[SustainableTompkins] would solar thermal work for Ithaca?

[Tony Del Plato]

Sustainers:
Solar definitely works in our region. I built a cabin with friends in
Spencer who continued to live there for over 25 yrs and had solar panels to
power lights, tv/vcr, computer, and small appliances. There were times when
they had to power down their usage but all in all, combined with a
composting toilet ( I know this is irrelevant, just a tidbit, so to speak),
and they lived a good life. Then they sold it all and moved to town.
Solar works. But wind's the way to go combined with conservation and
anything else that gets one off of the grid and efficiencies that can be
built in.
Tony Del Plato

On 8/15/06, Marty Hiller <hiller at alum.mit.edu> wrote:
>
> Drake Landing's system uses a seasonal thermal mass to store the sun's
> heat from the warm months for use in the cold months. This pretty much
> has to be designed in when you build; you can't easily add it to an
> existing house. Here are some other examples of how it can be done:
>         - I have a friend in Lincoln, MA who built a home with seasonal
> thermal mass back in the early '80's. He has an indoor swimming pool
> that collects heat all summer and gives it off all winter. He
> supplements it on cold mornings with a tiny wood stove. His one
> complaint about the system is that for most of the summer the pool is
> too cold to swim in.    - I've seen a design for an earth-sheltered house
> that uses the berm around the house as a seasonal thermal mass.
> The berm is insulated from the air but thermally connected to the
> house. The insulation "umbrella" should extend about 20 feet out from
> the house, and be buried 2-3 feet deep. This is what I'd be inclined to
> try if I ever build a house. Once the thermal mass is warmed, the whole
> thing is entirely passive -- no fans, no compressors, no circulators,
> no heat exchangers, no fancy high-tech collectors: just earth.
>
> It's also possible to get benefits from a smaller-than-seasonal thermal
> mass. For example you might try to collect enough heat on a sunny day
> to last through a week of cloudy weather, with some other heat source
> as a backup. How much thermal mass you use determines how long you can
> go.
>         - Broadmoor Nature Center in South Natick, MA
> (http://www.nesea.org/buildings/ma01.htm#boston -- scroll down for a
> description) meets 2/3 of its heating needs using an underground gravel
> pit for a thermal mass, with a south-side heat collecting room. The
> room gets very hot on sunny days, and has several large water tubes
> inside for heat collectors & additional thermal mass. They use fans to
> move the heat down into the gravel, and to circulate it through the
> building.
>         - If you build slab-on-grade with radiant heat floors, you can use
> the
> earth under the house as a thermal mass. That's done by creating an
> envelope of insulation that extends down into the ground around the
> perimeter of the house, while leaving the floor uninsulated, so the
> earth under the house is thermally connected to the house and is
> insulated from the earth around the house.
>
> I don't know the cost-benefit of any of these, but when you include the
> volatility in fuel prices you may find that it' s better than you
> expect.
>
> You have to be careful about managing water if you use the earth for
> thermal storage (whether it's berms, earth beneath the house, or a
> borehole system like they're planning at Drake Landing). Water flowing
> underground -- or high water tables -- can siphon your heat away faster
> than anybody's business. So you have to be very sure that when it rains
> your thermal mass stays dry. That's the only gotcha I'm aware of so
> far.
>
> - Marty
>
>
> On Aug 2, 2006, at 12:51 PM, Greg Thomas wrote:
>
> > Solar thermal works here, but mostly for domestic hot water.
> >
> > Solar thermal also works here as part of a well integrated building
> > system,
> > typically called a "passive solar building".  By reducing the winter
> > heat
> > loss, optimizing window placement and being smart with mass placement,
> > solar
> > heating coming through your windows can considerably reduce your
> > already
> > reduced heating load, without causing overheating.
> >
> > It is expensive and typically not cost effective to do more with solar
> > thermal than these items in homes.  It can be done, but your money will
> > usually be more effective when spent on efficiency or PV, in that
> > order.
> >
> > Greg Thomas
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: sustainabletompkins-bounces at lists.mutualaid.org
> > [mailto:sustainabletompkins-bounces at lists.mutualaid.org] On Behalf Of
> > Patricia Haines
> > Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2006 10:11 AM
> > To: Sustainable Tompkins County listserv
> > Subject: [SustainableTompkins] would solar thermal work for Ithaca?
> >
> > Stories like that below from miles-ahead-of-us Canada are why being
> > part of
> > this listserv is s
> > valuable - might such an experiment - solar thermal - work here in
> > Ithaca?
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: GayNicholson at aol.com
> > To: sustainabletompkins at lists.mutualaid.org
> > Sent: Tue, 1 Aug 2006 23:59:50 EDT
> > Subject: [SustainableTompkins] interesting Canadian solar community
> > under
> > development
> >
> >> _http://dlsc.ca/index.htm_ (http://dlsc.ca/index.htm)
> >>
> >>
> >> The Drake Landing Solar Community (DLSC) is located in Okotoks,
> >> Alberta,
> > 15
> >> minutes south of Calgary. The unique feature of DLSC is that  90
> >> percent
> > of
> >> space heating needs for the communityb
> >
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> >
>
> -------------------------
> Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of
> stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach.
> -- Clarissa Pinkola Estes
>
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