permaculture

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lfl@intrex.net>]

johnny gregory wrote:
> Friends,
>
>       I read your posts on baubiology's saying flowing water beneath one's
> floors could lead to chronic foot and leg problems. There was some Swedish
> or European study suggesting water moving through hydronic tubes in a slab
> floor led to creating subtle and sleep-disturbing emf's (as everyone knows
> copper water pipes were used as a ground in most older electrical systems
> and water (or copper) will certainly conduct electricity). I plan to use
> Wirsbo Aquapex for our regular plumbing to lessen metal.
>
>       I have been planning an AIR-heated foundation slab (of earth). I plan
> to use solar-heated AIR running through 4" piping, likely either clay pipe
> or pvc. 

I'd like to see your plan or examples of your design somewhere on the Web.
I assume you don't plan on having a dirt floor in your abode.

Seems you'll still have a cold-cool-warm-hot slab to walk on, same as one 
with hydronic heat,
that presents problems. Using 4" piping to carry solar heated air to heat 
your floor
presents a new set of problems. If this solar heated air will ever enter your 
living space
you will have to content with outgassing of toxics from the PVC or ABS 
piping; also
you may have condensation inside the pipes which may collect in low points 
and grow mold
or worse, if insects get into the water. This seems unavoidable.

My suggestion would be to pout a concrete foundation slab, insulate it and 
pour
a concrete floor on top of the insulation. This way you have a thermally 
isolated slab/floor.
If you use the wall system I suggested before and install low-e windows you 
will have controllable
solar gain heating your floor and interior walls (all the more if they are 
masonry too). The resulting
thermal flywheel effect may well eliminate a lot of supplemental heating (I 
vote for wood or gas fired
boiler and hot water radiators. The _only_ unit to get is the H.S. Tarm 
(Tarm, U.S.A.), made in Denmark - they make a gas/wood
model or wood alone. There's another company making a gas fired boiler, 
advertising in Fine Homebuilding, called Buderus.

> I'll avoid metal since there has been a push away from metal bed
> springs which 'sing' with emf's and disturb sleep. I figure I'll not have

Now you've got me worried about EMF's.

> metal in our floors either. I plan to use Wirsbo Aquapex for our regular

Where can you buy this piping here in NC? I assume this is similar to the 
standard Pex pipe
commonly used these days, available at all plumbing supply outlets.

--
L.F.London
lfl@intrex.net
http://market-farming.com
http://www.ibiblio.org/ecolandtech/pcwiki/index.php/london