[Strawbale] [SB-r-us] re: Passive Heating

[Dot Rhodes]

 The main hot water tank (for those who haven't moved to a [tankless] combi 
boiler system)

    Mark,
    I am very interested in more information about a (tankless) combi boiler 
system for my radiant floor system and domestic hot water. I have a 
strawbale house in the mountains of SE Arizona, two stories, radiant floor 
heat in a slab on the two level ground floor (approx. 1560 sq ft) and 
radiant floor heat under a wooden  floor on the second floor (approx. 450 sq 
ft). The second floor is an open loft and only needs heat first thing in the 
morning. Warm air rising during the day from passive solar keeps the 
upstairs warm. On cloudy or cold days and nights I supplement the radiant 
heat with the Wells fireplace in the downstairs great room  Ceiling fans 
help to circulate the warm air.
    The current heating and domestic hot water system is very simple, two 
zones, upstairs and downstairs, with a 60 gallon hot water heater fueled by 
propane and supplemented by two 30 gallon water solar panels on the roof. In 
the summer the solar panels provide about 98% of the domestic hot water. The 
hot water heater is ten years old, starting to rumble, propane is getting 
expensive, and I'm looking for a compact heating source to replace the 
current hot water heater. Thanks..
Dot