[Greenbuilding] hot water

[JOHN SALMEN]

I am a big fan of rainwater collection as it forces both conservation and
use of non-contaminating roofing materials. 

Designing a system can require large amounts of storage to get through a dry
period and typically storage is 1$ per gallon whether you use plastic or
concrete (I prefer concrete tanks). Storage and costs of the system can
easily amount to the cost of drilling a well. Calculation is not difficult
if you have access to historical rainfall data. 

I recently designed a system that required 7,000 gallons storage to make it
through the year. The concrete storage tanks were incorporated as foundation
for an outbuilding so that offset that cost slightly. One big problem was
dumping excess water - which for this project involved designing a pond
which was nice for the site but begged the question; why not use the pond
for storage and create filtration for it as drinking water? A SSF (slow sand
filter) can provide both filtration and daily water storage. Client was not
keen on that option but personally I think the water quality would be as
good if not better.



JOHN SALMEN ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
4465 UPHILL RD,. DUNCAN, B.C.  CANADA, V9L 6M7
PH 250 748 7672 FAX 250 748 7612 CELL 250 246 8541
terrain at shaw.ca


-----Original Message-----
From: greenbuilding-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org
[mailto:greenbuilding-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org] On Behalf Of
bill.allen at verizon.net
Sent: February 8, 2011 7:52 AM
To: Clarke Olsen; Green Building
Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] hot water

Sorry, I can't help with the valve question...no experience in that area.

What is your source of water? I'm in the middle of the woods and was
thinking about a rainwater harvesting system instead of drilling a well.
Can anyone comment pro or con on RWH systems, especially for drinking water?

Bill

------Original Message------
From: Clarke Olsen
To: bill.allen at verizon.net
To: Green Building
Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] hot water
Sent: Feb 7, 2011 10:38 PM

Actually, that is my plan: two 6.5T kw demand heaters will be fed by  
water run through a 1,000 gal. tank in the basement which
will be heated with solar panels. Even if it is only 70*f, the boost  
will be enough for a serious shower.
Here's a concept on which I would like a second opinion: how to give  
priority to the shower when feeding the kitchen from the
same demand heater. My thought is to put a spring check valve in the  
line to the kitchen. Not a flap valve, these valves can be
used in any position, because a spring holds a gasket against the  
flow. With the pressure drop of an open faucet, water easily
overpowers the spring and pushes past the gasket. But, if the  
pressure is low because water is flowing through the unchecked
line to the shower, the spring should become a factor in the flow to  
the kitchen.
Clarke Olsen
373 route 203
Spencertown, NY 12165
USA
518-392-4640
colsen at fairpoint.net




On Feb 7, 2011, at 7:03 PM, bill.allen at verizon.net wrote:

> ...So do you circulate solar pre-heated water to each of the on  
> demand heaters? How does solar pre-heated water work in this model?
> Thanks,
> Bill
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Clarke Olsen <colsen at fairpoint.net>
> Sender: greenbuilding-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org
> Date: Mon, 07 Feb 2011 18:52:40
> To: Green Building<greenbuilding at lists.bioenergylists.org>
> Reply-to: Green Building <greenbuilding at lists.bioenergylists.org>
> Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] hot water
>
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