Zack
I"m brand new to this forum. This is my first post. My name is Dave and I've been installing Solar since 1981. Most of my experience has been in Solar Pool heat and Thermal DHW.In the last year or so I've worked on a couple of Photo-voltaic systems.All this and $2-3 will buy me a cup.Right now I'm like a lot of people searchng for work.There's not a huge market for old installers and so I'm here trying to make some friends.Like minded friends. There's nothing like proper insulation. My brother-in -law (Roy) is building a pretty big home.(about 11,000 sq.ft) It has a basement which we put about 3,700 feet of pex in the floor for radiant.We used spray foam insulation on the walls and ceiling. This is not your conventional house.The first floor is supported with 24" and 36" bar joists.Over top of that is heavy duty steel sheeting.All of the material is reclaimed from a parking garage he tore down in Louisville,Ky.The first floor has around 3,300 ft of pex. The house has 7 zones on the radiant.
He has an 8 acre lake (30 ft deep) that he plans to use for Geothermal. The first and second floors will be insulated with closed cell foam. It does not have to be sprayed in.It's basically pumped in and does not expand.(r factor is 5.1 per inch.For what it would cost to pay someone to do the insulation on the rest of the house he's buying the equipment that comes with a distributorship.This will also include a website that I will post later if that's OK. We tried to reclaim an 80 panel Solar thermal system that is being replaced but the panels were not repairable.Bummer! The thing I like about Roy is he is willing to try new things on this project. One is putting a second loop in the lake to cool the house in the summer.I think if we dehumidify it it will be cost effective in the long haul. I would love to hear any feedback about this project.
Dave
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