Couple goes green; building self-sufficient home
by Linda Copeland, Staff Writer
2 months ago | 1411 views | 13 13 comments | 6 6 recommendations | email to a friend | print
Robert, right, and Sandy Fuller are going green. Their new home has solar panels for power, a cistern for water, and a ground source heating and cooling system.
Linda Copeland • Times
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Robert and Sandy Fuller of Sallisaw decided to go green when building their new home north of Sallisaw.

“Going green for one thing is better for the country and for another thing I won’t have any bills,” Robert Fuller said.

Fuller said he started working on the plans 10 years ago, researching the best way to build his home.

“I started construction about four months ago. I am doing most of the work myself but my son, Jason, helped me put the walls up,” Fuller said.

The 1,500-square-feet house has a living room, bedroom, one and half baths, kitchen and dining room, and a utility room.

“The bedroom will have a safe room made of steel which will be bolted to the floor,” Fuller said.

Fuller said he installed solar panels for power, a cistern for water, and a ground source heating and cooling system.

“The solar panels have provided me with all the electric to build this house. It is a 5,000 watt unit,” Fuller said.

“The cistern is a 7,000-gallon tank buried out back. I will catch the water off the roof in the guttering and run it through a sand and charcoal filter going in the tank and went it comes out of the pump it will be charcoal filtered again,” Fuller said.

“The ground source heating and cooling system will keep the house between 58 and 63 degrees all year round. All I will have to run is maybe a tiny heater. We will have an outside furnace on the back porch which will circulate the heat through the ducts into the house,” Fuller said.

Fuller also installed Low-E windows that have metal flakes in them to repel the heat in the summer and keep the heat in during the winter.

Fuller has been building houses for 44 years and built his first log home 21 years ago.

Fuller said he would have the house finished about a month and a half after they sell their home on Old Highway 17.

comments (13)
« countrygirl12 wrote on Tuesday, Dec 01 at 09:32 AM »
Bossy little critter aren't you watercooler54? Your Sallisaw mentality is shining bright and clear.
« watercooler54 wrote on Monday, Nov 30 at 09:35 PM »
It is one thing to know someone and call them a liar based on facts. It is another to not know someone and call them a liar just based on what you read on a post, especially if they dont agree with what was posted. State your opinion and leave it at that
« watercooler54 wrote on Monday, Nov 30 at 09:32 PM »
Checked it again tonight, still 120
« sequoyah wrote on Monday, Nov 30 at 09:24 PM »
But what if watercooler54's voltage really is 120? Why do you believe wakeuptime's blanket statement that the city is overcharging compared wtih watercooler54's more realistic statement that theirs is 120?
« countrygirl12 wrote on Monday, Nov 30 at 05:47 PM »
In my personal opinion "watercooler54" I do not think you can speak for everyone. I admire "wakeuptime" for telling things the way they really are and not beat around the bush about it. If someone is a liar, they are a liar. Simple fact of life. Maybe you should try being a little more like "wakeuptime." There is no reason for anyone to be a hypocrite.
« watercooler54 wrote on Sunday, Nov 29 at 09:16 PM »
To wakeuptime....next time you want to call a someone a liar, go look in the mirror and practice on yourself. No need for that. Also, a little hint, when you do stuff like that, others tend to ignore the post...lol
« watercooler54 wrote on Sunday, Nov 29 at 09:14 PM »
Intersting, so intersting I just checked my voltage. Looks like 120 to me.
« bobcatbob wrote on Sunday, Nov 29 at 08:56 PM »
Nice of you to admit there is too many volts of electricity being forced into people's homes, BLckdiamond.

