Comfort you can feel. Comments from homeowners with radiant heating.

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Solar Thermal- hydronics mechanical room

Solar Thermal- hydronics mechanical room

A selection of clients give their comments on their radiant heating systems.

Dan and Liz, Piedmont California.

Boiler: Baxi Luna HT1.330

Heat:  Radiant slab on the ground floor with radiators on the second floor.

Zones: Four zones Taco ZVC zone control and ESP zone valves, Taco zone circulator.

Hot water:  In-direct storage tank with Helio-dyne solar heat exchanger (2 4×6 black paint solar collectors) with hydronic back-up.

Comments:  “It doesn’t feel like a heating system, the house just stays nice, its perfect.  We came back from a vacation, the house was cold, but by the time we finished our burritos, the whole house was toasty warm”- Liz

“We have 1800 square feet and we pay $200 per month in gas. Our neighbor has a smaller house and pays $300 per month”- Dan

“We love it” Liz

“Its very good”- Dan. Continue reading →

Radiators- Affordable Radiant Heat.

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I really like radiators as a way to heat a home. There is no question that a radiant floor system is the best and most comfortable way to heat a home, however there are many times where it is not practical or cost effective to install. We frequently have retro-fit projects where we are putting staple-up below a floor from a crawl space but to put it on the second floor would involve major demolition and repair cost to expose a second floor space. Sometimes, an addition might be a good candidate for a heated slab but the budget does not extend to a retro fit staple-up installation.

A good solution for affordable radiant heating Continue reading →

Green Plumbing- A Case Study

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On Friday, May 14th 2010, a City of Berkeley building inspector signed off on the final inspection on one of the most forward thinking buildings in the Bay Area.

I was very fortunate to be involved in the design and installation of the plumbing and mechanical systems in this new construction Berkeley home that incorporates almost all of the green plumbing technologies available at this time.

The home-owner on this project is deeply concerned about environmental change, when it came time to build her dream home, she was determined that it should have a minimal impact on the planet. Our homes generate a great deal of the carbon emissions that contribute to global warming and diminishing resources including fossil fuels and water are concerns for everyone.
Continue reading →

High Efficiency Water Heaters- the alternate to tankless.

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We are all aware by now that the standard storage tank water heater is out-dated technology that does not meet our needs for fuel efficiency and reduced carbon emissions.  We know that 45% of the gas used in our homes is attributed to our Domestic Hot Water needs.   Many people  have researched tankless water heaters, also known as Flash water heaters or on-demand water heaters and found that they can increase efficiency dramatically and produce endless hot water with reduced carbon emissions.  This same research may have led them to the conclusion that there are some draw backs to tankless technology- long delays in hot water delivery to fixture with increased water wastage and high cost of installation in some cases.

There is another solution to the Water Heater problem, High Efficiency Condensing Water Heaters. Continue reading →

Hybrid Water Heater- The Best Of Both Worlds

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Eternal hybrid Water Heater

Eternal hybrid Water Heater

The old storage tank water heater is a monster!  This monster comes from the primeval swamps of the last century, when gas was free, climate change had no meaning beyond,”looks like its going to rain this afternoon..” and people only took showers for about three seconds a week.

But then, a ray of sunshine pierced the darkness of water heating technology- the tankless water heater. Tankless water heaters are a vast improvement over traditional storage tanks.  They are vastly more efficient, they provide endless hot water and take  up very little space.  Fabulous!  Tankless water heaters slay the beast and all is well on the western front!

Errrr, not quite.  There are some serious performance considerations around on-demand water heaters.  Because there is no stored water with a tankless water heater, there is a considerable wait time while you run the faucet waiting for the unit to heat up. Water running down the drain while you wait.  And then there is the “cold water sandwich”, a phenomenon perculiar to tankless water heaters which is not that big of a deal unless you are in the shower when it occurs.

So, the storage tank is not quite dead and re-emerges in a shiny plastic coating with improved performance- the High Efficiency Storage Tank. 96% efficiency, super high recovery rate and PVC venting.   Well, just look at you go storage tank, all grown up.  But silver bullet you are not.  High efficiency tanks are good but they are no smaller than the old tanks, bigger in fact and cost an arm and a leg.

So, where is our night in shining armor to put these issues in the watery grave they belong in?    Is the Eternal Hybrid water heater the best of all worlds?

Continue reading →

Smart Heating

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Hydronic Heating Boiler Room

Smart and Simple Mechanical Room

Hold your hand over a candle, blow out the flame and the heat is immediately lost.  Now, boil a pot of water.  When you turn off the heat, the water is still hot.  In fact, the heat energy in the pot of water can be picked up and transported to another room, it can be stored and used later and its heat is kind and comfortable. Continue reading →

Solar Hot Water: The Big No-Brainer

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Solar Thermal Collectors

With so many tax credits and incentives available with the current stimulus package, many people are looking to the sun for sustainable energy.  Solar energy can be harnessed in two ways, Photo-Voltaic (PV) solar is the process of generating electricity from the sun, Solar Thermal converts the sun’s energy into hot water.  PV gets a lot of attention; the very simple and less expensive Solar Thermal option is getting a new pulse of popularity. Continue reading →

Tankless Water Heaters – What You Should Know

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Takagi tankless

Tankless installed on exterior

The standard 40 or 50 Gallon storage tank water heater is a monster.  Operating at around 40% efficiency, 60% of the heat generated from the gas you burn goes out through the flue in the form of carbon emissions. On top of that, you pay for water to stay hot even when you do not need it; when you are at work, when you are asleep, when you go on vacation (do you turn off your water heater when you go away?). There is a pilot light which sucks your money continually like a little blue vampire. Continue reading →