Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Common house heating

[gkvontob (gkvontob]

>Our prefered option for electric heating is to install low temperature
>radiant heating in the ceiling.  Does anybody have experience with these 
>heaters?  (I have contacted a few local people who use it but I would like to 
>get a larger sample of users if possible).
>
>For those who aren't familiar with these heaters they consist of sheets of
>plastic with heating strips in it (and look like a rear window demister on 
>a car) that are installed immediately above the plaster sheet in the ceiling 
>and below the insulation.  The heat is controlled with a thermostat and timer.
>
>We have agreed to install this type of heating unless we hear that there
>are problems with it.  It would be good to hear from anyone who has experience 
>with it.
>
>Hig
>(Ian Higginbottom)
>Cascade Cohousing
>Tasmania, Australia

Hig wrote the above.  I have shared a home with someone who had radiant
heat in the ceiling.  DON'T DO IT!  I was cold alot of the winter, trying
to keep the cost of heat down.  Here in the states, electric heat is the
*most* expensive heat we have.  (My rates are currently 13.5  per kwh.) The
distance from the ceiling down left a lot to be desired.  In Maine our
winters include several weeks of below 0  and sometimes -20  with
additional windchill.  We need a sturdy heat source.  It never made sense
to me--since heat rises, why start at the top?  Another problem for me was
that the ceiling then became too "precious"--due to the coils (I'm not sure
what was installed -- but was told the coils were actually embedded in the
plaster)  one could not hang a lamp or even screw in a hook in the ceiling
for a hanging plant, lest one pierce one of the cables. 

KVCH is planning to use hot water heated pipes embedded in poured slab for
heat source for our homes.  This is the preferred mode according to our
lender.  I hope it works well--because FmHA is committed to it. I like the
idea of warm feet and cool head--especially kind to toddlers and elders. 
Since we will be self-building and a bit free-er in the design of the
Common House, our preference is a wood furnace, easy to load and economical
in concert with 80-100 acres of woodlot.

That's my 2  worth of opinion.  Best wishes on your building!

Grace Von Tobel
Kennebec Valley CoHousing
Kennebec County, Maine, USA