Home Heating Options Other Than W ood

[woodgeek]

Yar. I would worry more about nat gas combustion in a sealed house than 'threshold' radon.

As for the stats, the radon signal is quite obvious in population studies. But if you screen out all the smokers, the remaining effect is hard to detect/quantify.

Of course, none of this is to say that radon should not be taken seriously, or smoking for that matter! Or an excuse for not testing.

 

[peakbagger]

There are some significant hot spots for radon near me in western maine and northern NH. My well is 320 feet into granite and its definitely the source for my house. In many cases it comes down to other factors. Unfortunately the states went overboard and put in regulations that are abused. Typically when a house is on the market and contract is signed the home inspection flags radon. Both parties are in rush so the local radon professional is called and can charge a high rate to get it cured quickly. In most states, radon systems have to be installed and maintained by a professional and many companies will only sell their equipment through licensed dealers. I have seen the markups on the materials they use and it is outrageous. Inevitably the homeowners get socked with a long term service contract so they keep paying for it. One of the reasons I am going with activated charcoal is that its common equipment so can I buy it from any plumbing supply house and not pay a markup. I also don't plan to treat the used cartridges like low level nuclear waste which many states do.

A friend had cut granite foundation and had radon issues. It was recommended that he install subslab depressurization, he ended up routing his furnace flue damper bypass down to floor level . Radon is heavier than air so the draft in his chimney would pull the radon up from the floor. He tested a few weeks later and he was below the action level.

When the Maine Yankee nuclear power plant was being decommissioned, the contract wanted to pulverize the containment vessel and leave it on site. The locals objected so it was hauled off as low level nuclear waste at great cost. The resultant hole was filled by locally quarried material used for most construction purposes, there was a higher level of radioactivity in the new material then there was in the containment dome they haled off.

 

[semipro]

So is the problem with radon is water ingestion, inhalation (e.g. during showering) or both?
Good to know about the density of radon also. That may change my strategies for dealing with it.
I figured once I finish my basement renovations I'd test again to see if I need to worry about it.

 

[peakbagger]

My understanding is the primary risk with radon in the water is inhalation. Radon is a gas dissolved in the water, when it goes from a higher pressure to lower pressure the gas is released. There is also a temperature effect, the dissolved gases are released easier, the hotter the water. (those familiar with industrial boilers are familiar with Deareators that removed dissolved gases with steam) Most low flow showers, faucets, toilets and even dishwaters all aerate the water and strip out the radon gas where it then goes into the air and sinks if its not inhaled. A shower with a low flow head is probably the worst combination. The air wash radon removal systems for water basically are a vented tank with a blower in it. The water is sprayed in a fine mist and air is blow through the stream of water, the air stream is them run through a mist eliminator and vented outdoors. The water at the bottom of the vessel then needs to be re-pressurized for use, which means horsepower for the blower and the additional pump. The activated carbon filters usually are three in row, one fine particulate filter to keep the junk out of the carbon, the next filter is activated carbon and that takes out some percentage of the radon and many other dissolved chemicals like lead by absorption and then there is final activated carbon filter for further removal. There is some increase in well pump horsepower but a lot less than the air wash type system. Garden hoses are tapped up stream of the filter. The comment about nuclear waste is not a complete joke, eventually the filters get slightly radioactive, sort of like a smoke detector and in some areas it has to be disposed of as such. This is really a risk to the guy that makes his living changing filters compared to homeowner who might do it once a year, but an activated carbon mask may be good idea when changing filters. My research is if you have typical well water the cartridges might need to be changed out yearly. I don't have low flow toilet but expect I will get one to reduce water flow and would consider switching my well pump to constant pressure control with the Franklin electric conversion. Generally the filters are lot larger than a typical home water filter but they are standardized so there are multiple suppliers. Activated carbon filters saturate so unless the homeowner wants to send out for water test every year or so, I expect that you change the filters by gallons processed so I expect a couple of differential pressure gauges across the filters and a water meter would help in planning filter changes. An air wash system requires less homeowner maintenance so its a trade off between front end cost and ongoing cost.

