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permaculture - Re: [permaculture] emf's, air-heated foundation slab vs. water

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  • From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lfl@intrex.net>
  • To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] emf's, air-heated foundation slab vs. water
  • Date: Mon, 18 Nov 2002 00:15:09 -0800

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






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