Back of the Envelope Calculations...

Constantin

... today the insulation contractor showed up with two crews and our house is finally getting foamed with a hybrid (depending on location) of open and closed-cell polyurethane foam. The house is feeling warmer already, something I really like!

Further adding to the joy of George Hunts' holidays, I sent him a sample of Cambridge's finest municpal water after it had been running through our circuits for about three weeks. I noticed that the water has some rust particles floating through it (besides having a slightly orange tint). I'm really looking forward to <a href="http://www.rhomarwater.com/">Rhomars lab analysis and treatment recommendations</a>.

I also put together a back-of-the-envelope calculation for George to calculate how much water our system contains. It is included below and I'd like your comments on whether the numbers look OK or not. But that's not all!

I got an e-mail from the folks at EnergyStar today, informing me that our home will, most likely have a rating of 90, or about 35% better than MassCode calls for and 50% better than the federal codes. The final number depends on blower-door and duct testing, something I, my GC, and our heating/cooling contractor look forward to!

On the other hand, I worry that I may have a small leak in the system considering that whenever I turn off the water-feeder (12psi) the boiler seems to lose system pressure over the course of a couple days. I presume that indicates a slow leak? A 7psi drop in a 90+Gallon system doesn't amount to much, but I worry nonetheless. Should we isolate circuits and pump them full of air to see if one has been punctured during construction?

Weezbo

slow the roll on messing with the heat just off the bat.....

you are going to get a group of air for about a week leaving the system....on new systems i put them through thier paces... i run the gyp crete to 110 F and the garage slab up to 140....and the building up to 90...i ask that no one open or close any of the doors and Sunday morning i come in check the walls floors ceilings rooms temps,then go upstairs and do the same...then i open all the windows, and the doors.turn on the exhaust fans,till the chemicals are back down to a dull roar...everything out gasses these days and if you do this one thing on a new house you will know that you have done the new owners a small favor...each product is out gassing ,carpet vynil,paint primer,fony wood surfaces,painted anythings,osb,plastics,chemicals of all sorts,....i find that their combined effect could just about drop you to the deck...your eyes burn and sting i am unaware of any study that combines all these chemical outgassings and anylizes them its probably the combination that seemingly preforms such wonder,sometimes it looks almost like a blue Smoke ....anyway,...i digress...the system even with all the fancy gizmoes takes a while to lose all the air. i over pressure the system so it runs any hidden details that may have snuk by when purging..out of the water ...ialso practise my Touch on the pressure relife (bag that air out too just for G.P's) check any high spots at the coin vents and such...then let the place run a few hours with the windows open to get the chemical smell out of the place. the chance of a leak is always there however catch it early with higher temps and pressure before adding Glycol. Cool?