permaculture

[FranksFarm@aol.com]

Hello, John S.

Have a good trip to Maine!

John I respect your advice and opinions so I thought I'd bounce this off you,
and the list.

I'm going to have to add on to a partially renovated 1850 two story L shaped
farmhouse on the farm we recently purchased.

. We need to put in a heating and cooling system, add bathrooms and a kitchen.

I also plan to add on a greenhouse type lean too on the southern side. The
farm is in south central Kentucky Zone 6. I've got over 300 acres of
woods...so wood fueled system seems to be the most economical, and sustainable
system.

I'm looking into high efficiency wood stoves, Taylor OutDoor Wood Furnaces,
Masonry heaters, Groundwater /Earth systems etc.. I plan to use solar gain and
thermal storage from greenhouse addition to help lower heating demand in
winetr; heat gain in summer may be a real problem depending on glazing...but
glazing choices have me puzzled due to difference in heat gained amongst
options available. Clear glass seems to deliver highest heat gains in winter,
but can lead to unbearably hot temperatures in summer. Specialty E-Glasses
reduce heat gain considerably for summer comfort, but that lessens winter
efficiency.

At least that's how I undersatnd it. 

Love to hear the lists thoughts/experiences on this. Thanks.  Frank