[Strawbale] Sub Floor Radiant Heating

[MKL]

Speireag said

Here's an intriguing possibility for an elevated
building:  put  
it up on pilings, but leave space and access
underneath so that you  
can put 55-gallon drums (or similar containers) of
water underneath.   
If you elevate it 30 inches or more, you could have
the drums  
upright, and have an awful lot of them.  Plumb them
together, and run  
the pipe through them.  Insulate under and around
them.  Using water  
as your heat storage medium, you'll have tremendous
capacity (far,  
far more than a thick slab), you'll be able to replace
leaky ones,  
and it will all be protected and hidden under the
house.

Thnking a little about this idea from a fellow
Northener I have come to the conclusion  that this is
a practical solution to the problem of capturing heat
delivered during the day for use at night and probably
more than that. However it could also be the answer to
 cooling and dehumidification of an interior space
during the shortish Summers in Ontario.

In my case the well head is slightly uphill to the
proposed house site and is presently used only for non
drinking purposes. The water is presently pumped up
the well by a 12volt DC submersible pump  which runs
off a deep cycle battery (solar panel charged) through
a charge controller (with a low voltage disconnect).
The well is 165 feet deep and the water starts 60 feet
from the surface The pump sits at 80 feet down . In
theory I could combine this system with the drum
matrix and in effect have it “charge” the
interconnected drums  with quite cold water thus
chilling the drum chamber and the drums. which in turn
would cool air sent from the house above . The water
in the drums could be maintained at a low temperature 
by a thermostat which would turn the well pump on and
off when needed. The warmed drum water  displaced  by
the newly arriving gravity assisted colder water in
the drum “pool” could of course be sent to the hot
water heater or  a pre tank for same or used
externally to the house with plants etc which on  a
hot day might need a drink. I think though that with
enough drums the water exchange pace might be quite
slow.

Having a cooled chamber below the house has many
advantages I am sure. 

In the case of using this system for heating during
the Winter the addition of a sunspace or collector on
the south side and ducting to the drum chamber from it
combined with any other heat pumped down into it say
from the attic or other high point in the house can
only improve the situation , but this is obvious? 

Brilliant.

Michael Lough


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