[Greenbuilding] change agent, was radiant boiler
Kirsten A Flynn
kir at declan.com
Fri Feb 9 11:56:11 CST 2007
I do think that if you alienate your client you lose the referral.
If you cannot stay in business you lose the chance to be a change agent.
I see my job as an interior designer to educate each client one
step closer to a green lifestyle. When a client comes to me as a
green interior designer, I might push them to do an extremely green
product. If someone comes to me for conventional interior design
work, I educate them on the most dangerous IAQ issues, try to get
VOC's out of the home and cleaning process. There are certain
product I feel are too dangerous to spec, and some have some gray
area. How far I can take a client depends on where they start off.
I cannot take every client to radical green purchasing, they just
would not accept it. However I can educate each client a little.
Each person should be a change agent in the way that suits their
strongest ability. If your style is to be a gentle convincer, that
is how you should push the 'green' agenda. There are some
practitioners that are good at being the authority, the. enforcer.
I would be extremely bad at this, and would be an ineffective change
agent if I tried to run my business that way.
Is that too wimpy? Perhaps, but I have a family I have to help
support.
Kirsten A Flynn
Sustainable Home
kir at declan.com
650-855-9476
On Feb 7, 2007, at 6:25 PM, Drew A. Gillett P.E. wrote:
> learn to fire the client-- works for rg vanderweil and marc rosenbaum
>
> you ask for advice and then reject it with the same old tired
> arguments
> (too many redwoods, but in the future when they get logged, we'll
> consider
> solar "in the future") wow no solar for two futures just like you.
>
> sorry to be blunt , but get some backbone.
>
> so the decison is to buy an even more expensive unecessary tank
> and not use
> it. great
>
> sorry to be blunt, but you asked.
>
> the future is now
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "David Seth Melchert" <dmelchert at earthlink.net>
> To: "Greenbuilder list" <greenbuilding at listserv.repp.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2007 5:07 PM
> Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] Radiant heat boiler
>
>
>> Thank you to all who offered such a well-considered response to my
>> query
>> yesterday.
>>
>> A few clarifications:
>>
>> The home owner already nixed solar hot water panels - it was my first
>> suggestion a year ago when we first started planning. Most of the
>> house
>> is shaded by a grove of redwoods.
>>
>> I mis-stated the BTU's of the Baxi. Its input is 126K BTU.
>>
>> GFX/Power Pipe is not really a possibility due to a whole number of
>> logistical/engineering reasons I won't elaborate here.
>>
>> Many of you suggested I help the owners change their habits. This
>> is a
>> tricky issue - those of us on this list are quite enthusiastic about
>> changing our behavior, but many (I would venture most) Americans are
>> more convenience and results driven (didn't Amory Lovins state,
>> "Americans don't care if their power comes from nuclear or solar,
>> they
>> just want cold beer and hot showers").
>>
>> The Baxi 310 is 85% efficient, but the Baxi HT 330 is a
>> condensing unit
>> and runs in the mid 90's I believe.
>>
>> Yes, George, the floors are to be well - insulated for radiant
>> heat. The
>> remodeled house design is carefully crafted for a whole number
>> Architectural characteristics. Hot air duct pathways prove
>> challenging
>> in places where feeder pipes for the radiant are easy to
>> distribute. And
>> they chose the radiant largely for the comfort they experience
>> with it.
>>
>> The homeowner is not likely to try a new boiler system that not
>> even the
>> employees at HSC have heard of. Who knows how they hold up, how
>> well the
>> company provides service, etc. But I do look forward to seeing how
>> the
>> Phoenix Combi does over time.
>>
>> One of the first suggestions posted was to have an indirect tank
>> for DHW
>> that is heated by the Baxi. This is probably what we will do -
>> replace
>> the 21 gallon Baxi modula with a well-insulated 80 gallon tank. It
>> obviates the considerable cost of a secondary system. This will also
>> provide future capacity for solar panel feed in the future.
>>
>> I admire the considerable expertise represented by this group.
>> Thank you
>> for chiming in.
>>
>> Seth Melchert
>> Oakland CA
>>
>> David Seth Melchert wrote:
>>> We have started a large residential remodel in Orinda, CA. The
>>> 2,800 sf
>>> house will be heated with radiant floor heat. We were planning to
>>> use a
>>> Baxi Luna 330 instant heater for combined radiant and domestic hot
>>> water. I really love the Baxi Luna for its compact design and
>>> simplicity
>>> of installation, not to mention its general high efficiency.
>>>
>>> However we are concerned about its capacity to serve the demands
>>> of a 3
>>> bath house. The homeowner consulted with a supplier who suggested
>>> that 5
>>> gpm, delta 70 degrees is the minimum required, more than the 144,000
>>> BTU's the Baxi Luna provides. Baxi has a new Modula supplemental
>>> tank
>>> that holds 21 gallons and serves as a kind of buffer for
>>> temporary high
>>> demands. My homeowner is concerned this will not cut it. They are
>>> edging
>>> towards having separate heat sources, such as a Noritz or an
>>> efficient
>>> large tank for DHW.
>>>
>>> Here are my questions: how many gpm should we figure for hot
>>> water needs
>>> at any one time, and how often might a family of four run into
>>> insufficient hot water using the Baxi? Would you agree that
>>> providing
>>> separate heat sources for radiant and DHW would be the best path?
>>>
>>> Thanks
>>>
>>> Seth Melchert
>>> Oakland CA
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>
>
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>
Kirsten A Flynn
Sustainable Home
kir at declan.com
650-855-9476
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