[Strawbale] PEX, Concrete Slab, Fear of Death by

[MKL]

> Speireag wrote
>
>> a layer of 8-inch block (Kachadorian-type floor,
later sealed up;  
>> bad decision)
>
 
     You can't clean it.  What happens when mice get
into it?  (Which  
they did.)  You want to circulate air through that,
even though it's  
pretty much always going to be dry air?  I decided
that it wasn't  
worth it.
 
 Good enough for me then
Any sub floor domain is
likely to be a resort for the small and mobile
 unless
it was sterilized with great heat occasionally  I
suppose


 So it worked to transport heat from the floor to the
living  
environment.  But the floor radiates anyway, and that
turns out to  
work well enough. 

Excellent. 

Im thinking an equator facing  sunspace with insulated
roof/ceiling (in other words NOT a Greenhouse) could
use a bit of "attic" heat  harvested with an air flow
horizontally through a ceiling ("standard" ductwork
across the main interior space to the north side) from
the sun spaces "attic" and then perhaps run up to the
rooms on the second floor on the cold side of the
house. It could in the case of a small  air
quality/heat exchange ducted system be the intake
port? This would supplement a radiant system or wood
burning system or be part of a  well water AC/garden
irrigation system 

It is now a code requirement in Ontario to have
mechanical powered ventilation systems in new
residential construction. 

> I think earth coupling means nothing
> insulative between the planet and the floor of the
> building?  R20 would effectively insulate the earth
> from the interior?

     Yes.  The original house, where the radiant floor
is, has R-20  
under the floor.  The addition, which I am building
now, and which  
will not have a radiant floor, is earth-coupled.  You
don't earth- 
couple radiant floors, unless you're heating them only
with totally  
renewable energy.

 like wood?

 
> Did you ever find any data to support this
speculation?

     "Speculation" seems a bit harsh. 
     
      And on rereading I would agree with you 
 remove
"speculation"
     
     
     
      If you warm the earth, even a  
little, then you'll lose less heat to it.   

Got it. Regardless of the amount of under mass
insulation and if the heat is produced for the under
mass planet top within a process that does not require
buying fuel it is long term worth doing I am sure. 
(gut feeling) MAYBE very long term though  (wink) 




     The question is whether it can be warmed /enough/
to matter,  
using only solar input.  I'll tell you in a few years.

Looking  forward to it.
 
 Michael
 
 
 
 
 




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