If my house is suppose to be receiving 120 volts of electricity and instead it is receiving 123 volts, that is too many volts of electricity coming into my house. Thank you for informing all the good citizens of Sallisaw that the City of Sallisaw is forcing the citizens to use more electricity than what we should be using which cost the citizens of Sallisaw more on their electric bill. WHAT A SCAM.
« wakeuptime wrote on Sunday, Nov 29 at 05:41 PM »
To Blackdiamond... Another thing I failed to mention. Of all the electrical outlets I have checked in the city of Sallisaw, I have NEVER found one home that had a voltage as low as 123 volts. My guess is YOU work for the city of Sallisaw and don't want the word out about the people's homes in Sallisaw having too high of a voltage. I also resent the fact that you said that I did not sound like I was an electrician. I guess YOU think that YOU think YOU sound like an electrician. I think you sound like a city of Sallisaw liar.
« wakeuptime wrote on Sunday, Nov 29 at 05:26 PM »
To Blackdiamond... How wrong you are. I happen to be an electrician and NO my volt meter is not wrong. You said to call city hall and they would send someone out to check my voltage. Last time I looked in the mirror I did not see "stupid" written across my forehead. I would not believe one word anyone at city hall told me. Plus,I seriously doubt if any of the bozos that work in the electric department at city hall would even know how to use a volt meter. Thanks for the advice though. Thanks but no thanks.
« BLckdiamond wrote on Sunday, Nov 29 at 08:07 AM »
wakeuptime you need a new volt meter! on a average your voltage will read around 123v. the sub stations won`t let the voltage go to 130v. heres a little info for you think about, all the cities sub stations are controlled by transformers that are owned by grda, they bring the voltage down from 69,000 volts to 7,200 volts. on the cities side of the sub station there is no place to ajust the voltage. you can buy a dry type transformer to put on your side of the meter to control the voltage, wal mart has one. you could then run your voltage to what ever you like, or monday you can call city hall and have the electric dept. come out and check your voltage . it dosen`t sound like you are a electriction. let us know what they tell you
« The_Rev wrote on Saturday, Nov 28 at 10:39 AM »
wakeuptime,

I agree these people done a remarkable thing and it should be an example for others. The world as we know it is becoming more corrupt. Prophecies in revelation are being fulfilled more and more.

The governments of the world are becoming more evil as the days go by. If you show your independence like these good people have, then you won't have to succumb to their order. Always humble yourself and go with the Lord. You can do anything through Christ that strenthens you. May God bless you
« wakeuptime wrote on Saturday, Nov 28 at 09:24 AM »
Good for these people for using common sense in preparing for their future and not paying out a large percentage of their money on utility bills.



This may be a little confusing but the bottom line is we are being SCAMMED by the City of Sallisaw by supplying our homes with more voltage than is necessary and it is costing the citizens a lot of extra dollars that the citizens should not be charged. All of my 120 outlets test anywhere from 125 volts to 130 volts.

HERE IS THE SCAM....

In general, the more Volts (amount of push and pull force on electrons in

wires) that is supplied to your electrical appliance through your wall

electrical outlet from your local utility electricity company, your

electrical appliance is force-fed more Amps. This is an interesting

situation.

In general, for every one extra Volt supplied by your utility electricity

company, your appliance will use a little more than two extra Watts of

electricity. Because your electricity company bills you according to how

many Watts your appliance uses, your electric company can force you to pay

it more money than necessary, and therefor it achieves more profit in

total dollars received.

For example, an appliance that needs only 110 Volts and 1 Amp uses a total

of 110 Watts (110 Volts multiplied by 1 Amp). But if your utility

electricity is supplying that same appliance with an extra 15 Volts of 125

Volts instead, then the appliance is force-fed 1.14 Amp, not 1 Amp, for a

total of 142.5 Watts (125 Volts x 1.14 Amp), which is an extra 32.5 Watts.

Thus, an extra 15 Volts results in your appliance using an extra 32.5

Watts, and you are billed for those extra 32.5 Watts, which is about 29%

higher than necessary.

That extra 29% Watts your appliance is forced to use, now creates an

artificial demand for more electricity. By the “Law of Supply and Demand”

in our capitalist society, your electricity company now has reason to

increase its cost per Watt of the electricity your appliance uses which

you must pay, resulting in an increased profit percentage for your

electricity company.

Your average personal computer is immune from this utility electricity

company robbery because of its advanced “Switching Mode Power Supply”

(SMPS). But most likely your monitor, printer, scanner, speakers

amplifier, fax machine, etc. are not.

You having to pay more money to your electricity company is bad enough,

but it gets worse. That extra 29% Watts causes your appliance to “slow

cook” to an early death, because its designer didn’t intend for it to use

that much extra electricity day after day.

It gets worse. Certain appliances, especially your air conditioner,

central air circulation fan, refrigerator, freezer, garbage disposal, dish

washer, trash compactor, and fan may when it turns off send electricity

back into your home’s electrical wires inside the walls. That extra 29%

Watts may become 58.5 back-Watts or more to damage your other appliances

that are on, necessitating their repair or replacement.




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