Blue Rock Station,
1190 Virginia Ridge Rd.
Philo Ohio 43771 USA
+1-740-674-4300 (phone)
+1-740-674-6303 (fax)
Or contact us by e-mail.
1190 Virginia Ridge Rd.
Philo Ohio 43771 USA
+1-
Or contact us by e-
Copyright 2008 Blue Rock Station, All Rights Reserved
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Heating systems...
Our Earthship uses three methods (in tandem) to heat our home. These include:
Thermal Mass - the earth itself provides the lion's share of of the heat (and a bit of cooling in the summer). If you have ever been in a cave, you will know that the temperature feels cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Typically they stay about 56 degrees F year-round. The earth that is rammed into the tires, plus the earth that is mounded against the north side of the building keep the temperature in the home at least 50 degrees F no matter what the outside temperature may be. During construction, we noted one day when the temperature was -14 degrees F outdoors, inside the temperature was 50 degrees F with no sun and no additional heating source.
Passive Solar - the orientation of the home, facing just east of south is key in generating heat within the house when the sun is shining. The angle of the glass is designed to maximize solar gain during the winter solstice (and the weeks surrounding it). Based on latitude, our windows are angled at 50 degrees as we are at 40 degrees N latitude (take 90, subtract your latitude and you will find the angle where the sun will penetrate at right angles on the solstice).
We have found that too much sun, rather than not enough is the major problem on sunny days. If we had it to do over, we would have placed the windows vertically to avoid leaking (windows are just not designed to be placed at an angle).
But the passive solar gain is impressive and the house warms up to 60 - 70 degrees F when the sun is shining, regardless of the outdoor temperature.
Wood Stove - we have one wood burning stove that supplements the heat. This is located in the living room. Since we have about 30 acres of woodlands, securing firewood is easy and free (aside from the sweat and cursing). Running this wood stove will raise the heat in the living room to the mid to upper 70's. We installed a bathroom vent fan at the highest point in the living room, sucking hot air into the center "U" when turned on. There is a second fan installed in the center "U" that can draw air into the third "U". This provides additional heat as well as allows us to move the air around within the home.
Our Earthship uses three methods (in tandem) to heat our home. These include:
Thermal Mass -
We have found that too much sun, rather than not enough is the major problem on sunny days. If we had it to do over, we would have placed the windows vertically to avoid leaking (windows are just not designed to be placed at an angle).
But the passive solar gain is impressive and the house warms up to 60 -
Wood Stove -
Other web sites that will give you a bit more about this...
