This afternoon we pulled up facing the wrong direction in front of our
house on 48th Street to unload groceries. Paused to do a couple of
things inside, and went out 5 minutes later. Ticket for parking the
wrong way. The back of the car was still wide open for unloading. I'm
not disputing that the car was parked the wrong way, just asking if
this was not a situation when the officer's discretion to issue a
warning would have been warranted.

In response to a request to report our findings to the list, cooling off the
attic and going green looks to be an ongoing project, but here is our first
step:

We decided to start with cooling the attic. We compared a solar-powered fan
(sexy technology but $400ish) to vent the attic with a wind turbine fan (<
$100) and decided in favor of wind, because there is much less to go wrong,
they operate when the roof is shaded and at night - granted, they don't do
much on a completely still day, but cost MUCH less per unit.

Either type will have some positive effect even when not running, unlike the
gable-mounted, since they both offer passive venting through the opening in
the roof. (We couldn't go with a fan mounted on the gable end because our
remaining vent is too small by itself; we need both vents for sufficient
intake. Also, lots of gable mounted fans are electric.)

Both pose a risk of a roof leak if not properly installed, so look for a
skilled installer.

Many neighbors are way ahead of us on this one judging by the wind turbines
that we see on rooftops. A cooler attic should help the upstairs rooms stay
cooler.

Next step: being green and staying cool in the upstairs rooms. Have ceiling
fans already, what's next, old fashioned window awnings? Planting a green
wall? Shading windows with an arbor? QuietCool whole house fan?

Suggestions welcome!

Kate

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