by Alan Stankevitz | Mar 20, 2000
Rainwater Collection System Water is a precious resource that we quite often take for granted. Like most everyone else, we had not taken it into consideration until we started planning the house. Over the last year we have kept track of how many gallons of water we...
by Alan Stankevitz | Mar 12, 2000
Putting It All Together The most trouble that I’ve had with the design has been designing the backup system. There are a number of ways to heat a house. I frequently had to tell myself to keep it simple! Let’s start with the primary heating system –...
by Alan Stankevitz | Mar 5, 2000
Heating System – Backup The backup system will incorporate some form of a wood fired stove and a propane or electric boiler. The reason for this is twofold: (1) the sun doesn’t always shine and (2) if we are away for any extended period, we need to keep...
by Alan Stankevitz | Feb 27, 2000
Heating System – Solar I never realized how many options there were to heating a house. The house will be heated using radiant floor heat and solar hot water collectors. That is a fact. Where things start to get murky is how to store the heat and what options to...
by Alan Stankevitz | Feb 12, 2000
Taking the Next Step A few years ago I attended a hydronic heating presentation (at the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair) hosted by Steve Krug, owner of Next Step Energy Systems. Steve’s presentation on the basics of radiant heating, started me thinking about how I...
