Insulating the roof

[Jack Peterson]

Just now, Tommy T. said:

I hate the idea of just dumping it into a river...

[sonjack2847]

1 hour ago, Tommy T. said:

Yeah... and sometimes I forget. I actually read the official Philippine regulations about the personal sewage systems. I hate the idea of just dumping it into a river...

You could use a multiple tank system which would clean the water before it dissipates into the ground. The solid waste in there should be taken care of by bacteria and you can get a liquid from most builders stores which encourage their growth. You will have to remember not to put caustic materials into the draining system or that can kill the bacteria.

[jimeve]

6 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

That does not really sound so expensive. Did that include the cost of wiring, hooking up to the grid, switching circuits? And did he install batteries and inverter or was this just for daytime only power?

Probably grid-tie. So no need for batteries which is the most expensive part.  

Edited June 23, 2019 by jimeve

[Viking]

9 hours ago, scott h said:

Frankly I think you are fighting a loosing battle, the average temp and humidity is just to high to effectively insulate a house with out spending a lot of money.

When we built our two story house we tried to insure that we had enough ventilation for good air flow and we chose 3 rooms to install split air condition units. 2 bed rooms and a "family" room. During the really oppressive months we spend most of our time in the family room.

This is not a new problem, look at some of the old colonial houses,,,,,,,,,,,,,high ceilings   and huge windows.

I understand that it will never be cool inside the house but I am pretty sure alot can be done to reduce the temperature we have now 

[Viking]

6 hours ago, scott h said:

This is just me, it is not so much the heat its the humidity that just kill me,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,unless you have a dehumidifier or air kon all you can do is suffer 

You are right about the humidity, that can be more of a challenge than the heat. We do have aircon because I dont wanna suffer more than necessary 

[Viking]

5 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

I had a friend, now deceased, who had a nice cool house by putting solar panels all over the roof that the sun hit the most.  Then he hooked into the Noreco main line so all that solar power was fed into the system.  So the electric bill was close to zero.  The solar panels soaked up the sun's rays. And he ran air conditioning for free.

I have been thinking of this too, I found a complete "package"  of 3,7 kWp Grid tied solar system  that will generate savings of 5000+ pesos/monthly on your electric bills. Cost for this system is 220k pesos, meaning it will be generate a profit in less than 4 years.  I will not do this as a first step, but probably in the future if we decide to stay there long time.

[Viking]

5 hours ago, robert k said:

If I were building I would look at geothermal. If I lived near running water or a fairly deep pond, I would definitely be putting in some kind of heat exchanger system. Putting a roof over the roof with airflow between the two to keep the sun off would help, the shading roof doesn't have to be water tight, I saw an interesting design at a commercial egg producing facility. Depending on how high the roof is it could be extended so the roof shades the walls through more of the day, problem being that it can't go so low that people walking around the house on the outside walk into the overhang. Think something like a carport all around the house if the roof isn't very high.

In the hot, more dry months, a mister on the roof may help, a mister may make an outdoor split aircon more efficient.

Ive seen construction with foam insulation between 2 block walls. We even used to use some 90mm thick foam in roof construction on top of a concrete roof that would be covered in rubber then tar and gravel, only the top layer of gravel gets hot, but you have a heavy roof about a foot/300mm thick. I would say whatever is cheap and effective is what I would go with, Tyvex to reflect heat on the inner roof side, fiberglass in the ceiling, possibly a misting system on the roof, shade trees. Build a defense in depth from the heat enemy. Aircon will still be necessary to remove humidity and adding direct cooling, but if you plan it correctly, not so much.

I don't know exactly what you are working with but I do suggest that it's never a bad time to get creative to beat the heat except when you want a sauna or hot shower or soak. If the house is owned, I'd be willing to spend more.

This is also things that I had on my mind. I second roof is probably effective and I will look into that as well.

A mister or a sprinkler should be pretty easy to install and I suppose that could do a good job keeping the temperature down.

Thnx for the input 

[Arizona Kid]

When I lived in Arizona, our roof, and virtually all of the roofs where I lived were painted white to reflect heat. Most of the roofs here in the Phills are a dark color. Don't know if it would make much of a difference. Might be worth trying. I rent so I don't have a choice.

[Viking]

1 hour ago, jimeve said:

Probably off-grid. So no need for batteries which is the most expensive part.  

Is it not when you are off-grid you need batteries??  assuming you want to use your electrical things when the sun gets down.

[Dave Hounddriver]

5 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

That does not really sound so expensive. Did that include the cost of wiring, hooking up to the grid, switching circuits? And did he install batteries and inverter or was this just for daytime only power?

It included everything and was done by an expat named Brian who most know of (in Dumaguete) but I do not think Brian is doing it anymore.  Shame because he was the best.

The system I wrote about is wired into the grid so you do not need batteries and you only have power when everyone else has power.   It's cheaper because you have no batteries and you sell all your power to the grid and "buy back" what you need.  However, when the grid is down you get a brownout like everyone else.  Funny thing is he had a generator for brownouts rather than buying batteries to store his solar power for brownouts.  I have battery back up for brownouts.  It's not for everyone.  Choices galore.