Radiant in floor heating system

[TOU47]

Crude but it works great, and the free electricity makes using it for a few minutes inconsequential.

Love this...

 

[Shimmy]

I looked at a Monolithic Dome home a few years ago and would have built one but the wife was dead set against it.

Thank your wife.

I love the idea of a monolithic dome... but living in a circle/sphere has some real disadvantages unless you go *real* big.

 

[OzSolar]

Very nice. I skipped the primary loop and went hot water injection. Figured so close to source directly other side of wall.View attachment 122970View attachment 122971

That boiler is interesting. How much water does is have in it?

 

[Nobodybusiness]

Thank your wife.

I love the idea of a monolithic dome... but living in a circle/sphere has some real disadvantages unless you go *real* big.

I was looking at a 75’ diameter and then square frame the inside.
Once inside you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.
Use the curved space around the outside as storage or utility space but she wouldn’t do it.

It’s a shame because I believe it would have been very efficient.

 

[Nobodybusiness]

Very nice. I skipped the primary loop and went hot water injection. Figured so close to source directly other side of wall.View attachment 122970View attachment 122971

Those Garns are fabulous but Huge!!
Something like 2000 gallons of water.

I would love to have one of those but the retrofit would be cost prohibitive as well as inconvenient.

 

[OzSolar]

I looked at a Monolithic Dome home a few years ago and would have built one but the wife was dead set against it.

We did too but wife was OK with it. We eventually passed on it due to a few other challenges but it would have been super cool.

The guy that invented the "Airform", the temporary inflatable dome that you use to construct domes, is an uncle of good friend of mine. He would stop by to visit me when he was traveling. What an interesting guy. Geesh... that was 20 years ago and he was in his 80's then.

Here's a video on the process.

I wish I could find that picture of the one being demolished that had barely any structure left but could still hold up giant bulldozer on top of it.

 

[Stucco]

I wonder about solar heating/cooling loops for radiant heating. Making the panels more efficient by cooling them, and nabbing that heat for storage. I saw one homesteader that did a form of hot water storage in a large bag in his crawl space for storing heat from the day for night.

 

[Nobodybusiness]

We did too but wife was OK with it. We eventually passed on it due to a few other challenges but it would have been super cool.

The guy that invented the "Airform",temporary inflatable dome, that you use to construct it is an uncle of good friend of mine. He stopped by to visit me when he was traveling. What an interesting guy. Geesh... that was 20 years ago and he was in his 80's then.

Here's a video on the process.

I wish I could find that picture of the giant bulldozed on top of the top.

That’s cool you know David South.

Guy has really revolutionized dome building with the Airform.

Not sure the old man is still alive but his son definitely is.

When we were looking at it you would have had to pay it all out of pocket because nobody would finance a dome home but I think that has changed.

Same with getting insurance.

I’m Far too old for that kind of undertaking now but it would have been nice.

 

[Nobodybusiness]

Very nice. I skipped the primary loop and went hot water injection. Figured so close to source directly other side of wall.View attachment 122970View attachment 122971

Definitely a beautiful setup.
Used to dream about having a Garn but you almost have to build another building just to house them.

I think the smallest unit is 10,000 lbs.

 

[OzSolar]

That’s cool you know David South.

Guy has really revolutionized dome building with the Airform.

Not sure the old man is still alive but his son definitely is.

You had me 2nd guessing myself. Jack Boyt was the guy I knew. The man worked on the Manhattan Project. WOW!! I helped his brother build some house size "Bucky Balls" a few times as a demonstration for/with at risk HS kids on summer science camps. Comes from a family of geniuses that are scientists and mathematicians and all around really interesting people. They all have that have genius kids as well. One of them has worked for me off an on over 20 years now. He leaves to take a new challenge then get bored of that and comes back to work for me on several long term projects that we started a long time ago. One of his nephews is om the team designing the robot spaceship to mine asteroids for Elon.

Here's his obit. It appears he and David we're a team of some fashion. I'd have loved to hear more about that story from him.

When we were looking at it you would have had to pay it all out of pocket because nobody would finance a dome home but I think that has changed.

Same with getting insurance.

Ditto. However they were going to give the me AirForm in order to get one built in the Midwest and help with some of the construction costs but it was still out of reach for me.

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

Radiant heating and cooling here in my off-grid log house in Finland. The wood burner is an Attack SLX 40 Lambda wood gasification, assisted with a Monobloc heat-pump in spring/autumn, coupled to 3000L storage tank (with water/propylene glycol mixture). In summer, I cool the tank with the heat pump and use radiant cooling. There are only two pumps in the system: one to pump the water from the burner to the storage tank, the other to pump the glycol mixture under the floors - 7 zones in total with thermostatically controlled valves.
The tank also provides the domestic hot water in winter through a heat exchanger. In summer I have an electric boiler for domestic hot water needs.

There is a link to my blog in my signature where I have a lot more details on my entire set-up.

