Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Cohousing-L digest, Vol 1 #1030 - 14 msgs

[HeidiNYS (HeidiNYS]

Thanks Chris, Kay & Liz.
this list is a delight & true treasure load of information.
thanks to input I rec'd to a recent question, it  looks like we'll get the 
pre-painted fiber cement siding,  rather than painting it on the house, as had 
been strongly rec'd by our builder [and we do like our builder; his concern: 
that it'll get roughed up/dirtied by the guys whe they install it.]

Now,  about heating the water for the radiant  heat:  
my understanding is that you got free-standing hot water heaters.  The 
plumber has been planning to install a boiler, and water tank.  
Hot water heater, either storage or on-demand seems to be simpler, thus 
preferable  to me... on the other hand, New York State is not Portland, 
Oregon......  and the house is 2,000sq ft.
is it possible we actually do need a boiler?

doing this sure is different from when we did the original build, and we were 
many households working on all this/supporting each other.
thanks in advance for any input.
Ruth


In a message dated 9/9/03 12:26:12 PM, cohousing-l-request [at] cohousing.org 
writes:

<< Heidi,

The radiant heated floors we created in our cohousing home were heated 
by a standard hot water heater.  We purchased two standard, high 
efficiency hot water heaters (they happened to be gas at the time) and 
used one exclusively for domestic hot water, and the other for heating 
the floors (with the appropriate pumps, valves, thermostats and zones). 
  This can work very well if your heating demand is not too large, such 
as in a small cohousing unit in a temperate climate.  Small, in this 
case means, under 1600 sf and well insulated, in Portland OR.

You can beef up your system by using three water heaters.  I would use 
two for heating, setting them up in series, with one acting as a 
preheater.  This way you can adjust the temperatures as the seasons 
change, keeping them relatively efficient year round.

Check with a good mechanical contractor who has experience with 
hydronic heating installations.  You DO NOT want someone to learn on 
your system.

By the way, the greatest floors in the world when you have hydronic 
heat, are smooth and polished, acid washed concrete, without scoring.  
The color, the natural cracking, and the maintenance charateristics are 
wonderful.

Chris ScottHanson
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