I-Home improvement

[porscha]

sha - i'm pretty sure this is the route i'm going to go with for my new HVAC system. i've already entered into discussions with several manufacturers. i'm even looking into using this same system for some limited cooling and possibly combining it with a solar hot water heating system.

the cooling aspects of the system is pretty neat. my application will call for one loop to be embedded into a new basement floor and another loop to be " stapled-up " under the living area floor. in the summer months when you're not using the loops to heat with they install a diverter valve so when you use any outside water for car washing or lawn watering the ground water ( about 52 degrees around here ) is first pumped through the loops before it comes out of the outside faucet. so in essence your heating loop is included into your outdoor water supply loop. while this surely won't provide all the cooling load a home may need it certainly is a good use of " free " cooling energy. luckily for me i think i'll be able to use my current HVAC system to provide the additional cooling needs.

i absolutely love new technologies like this. and the good part about hydronic heating is that it's really an old system that has been updated with some of the newer technologies that have come out. instead of using old copper or cast iron plumbing they use new plastic piping. therefore lowering the cost and increasing the efficiency.

i'm trying to figure out a way to also heat my pool and take advantage of some passive solar gains as well. i'll compile some links as i go along and let you add them to the links page.