 

[Nobodybusiness]

You had me 2nd guessing myself. Jack Boyt was the guy I knew. The man worked on the Manhattan Project. WOW!! I helped his brother build some house size "Bucky Balls" a few times as a demonstration for/with at risk HS kids on summer science camps. Comes from a family a geniuses that are scientists and mathematicians and all around really interesting people. They all have that have genius kids as well. One of them has worked for me off an on over 20 years now. He leaves to take a new challenge then get bored of that and comes back to work for me on several long term projects that we started a long time ago. One of his nephews is om the team designing the robot spaceship to mine asteroids for Elon.

Here's his obit. It appears he and David we're a team of some fashion. I'd have loved to hear more about that story from him.


Ditto. However they were going to give the me AirForm in order to get one built in the Midwest and help with some of the construction costs but it was still out of reach for me.

Had No idea Jack had anything to do with it.

David always said it was his innovation.

Oh well. It works well and would have like to have had one whoever invented it!!

I remember looking at Buckminster Fuller Dome houses but never really like them.

 

[SamDeleted]

I have had a couple circ pumps finally give it up, right at or about 20 years. They were the Hartell brand, (and a Goggle search to replace them showed them now out of production) and quite expensive, $250.00 or so, brushless 12 volt DC types, considered top of the line at the time. Used for moving the fluid in my big thermal panel system as they and a 30 watt PV panel also act as a controller, simple and reliable as can be. An aquastat clamped to the inside hot inlet kicks on a conventional AC circ pump once the incoming flow reaches 120 degrees, as just the solar pump can't move enough water. Before I installed the booster AC pump, I had two of the Hartells working in parallel and that was sufficient, then one crapped out and the remaining one wasn't quite enough, thus the aquastat/AC pump. I been using my home brewed rad floor heat systems for 40 years, at two different properties, and would never consider a forced air system! I do find that a few small electric radiant panel heaters strategically scattered around the house (free electricity...), like next to the toilet, by my main recliner, and under the snack bar, quickly make up in comfort for any shortcomings of my crude system (no outside thermostats or for that matter ANY thermostats). Especially when the sun will be up in an hour and I'll get ahead of the heating curve the rest of the day and all evening, just a bit coolish in the morning (67 air temp this morning, 13 degrees outside last night) is a condition I can almost instantly rectify (while the coffee is brewing) with the fan forced 3 KW heater under the snack bar seating! Crude but it works great, and the free electricity makes using it for a few minutes inconsequential.

Is the truck solar powered ?

 

[Northernchateau]

Once you have radiant floor heat, nothing else will do. I have it in my house and new garage.

 

[TOU47]

There is a link to my blog in my signature where I have a lot more details on my entire set-up.

Sorry...still pretty new hear but I would like to see your blog but can't seem to find the link in your signature...or even your signature. Then again I'm on a Droid phone which may come into play? Thx

 

[curiouscarbon]

Sorry...still pretty new hear but I would like to see your blog but can't seem to find the link in your signature...or even your signature. Then again I'm on a Droid phone which may come into play? Thx

rotating phone sideways should show signatures

Up North and Off Grid – Medium

Read writing from Up North and Off Grid on Medium. Off Grid at 63 degrees north in Finland. Every day, Up North and Off Grid and thousands of other voices read, write, and share important stories on Medium.

medium.com

 

[Zwy]

Radiant heating and cooling here in my off-grid log house in Finland. The wood burner is an Attack SLX 40 Lambda wood gasification, assisted with a Monobloc heat-pump in spring/autumn, coupled to 3000L storage tank (with water/propylene glycol mixture). In summer, I cool the tank with the heat pump and use radiant cooling.

Around here when the corn is tall, the humidity gets very high. I've been out to the Mojave desert for a few weeks with daytime temps over 110F, then step off the plane into the cornfields and just melt at 90F.

Radiant cooling would lead to to sweaty floors here.

There are only two pumps in the system: one to pump the water from the burner to the storage tank, the other to pump the glycol mixture under the floors - 7 zones in total with thermostatically controlled valves.
The tank also provides the domestic hot water in winter through a heat exchanger. In summer I have an electric boiler for domestic hot water needs.

There is a link to my blog in my signature where I have a lot more details on my entire set-up.

 

[Shimmy]

...Which are then covered with 2 inches of gravel (noise dampening) - where the pex pipes are laying in...

I have never heard of installing the radiant tubing in gravel; what is the logic of that?

 

[Shimmy]

Radiant cooling would lead to to sweaty floors here.

I worked on a project with a radiant cooled floor in Bangkok, Thailand. I don't think you can get much more humid than that.

The key is just to keep the floor above outside wet bulb temperature. The closer you keep it to that point the more you need outside air to be pre-treated and dehumidified. For a home, think of the floor as taking the edge off the temperature more than providing cooling. It is actually more effective than cooling the air only-- add a fan (preferrably of the Big Ass variety), and you can have a very comfortable space that doesn't suffer from mold.

 

[eXodus]

I have never heard of installing the radiant tubing in gravel; what is the logic of that?

Gravel might be a bad translation, the German term is Schüttung. No idea how to convey it proper into english

It is a material to level the subfloor and insulate against the slab. The grain is somewhere between coarse sand a half inch gravel stone.


People use different kind of Schüttung for different applications.



It is against noise, cold etc. It decouples the floor you stand on from the outside.
The Pex is just pressed into it.

In my house there is another slab of concrete on top of the schüttung. Some People opt to add their woodfloor like on this picture.