[Strawbale] re. Re: PEX, Concrete Slab, Fear of Death (by contractor)(Speireag Alden) (Speireag Alden)(Speireag Alden)(Speireag Alden)

[MKL]

 Speireag said

     
     As to how I move that hot water through the
floor, I do that  
with a manual timer switch.  I turn it on, and it
stays on for the  
period I selected, driving hot water through the
floor.
I'm sorry; I must have missed it.  R-20 under the
earthen-floor- 
and-other-mass.

This is instructional, as I have yet to establish for
my region or anywhere else for that matter just what
the ideal foundation/insulation/heating system is.
Earthen is probably the most environmentally friendly
and least expensive material one could use I would
think for a floor mass. With a bit of cobbing
experience I appreciate how hard an earthen floor
could be made to be and R20 seems reasonable in our
zone under any heated floor to separate the planet
from paid for heat and an interior but I cant say for
sure and I dont think anyone else can. If of course
you arrived at R-20 as a result of scientific
modelling I apologise and would be of course like many
others I am sure interested in how you chose R-20.

I have almost come to the conclusion that all is
relative and conditional and conclusions are elusive
if not actually foolish. If you had R-100 floor walls
and ceiling and small windows you would probably only
need a couple of cats and an incandescant bulb or two.
Passive solar heating with super insulation is easy to
say but in practice is expensive short term needing
careful disbursement and confidence in the
apportionment of materials. I



>>      Eventually, most of our house heat will be
solar and wood.   
>> The ratio will depend on how well the solar part
works out.
 
 The radiant floor is not a heat source; it is a  
distribution device.  In my plan, things will be set
up such that I  
can drive hot water through the radiant floor. 
Eventually, that hot  
water will be heated with a solar hot water collection
system,  
stored, and drawn out of storage as needed.

 Got it. The solar heating system (Evac tube?) will
heat an insulated tank of water (through glycol to
water heat exchange ?) this heated tank of water could
serve as a reservoir for water destined to be (only if
required) further heated for the under earthen foot
thick mass (after which it returns to the tank?). A
separate flow from this heated tank would be to an on
demand water heater(s) either gas or electric? (  only
being heated by the water heater if not hot enough)
with the heated water from a bath or kitchen sink 
flowing back through the tank heating the tank water a
bit more on its way to
 where? 



 
 I could heat that water electrically, but I don't
plan to, once  
other sources are providing heat.

The water that was heated by the evac tube (or other
collector type ) which goes into the tank will I think
be less warm at this time of year (January) and will
if to be used in a bath or shower need some
supplemental heat (for me anyway) I am guessing this
comes down to using some fuel? Do you plan on using
wood to get this heat or as the heated waste water has
served two purposes one being to have a bath the other
to heat the tank a bit mean that the use of
electricity or propane can be tolerated?




 
> in the event (god forbid) of immobilisation during a
wood heat  
> requiring period one could always substitute the
electric/hydronic  
> system for the wood stove

     I could, yes, but I'm not planning on it.  My
local electrical  
power is non-renewable, and expensive.

without wishing to appear doomful may I suggest that
immobilisation isnt always planned for and that to
have a system that can be turned on with an infra red
remote control might be better than one needing 3
weeks of log splitting
in certain circumstances of
course


> or do you mean you will burn wood to produce the
heated water for  
> the hydronic system? Or both possibly?



No.  If I burn wood in the masonry stove for the
purpose of  
heating the house, the masonry stove should do the
trick without any  
waterborne re-distribution of heat. 

Assuming the primary solar heating plan works then the
masonry stove will not be used of course. So for hot
hot domestic non mass heating water you will use
electricity or propane?


It will be centrally located in  
a pretty open plan, and the portions of the house
which don't face  
the stove are the back bedrooms and bathroom, which
are earth-bermed,  
and will be the last to get cold.

Earth berming on the north side (for us in N. America)
will help with insulation no doubt.

I have recently become interested in Rocket stoves
which use mass to store heat similar to a masonry
stove and it seems to me that as another source of
heat to assist in keeping the water in the tank
warmish to save on bought fuel costs it could be a
good one needing only  tubes in the masonry and
thermosyphoning perhaps.

thanks

Michael Lough











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