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How Thermal Mass can Make you Money!

 
pollinator
Posts: 5520
Location: Canadian Prairies - Zone 3b
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I came across this article and thought it was worth sharing. See? Other people are talking about mass heating/cooling too.

https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/09/01/what-is-thermal-mass-and-how-can-it-make-you-money/
 
gardener
Posts: 793
Location: 5,000' 35.24N zone 7b Albuquerque, NM
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Really helpful article, Douglas! I especially like the basic equations offered and clever ideas about using mass throughout the house to store heat.
Here's another article about thermal mass that may be useful that you may find interesting. Finnish engineers are storing heat in sand batteries. Sand as thermal mass is abundant out here in the desert.
 
gardener
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Location: Cincinnati, Ohio,Price Hill 45205
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I like his stuff anyway, and this was good as always.
I believe he might be the one that used a conventional water heater to heat an infloor hydronic system, which I found quite clever.

My personal preoccupation with storing heat indoors through the medium of water has me focused on old water heaters as my storage containers.
They can be heated from direct sunlight, a solar thermal collector, a PV powered electrical element, off-peak grid tied electrical element, air to water heat pump, a wood boiler,or some combination of these choices.
I am intrigued by the idea of an indoor ,window facingn, solar thermal collector that becomes a radiator at night, after the thermal shades have been pulled shut.


 
This will take every ounce of my mental strength! All for a tiny ad:
The new gardening playing cards kickstarter is now live!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/paulwheaton/garden-cards
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