Intake and Output
So in permaculture we try and stack functions. The west side of the house gets very hot and dry in the summer. This is where the intake vent is located for our evaporative cooler. I placed a small mini pond system here to take advantage of the overflow from the evaporative cooler and lower the temperature of the air coming into the unit. This all seemed like a good idea. In this pond system we had a small metal bucket filled with water, plants and some mosquito fish surrounded by plants that like water, horsetail, reed, spearmint, bamboo, and cana lilies. There is also a shade fence that protects this area from the setting sun in summer. A friend had some old weedy hay she did not want and I used this to form a wind break to the right of the pond system. And this is where the problem accelerated.
As time progressed this hay started to mold. Out in the open this would not be a problem and as I have mentioned we have fungi growing all over the farm in old piles of leaves and wood chips. But creating a large population of mold here at the intake for our cooler created an overload. As I mentioned in the last post this is where the mold gained entry into the cooling system in numbers great enough to pose a health concern once the mice had also deposited their debris.
So hindsight is 20/20 and there are several things that we can do to avoid these problems.
1. Get an outside cat (or three). Cats keep rodent populations in check around human dwellings. They keep mice from getting into cars and destroying wiring and peeing in your car. They keep mice from getting into your evaporative cooler and building nests that get sucked into your house. Our cats also keep ground squirrels from setting up compounds in our swales. Yes, our cat, Mouser, can take down a male ground squirrel almost as large as him and eat the whole thing.
2. Don't contaminate the intake air quality with any moist or molding plants or debris. Mold and fungi are everywhere in our world. This is a good thing. But an evaporative cooler needs dry, hot, "clean" outside air to work efficiently and hygienically. So you don't want to make outside air any more full of fungi than it already is.
3. Don't give up. We are moving the small pond system over about ten feet to the left. This will create all the benefits of the original system with none of the drawbacks. The dominant wind direction in the summer is from the North and so any fungi that are present will be blown away from the cooler. The overflow water from the evaporative cooler will be piped over to this new system and an added bonus is that this new pond system will shade the front door which gets so hot in the summer you can't touch the handle.
So adaptation is the key here. You observe, design, build, live and then make modifications. Some things are no longer serving their original purpose. Adapting to your place, climate and changing needs is the name of the game. As a quick aside we are now the owners of a 2008 Prius. Our lives had changed enough of late that the gas consumption of our beloved Mazda5 (20-23mpg) became too much of a financial burden. We did the math and it actually saves us money in the long term to switch to a used Prius. And no, we are not one of those Prius drivers who fly by going 75 on I-5. We are the annoying people in the slow lane going 62 mph. :) But while you may shake your head in annoyance at our leisurely pace, we are getting 50 mpg for reals.
As time progressed this hay started to mold. Out in the open this would not be a problem and as I have mentioned we have fungi growing all over the farm in old piles of leaves and wood chips. But creating a large population of mold here at the intake for our cooler created an overload. As I mentioned in the last post this is where the mold gained entry into the cooling system in numbers great enough to pose a health concern once the mice had also deposited their debris.
So hindsight is 20/20 and there are several things that we can do to avoid these problems.
1. Get an outside cat (or three). Cats keep rodent populations in check around human dwellings. They keep mice from getting into cars and destroying wiring and peeing in your car. They keep mice from getting into your evaporative cooler and building nests that get sucked into your house. Our cats also keep ground squirrels from setting up compounds in our swales. Yes, our cat, Mouser, can take down a male ground squirrel almost as large as him and eat the whole thing.
2. Don't contaminate the intake air quality with any moist or molding plants or debris. Mold and fungi are everywhere in our world. This is a good thing. But an evaporative cooler needs dry, hot, "clean" outside air to work efficiently and hygienically. So you don't want to make outside air any more full of fungi than it already is.
3. Don't give up. We are moving the small pond system over about ten feet to the left. This will create all the benefits of the original system with none of the drawbacks. The dominant wind direction in the summer is from the North and so any fungi that are present will be blown away from the cooler. The overflow water from the evaporative cooler will be piped over to this new system and an added bonus is that this new pond system will shade the front door which gets so hot in the summer you can't touch the handle.
So adaptation is the key here. You observe, design, build, live and then make modifications. Some things are no longer serving their original purpose. Adapting to your place, climate and changing needs is the name of the game. As a quick aside we are now the owners of a 2008 Prius. Our lives had changed enough of late that the gas consumption of our beloved Mazda5 (20-23mpg) became too much of a financial burden. We did the math and it actually saves us money in the long term to switch to a used Prius. And no, we are not one of those Prius drivers who fly by going 75 on I-5. We are the annoying people in the slow lane going 62 mph. :) But while you may shake your head in annoyance at our leisurely pace, we are getting 50 mpg for reals.
Ha! Yes mold was the last thing I was fearing in this climate. But then I went and made the perfect conditions for it. I do love fungi! I-5 does encourage speed, no doubt. I must just be more greedy than you. ;) I would have been sad actually if our cat ate a grey squirrel, but he eats ground squirrels which do not plant acorns like the grey ones. And we have tons of them so he won't make much of a dent in their pop. I always say when we have grey squirrels and blue jays on our land we will know for certain we made a huge change. As it stands now, none of either. And most people consider them a nuisance.
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