green radiant cooling

Bob Gagnon plumbing and heating

I cooled just the radiant in the floors first, to see if it would work. It didn't work as well as I would have liked. I Then added a large fan coil unit, also powered only by well water, to provide additional cooling. Like adding a kick space heater to a baseboard system, to get enough heat. The fan coil unit also removes humidity, just like in a standard air conditioner, it has to be a lot bigger because the well water is 56 degrees, and unlimited from my point driven well. I don't know the cooling load, because I don't have a background in cooling, only heating. My house is standard 2X4 construction with lots of windows. The heating load for the whole house is about 90K BTU'S. 10 gallons a minute cools either my first floor or second, so I'm assuming 20 gallons would cool the whole house? When you set the thermostat for cooling, well water flows through a flat plate exch. to cool my primary heating loop, making it a cooling loop, it then flows out to a 12 zone lawn sprinkler system. For the price of running one pump and one circulator, I get 100% of my cooling and all the water I can handle for the lawn and garden. It just so happens that when you need the cooling, you also need to water more, so you are multi-tasking. The comfort level is unbelievable. Radiant cooling is to AIR CONDITIONING, like radiant heating is to FORCED HOT AIR. It cools your house to the core. To see what it is like go down to your basement and take your shoes off and walk around, thats radiant cooling comfort. My neighbor came over yesterday and he said it was too cold and left, it was about 74 degrees. Half of one room in my house is above my solar tank so the floor isn't that cool and I didn't hook the ceiling radiant yet above that half of the room, and you feel a lot warmer on that spot that in the rest of the house even though the air is about the same temp.- no radiant cooling. Like Dan writes about in the supermarket freezer aisle. This system has been in place since the year 2000 without any problems, and should last many decades, like a forced hot water system because it recirculates the same water through my radiant system. There are many mistruths and misconceptions about radiant cooling and all forms of renewable energy, that just keep getting repeated, even though they are wrong. This system has worked so well, even though everyone told me it wouldn't work, it inspired me to try solar and other renewable projects. If anyone is in the area and would like to check it out feel free to give me a call.

Thanks for the interest, Bob Gagnon

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Bob Gagnon plumbing and heating

green radiant cooling

Real hot and humid here, but my radiant cooling system is keeping my house very cool. This morning my bedroom was 72 degrees, and my radiant bed was a cool 68 degrees. Using only well water. Going green helps you sleep better.

Thanks, Bob Gagnon

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Paul B_5

Bob : that is just too cool.I wold love to see more details of the system. How are you controlling humidity.???

GMcD

Fabulous

Great to hear some real-life radiant cooling commentary rather than the usual myths and legends. Keep up the running updates.

Unknown

Hi bob,

that's awesome. what temp is your well water, and are you just returning to the well? did you do a cooling load? I'm very curious what kind of load you are meeting so simply and elegantly!

singh

\"That's cool\"

I'm curious to know the details of your system also.
You say on your website above 80 degree days your it needs back up.

Also are you running the lawn sprinklers while your in cooling mode?

I brought this over from your site.


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Unknown

I would love to see the specs

Tilmon

Never return this type of system form the same well. You need a "dry well" to return in and your supply well better have a very high recovery rate. They do use some electricity but not much. If you have the wells to do it, this system is very cost effective. In some areas you are permitted to run a loop of piping to the bottom of a lake for heating and cooling(it's a little cheaper).