Seven-ton masonry system helps warm 6,000 square feet

[Pat K]

http://www.mlive.com/living/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2009/10/seven-ton_masonry_system_helps.html

[KBCraig]

See, it's all about mass!

That's why you have a standing invitation to live in our basement when we move. 

That, and you're a funny mofo.

[MaineShark]

I've seen a number of such systems.

None were even close to the efficiency of a proper wood-fired boiler, tied to low-mass radiant.

Adding mass is a way to "patch" a bad system, and make it marginally better.  If designing from scratch, there's no reason for that.

Radiant can be installed behind a brick veneer, if someone wants the look of a brick wall, with the actual sensation of warmth coming from it.

Joe

[Russell Kanning]

that system makes sense for him ... he likes laying bricks and putting in fireplaces

[MaineShark]

that system makes sense for him ... he likes laying bricks and putting in fireplaces

Sure.  But the article is claiming that it's more efficient, which it's not.

It's certainly interesting, and a rather nifty bit of brickwork.  The article should be "man builds interesting giant fireplace contraption."

Joe

[Russell Kanning]

that system makes sense for him ... he likes laying bricks and putting in fireplaces

Sure.  But the article is claiming that it's more efficient, which it's not.
It's certainly interesting, and a rather nifty bit of brickwork.  The article should be "man builds interesting giant fireplace contraption."

yea ... it almost acts like the bricks make heat
in my cordwood construction book they have pictures and a story about a guy who built a house around cement manhole pieces .... it holds up the beams and has the pipes for the woodstove in it .... and it was cheap and installed with a crane in one day

[MaineShark]

in my cordwood construction book they have pictures and a story about a guy who built a house around cement manhole pieces .... it holds up the beams and has the pipes for the woodstove in it .... and it was cheap and installed with a crane in one day

That's an interesting idea.  If you used the larger ones, you could actually use them as rooms.  One could be a half bath.  Others could be closets/pantries.

Joe

[Tom Sawyer]

I like massive masonry as passive heat storage, no active components. Thermal "flywheel".

[KBCraig]

The only problem with mass thermal storage is that you can't turn it off. If the house is properly designed for constant temperature (underground, or heavily earth sheltered), that's no problem, but in conventional construction it's a huge problem on warm Spring days.

[MaineShark]

The only problem with mass thermal storage is that you can't turn it off. If the house is properly designed for constant temperature (underground, or heavily earth sheltered), that's no problem, but in conventional construction it's a huge problem on warm Spring days.

Indeed.

You end up burning fuel to heat it up, for the cold night, then when the day hits and the outdoor temperature jumps, the thermal mass is still uncontrollably radiating heat, and you need to open windows to keep the space from overheating, wasting the fuel you burned to store that heat.

Hence the inefficiency.

Joe

[Tom Sawyer]

We live on a woodstove as the only heat source. Damping out the fluctuations in household temperatures and reducing the number of times to load the stove is more important than absolute fuel efficiency. We have an endless wood supply, limited by my backs ability to process it. 

We currently open the windows and vent/air the house on warm sunny days anyway.

Although in regard to the delay to getting the house heated up quickly I would like a kind of hybrid setup, where the stove will radiate some heat immediately, and the mass storage will absorb and dampen the temperature swings.

I don't care for the solutions that require electric power, we have been without power quite a bit. Nice feeling to keep chugging along cozy and warm. I am also a believer in not adding complex controls and active components. Simple just works for the way we live. 

Ultimately I have come to know the rythym, cycle and anticipating the heat need to not overly waste fuel. It's not like setting a thermostat and forgetting it. Adding more mass will smooth things out and mean I won't need to worry about my house freezing if we go away for a few days mid winter.

[BillKauffman]

This is a problem for all super-insulated and air tight houses.

[MaineShark]

Like I said, it's certainly workable.  It's just not efficient, so the article is inaccurate.

If the article was about a super-simple heating system, and didn't make all sorts of efficiency claims, I'd have no complaint.

Joe