heating a shop [RE-wrenches]

[larry]

Travis

That does not sound very practical. I ran some numbers and the poor specific
heat of sand was only one of the many problems with this design. At best you
could heat a 2500 sq ft shop for about 11 days and that is at %100 assuming
you could have a 50 degree delta T. Water is over three times better but I
don't think you want to have a shop above a swimming pool do you? And all
that expense just to get a free month of heating?

I visited a friends place a few weeks ago where his 3500 sq ft shop was
about 70 inside with about 34 out.
He spends allot of time on the floor. Literally. He has a bad back and he
will lay down on the warm floor for comfort.
Simple system. 1/2 inch PEX spaced every 8" and 105 degree supply with about
85 degree return. Uses oil for backup and some old flat plates he salvaged.

If you want storage go for water and forget the sand.
One interesting thing is we did a house with the Warmboard floor heating
system and some Thermomax evacuated tubes not far from the shop. That system
will easily supply useable heat when the flat plates cannot even turn on the
differential controller. I have even seen over 100 degrees when the sun was
barely visible as a bright spot behind the clouds.
440 sq ft of collector? You better find someplace to store heat or supply a
dump system.

Want to see my figures and what problems you'll have contact me off list.

Larry Elliott


Hello All,

Can anyone refer me a source of information for the solar space heating
system where you bury the tubing several feet (?) under the slab (in
sand?)? It seems like I remember... the idea being that sometime late
in the summer you start diverting heat to this loop and pump all that
unused heat there. By the time it's getting cold and you need the heat
it's rising up to the slab. At the proper time you switch over and
start heating the slab directly with the solar collectors.

We are preparing to build a new shop, we've already got thousands of
feet PEX tubing and manifolds, and I just bought 11 used 4x10's from
Smitty at AAA Solar.

Thanks in advance.

Travis Creswell
Ozark Energy Services, Inc.

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