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The Work of Art and The Art of Work Kiko Denzer on Art |
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[Cob] RE: Solar radiant floorChuck & Linda clearned at bminet.comSun Jan 23 22:07:34 CST 2005
Climbing out of lurk, Karl wrote: my current plan is as follows: i'd like to incorporate solar hydronic heat into my earthen floor. the method that has intrigued me the most is to incorporate a large sand bed under my earthen floor and run pex trough it heated by solar collectors.... Karl on the strawbale listserve and in the recent edition of the Last Straw they addressed the issue of the bubble wrap based on research in Canada. The stuff did not perform well at all below grade. That said, I agree with your thinking regarding the deep heat solar radiant concept. I am doing exactly that on my home under construction. It has 2-3' of sand and sand/gravel mix with the tubes at the bottom. There is plastic and somewhere between R20-30 of rigid foam. So it is an insulated box so to speak. The more sand you can afford probably the better, some have put in as much as 6' !!! Then in Aug start pumping the heat in. If you have a super insulated structure and a fairly decent sunny climate this should cover most or all of your heat if the house is detailed well. In a small cabin you could probably get by with 6 collectors. Chuck in Wisconsin --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.825 / Virus Database: 563 - Release Date: 12/30/04
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