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5 Answers

Without natural gas, is there a better option than electric baseboard heat?

I am currently designing a home to build, that is to be the best compromise of sustainability and affordability. This home is 800 s/f and will have a passive solar heat design, and a wood stove to use our local biomass resource of beetle kill pine, however I need a third heat system for the house (what the City considers to be the primary system). Although natural gas is very cheap in CO, we decided we would rather put the money to run a gas line and install a furnace toward a net metering PV system, since we have the optimal climate for this.

Asked By Curt Lyons | Mar 7 14

2 Answers

Is it reasonable to use 3/8" PEX supply lines to all fixtures?

I am planning the plumbing system for my Net-Zero Energy home that is being built to Passive House standards. I will be using PEX tubing with a manifold system using home runs. I designed the house so that the bathrooms and laundry room are centrally located, making the supply runs pretty short. I want to minimize the amount of water and energy being used and low-flow fixtures provide plenty of water for my needs (2.2 gpm at sinks and 2.5 gpm for showers).

Asked By Gerald Blycker | Mar 11 14

11 Answers

HVAC for a single level "Pretty Good House"

Hi all

First discourse on the forum--I've been reading it incessantly and now it's time to get involved. Over the next few months, I'll be soliciting advice and opinions on various aspects of a new house we are building for retirement located in Hood River, Oregon. I thank you all in advance.

Asked By Matt Mesa | Feb 21 14

1 Answer

Can a furnace be cleaned and reused after a house fire? Or should it be replaced?

I am working with a homeowner on the design of an addition to a house. Prior to starting construction on the addition, the existing house had a fire which was contained to the laundry room. Smoke damage, however, is throughout the existing house. The mechanical room is accessed through the laundry room. The furnace was running when the fire started, and then turned off. There is evidence of smoke in the furnace (in the filter and at the connection to the AC). I have one contractor suggesting that the furnace can be cleaned, serviced and remain.

Asked By Corri Sandwick | Mar 6 14

2 Answers

Water Heater selection help - Gas or Electric, Tank, Hybrid, Tankless?

I am in the process of needing to update my hot water tank (Currently a 40 Gallon gas water heater). I live in Michigan and have been trying to figure out what makes the most sense (Environmentally and economically). I am considering adding solar panels to my roof next year, so I was thinking of changing to electric but I have not found much information about electric tankless systems being used in Michigan other than I would need a large unit to provide for the entire house. I have 3 full sized bathrooms, a dishwasher a kitchen sink, laundry room sink and a wet bar sink.

Asked By Roger Ratkowski | Mar 6 14

8 Answers

Wood floor underlayment over radiant heated floor

Hi,

I am building a 2 story house wood frame house(with basement) that is heated with radiant hot water system installed in the floor.

The joists have been blown in with loose fill cellulose (for both sound and to keep the heat up) and a plywood floor is on top of the joists. R5 foam board is installed on top of the plywood and the PEX tubes are installed to the foam board. They will be pouring a self leveling concrete on top of the PEX and then gluing down engineered wood floors.

Asked By Howard Klein | Mar 5 14

6 Answers

How are mini-splits installed in new construction?

How is a mini-split installed in new construction? Everything I've seen are installations in existing buildings where the line-set stub is shoved out through a hole in the wall, connected to a line-set, and the line-set run down the exterior of the wall. How is a line set roughed-in in a wall so that the inside wall unit can be connected after the interior wall finish is completed?

Asked By Roy Brohaugh | Mar 4 14

6 Answers

(Old-fashioned) radiators in a Pretty Good House?

We are considering plumbing in two reclaimed 8"x12"x38" radiators in the upper floor bedrooms of our pretty good, passive solar home near Ottawa. The house is heated by a radiant slab in the basement and will have a 2" radiant slab on the main floor.

We are wondering if the considerable mass of old fashioned radiators, or the possibility of them having a higher designed operating temperature might make them inefficient or ineffective in our system.

We have a Stiebel Eltron Tempra 12 Plus boiler.

Any advice on mixing the old with the new would be appreciated, thanks.

Asked By jessie pratt | Mar 2 14

1 Answer

Damper control motor

I have a 36" whole house exhaust fan mounted in an attic dormer with a gravity damper. I want to add a damper control motor. Problem- the fan is a two speed, wired from down stairs and the damper motor needs only one input. I think I need a relay to make it work. What kind of relay is required? Thanks.

Asked By Jim Phillips | Mar 1 14

5 Answers

What is the difference between cast iron vs. stainless steel for an electric boiler?

We are installing hydronic concrete slab heating. the slab has already been poured, i thiink the HVAC guy did not use O2-barrier PEX tubing. As i understand it, this means that a cast iron boiler cannot be used. true? how good are the stainless boilers vs cast iron (reliability), what are the pros and cons, which one would you use? Electro seems to come up in my searches, probably a mid-size 34k to 51k BTU/hr seems appropriate. i was surprised to see that they seem cheaper than the cast iron models... but i'm not really sure what features i should be comparing.

Asked By bob tong | Feb 21 14

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