Some people say a hot water return on the hot water lines of a house saves energy. A hot water return is where the hot water supply pipe (for example to the sink) actually loops back to the boiler so that hot water is constantly flowing in the pipe and ready to be used. This […]
Hot water return – not worth the investment Read More »
I’ve put pex tubes between joists under the subfloor. that is how my radiant guy designed it. The whole theory that as long as you contain the heat it will get to the room eventually etc. I also couldn’t put them above the floor due to a low ceiling. Since then I have realized the
Adding a Concrete Sub Floor Heat Collector Read More »
The process of building green is different than normal building. There are new considerations to include in the mix. Here is an example. Solar PV is a smart choice in NY I think. NY gets a lot of sun and although a Californian electrician might scoff at it, most NY professionals think it is a
Solar Panels, An Example in Green Considerations Read More »
We have a floor with a high ceiling which means we can lay the pex tubing on top of the subfloor instead of hanging the tubing beneath. The pex tubing takes up valuable space and you can only lay it on top of the subfloor if you have the ceiling height. Having the tubing on
Sound Proofing and Heat Transfer Subfloor Read More »
I took a cool course where they discussed energy in buildings. Here is the pdf of the slides. It contains lots of cool info: How to calculate your house energy usage Types of heat transfer Stack Effect in your house Wind Effect Building Envelope R and U value Water usage Electric Mixing valves Lighting Motors
Energy Efficiency in Existing Buildings Read More »
I’m experimenting with a transparent heat transfer wall. It would be a transparent wall attached to the outer south wall, leaving about one inch between them. The out wall would be painted a dark color. Ideally it would be black but that would be too much of an eye sore. So dark brown would be
External Transparent Heat Transfer Wall Read More »
Above: Facade with planter and recycled joists. Originally the top facade of the building had a lot of rotted wood. And there was a great view. So in the heat of the summer I tore down the wall and planned on adding a wall of glass. It would have been magnificent. But then as the
Adding Solar Gaines and Recyclables to Facade Read More »
One technology I have my eyes on is developed by Isomax. They build homes that require basically no heating or cooling at all, regardless of where the house it. How do they do it? They use a series of air and water tubes and ducts to pass heat and cold around. They have tubes in
Zero Energy Houses Read More »
A “new” construction style coming out of Germany creates houses that barely need energy to run. They don’t even have heating systems. In the dead of winter they might need a little space heater but that is is. What is the secret? Insane amounts of insulation, triple pane windows, fanatic air sealing, smart solar design,
Passiv Haus (Passive House) Read More »
I have a moto that I live by when building: Fanatic Insulation. I’m not sure if I coined the phrase but I think I did :). We use weather barrier, caulk, insulation, foam, flashing etc like there we’re building an antarctic deep sea submarine. How do we Insultation a House ? Considering some European standards,
Fanatic Insulation Read More »
