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15 Feb ’12
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alright, this is driving me nuts
we blow through halogens on our track lighting, we just replaced these 2 months ago
we replace them like 2 to 3 times a year, I have had the same halogens in the restaurant for 8, what gives?
I'm about ready to rip them down and put up oil lamps.
27 Aug ’14
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I just had a quick question about why you used the concrete blocks for your front (South) wall. It strikes me as a potential spot for cost savings but also thought that the blocks may serve to hold the outer walls up against the tremendous force of the berm. I am currently living as an Expat in Chile and do not have access to Rob Roy's books but I was thinking that an alternative could have been to construct the walls as outward slanting (similar to a retaining wall).
The end goal is to build a 700sf 1/1 berm house with a green roof in Austin, TX to minimize the cooling costs required in the summer.
27 Aug ’14
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Also, were you ever able to resolve the Halogen lighting issue? My thoughts would be as follows:
They often fail prematurely due to variation in voltage - Have you considered buying one 130V bulb and testing it alongside the other one that continues to fail?
They often fail prematurely due to elevated levels of humidity - Do you have any way of monitoring the humidity in the home? I know you mentioned previously that you never had any condensation issues but I did not see anything about air circulation into and throughout the house. Do you have the halogen lights anywhere else in the house or just in the bathroom?
Have you noted any particular season when they tend to die more frequently? Just trying to help 
15 Feb ’12
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icanreachit said
I just had a quick question about why you used the concrete blocks for your front (South) wall. It strikes me as a potential spot for cost savings but also thought that the blocks may serve to hold the outer walls up against the tremendous force of the berm. I am currently living as an Expat in Chile and do not have access to Rob Roy's books but I was thinking that an alternative could have been to construct the walls as outward slanting (similar to a retaining wall).The end goal is to build a 700sf 1/1 berm house with a green roof in Austin, TX to minimize the cooling costs required in the summer.
I was thinking of lateral strength for the east and west sides of the home, if I had to do it over though, I would probably have extended the corner turn another stack, the bond beams I had installed in the wall would have been enough to provide that and I would have gone with sliders all along the front
Robs original book is available on scribd here
15 Feb ’12
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icanreachit said
Also, were you ever able to resolve the Halogen lighting issue? My thoughts would be as follows:They often fail prematurely due to variation in voltage - Have you considered buying one 130V bulb and testing it alongside the other one that continues to fail?
They often fail prematurely due to elevated levels of humidity - Do you have any way of monitoring the humidity in the home? I know you mentioned previously that you never had any condensation issues but I did not see anything about air circulation into and throughout the house. Do you have the halogen lights anywhere else in the house or just in the bathroom?
Have you noted any particular season when they tend to die more frequently? Just trying to help
thanks for the ideas, we have them in the kitchen and the bath, I will try that suggestion with the 130v, someone else mentioned to me that they were having the same issues and they started wearing latex gloves when they installed them, something about grease from your hands getting on the bulbs and causing them to blow out prematurely
27 Aug ’14
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KVR said
thanks for the ideas, we have them in the kitchen and the bath, I will try that suggestion with the 130v, someone else mentioned to me that they were having the same issues and they started wearing latex gloves when they installed them, something about grease from your hands getting on the bulbs and causing them to blow out prematurely
Definitely, though I'm not sure if you have to go so far as to use a latex glove. I personally just use a fresh sock to avoid direct contact with the glass. Any oils on the glass (even as little as what remains on your hands after washing them with dish soap) can cause hot spots, which lead to micro cracks in the glass. These cracks allow the inert gasses which prolong the filament life to escape. Halogens are more susceptible to this form of premature burnout because they get much hotter.
I guess I skipped that one because I have just installed lights with a sock since I was a toddler. My father was a physicist so the explanation I just gave was an excerpt of the two hour lecture I received as a 5 year old.
PS - Thank you for the book! New reading material is always appreciated.
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