
The lounge room can be segregated from the rest of the house by a concertina door at the arch between the hall/entryway and the lounge room, which facilitates keeping the room comfortable in both hot and cold weather. There is also a folding door between the kitchen and the hall/entryway and we use a blanket curtain to isolate the kitchen/dining are from the laundry, shutting off the whole south end of the house to keep it warmer/cooler as required.
Electricals
The main lights in the lounge room are two 12 volt high efficiency fluorescent lights, which are connected directly to the 24 volt batteries through the 24 volt to 12 volt converter, which means that even if the inverter shuts down due to low voltage, we still have the lights. The 240v ceiling fan is connected in where the old 240 volt light was placed. We also have a portable, stand mounted 240 volt fluorescent lamp connected to the off grid system through the inverter for task lighting.
We have the TV in the lounge room, we use it to watch YouTube videos on stuff we are interested in as well as my old 50s/60s sci fi and monster movies on DVD or on the net or other entertaining stuff. What can I say? We have optimised the TV power consumption to the point where it only uses 10 watts to run, so power usage is minimal. If you type ‘optimise’ and your TV brand and model into the net, you would be surprised at the information available on how anybody can set up their TV to consume less power.
Accommodation
The 4 person custom built lounge which we have is also a remarkably comfortable fold out double bed. We also have two reclining chairs which can also be used for sleeping in, and both of us have, at separate times, slept in them when uncomfortable or unwell. This means that when required we could easily and reasonably comfortably sleep four people in our cool/warm retreat, and that doesn’t account for floor space!
Three bookshelves full of books, a small CD player and collection of CDs and a solar/wind up radio rounds out the entertainment section of the room.
When we first moved in, I had the lounge room floor sanded and coated, and for many years we had a variety floor coverings but the past few years we have gone with just the polished boards for the ease of cleaning. I was initially concerned that it would make the room colder in winter, and even had plans to insulate under the floor for a while, but it doesn’t seem to have made a difference to the feel of the room so I have decided to leave it as it is.
Other parts of our Zone 0
