[Greenbuilding] Fw: Trying to maximize passive solar gain without investing too much....

[Corwyn]

On Apr 18, 2007, at 15:56, Christa Carpenter wrote:

> Can you have too much thermal mass?  I have a book that gives minimum 
> numbers corresponding to the area of southfacing glazing, but they 
> don't mention whether or not you can have too much.

No.  On a continuously occupied building any thermal mass inside the 
heating envelope is good.  You can have thermal mass which is too thick 
however, so spread it around as much as possible.  It is, of course, 
possible to have more thermal mass than you can afford.

> Do you think it is worth it to do this for a conventional house that 
> we will try to sell to conventional people in a few years time or am I 
> banging my head against a wall unnecessarily?

Everything you can do to make a conventional house better should be 
done, in my opinion.  We really don't need to burden the planet with 
yet another energy hog.  From a financial standpoint it makes sense as 
well.  Studies have shown that energy efficiency improvements pay off 
(in the house price) as if summed over twenty years.   So any 
improvements you make with with payback of less than twenty years will 
net you money.

> Do I appear to have the right idea in terms of maximizing the return 
> from the sun while minimizing long term investment?

Your ideas seem reasonable at the broad level given.  I would not try 
to minimize long term investment, rather I would try to maximize profit 
(within available capital).

> Do you have any suggestions for how to heat this house in addition to 
> the passive solar gain?  We get rebates here for using forced air, but 
> I am loath to use furnace oil again.

Forced air is not my favorite heat distribution method, but it is not 
completely unreasonable (with all ducts inside the heating envelope).  
What are your other options for fuel?  You ought to be able to have 
forced air with a gas furnace if you want.  Talk with a local heating 
contractor should get a list of all your options.

> Is there any other advice you might give?

If you must have a garage, it should go on the west side, all things 
being equal.

Thank You Kindly,

Corwyn

-- 
Corwyn
Kermit didn't know the half of it...
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corwyn at greenfret.com