Most air radon tests require that the test kit be set in basement on the floor in an area without a lot of traffic , I expect that is worst case.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

How do wood pellets figure into this mix ,they are more automatic than a wood stove ,lot less work ect.

 

[mass_burner]

How do wood pellets figure into this mix ,they are more automatic than a wood stove ,lot less work ect.

From what I read on here, they're just as much work, but different.

 

[velvetfoot]

How about converting your property into a radon spa?
https://www.spadreams.com/radon-3314sxa/

 

[Seasoned Oak]

From what I read on here, they're just as much work, but different.

Im still using coal in the coldest months. We get some wicked cold winter months here in central pa and that tiny coal boiler can take on the best of them. Was considering pellets but not near as much heat energy in them compared to coal. I would ,like to try minisplits for the shoulder seasons.
I love my wood stove but not the work of 24/7 exclusive burning for heat.

 

[Highbeam]

How do wood pellets figure into this mix ,they are more automatic than a wood stove ,lot less work ect.

I read the whole thread and couldn't believe that nobody mentioned pellets. They are much less work than wood, both in processing and in burning. The pellet stoves are thermostatic, easy to install, cheaper than most central systems, and burn times can be very long compared to most woodstoves.

My home has electric wall heaters that haven't seen power for several years as a backup to wood. If I had to switch from cordwood it would be to swap out the freestanding woodstove for a freestanding pellet or gas stove. In my part of the country we don't heat with water and we don't need AC.

 

[DUMF]

I read the whole thread and couldn't believe that nobody mentioned pellets. They are much less work than wood, both in processing and in burning. The pellet stoves are thermostatic, easy to install, cheaper than most central systems, and burn times can be very long compared to most woodstoves.

My home has electric wall heaters that haven't seen power for several years as a backup to wood. If I had to switch from cordwood it would be to swap out the freestanding woodstove for a freestanding pellet or gas stove. In my part of the country we don't heat with water and we don't need AC.

Ah yes, pellets. Not reliable in northern New England's climate and an unreliable supply.
As for the pellet stoves---
Don't produce an equivalent BTU output to a similar sized wood stove.
They need power ( our winter storms are often serious and colder compared to Washington ). We lose power many times each winter( yes, got generator).
They are noisy.
No beautiful flames.
Require frequent cleaning and maintenance..
Do not have a long life ( moving parts, a motor exposed to high temps).
Have yet to see a 'pretty' pellet stove like an Oslo for example.
They do take some effort: the 40 lb pellet bags ain't so simple for your grandma to lift into the hopper.

 

[byQ]

The most under utilized resource is what you should use. And there are 2 things you need to do to use it. First capture it and than keep it from escaping. What? The sun. Capture it by having south facing glass with dark thermal mass (like rock) for it to absorb into. Note the color black will absorb way more than a light color - like twice as much.

And to keep the solar gain from escaping? Someone mentioned triple pane argon filled windows. But there is a much better way that is relatively cheap - thermal shutters. Your work will involve opening and closing these on a daily basis - hey that is a lot easier than working with firewood. The shutters are placed on the inside of the house with neoprene gaskets (without gaskets you will have internal ice on windows). They are constructed with insulation stuck between two pieces of plywood. Four or five inches of insulation will whip triple pane windows several fold.

Engineers? Scientists? Government agencies? No, monks. It looks like they insulated the whole building.

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[Seasoned Oak]

My daily maintenance in the solar porch is easy. i simply open the steel insulated door to the main house in the morning and close it in the evening once the temp drops to 70 or so,usually about 2 hours after sundown. Sunny days provide most of my heating for 3000 Sf.

 

[DUMF]

Interesting comment in the postings on insulating shades.
Now, could we calculate how many BTUs gained from those shades vs another heating source such as some form of central heating or
our preferred electric hydronic baseboards to install under the windows ?
Most of you have some kind of central heating --oil, gas, electric--with wood as a "backup". How many have nothing except perhaps 'space' heating ?
Wood (sic) the engineer brains speak to this how to figure out a gain from insulating shades ?
Great idea that we didn't consider.

P.S. We don't have hi speed broadband here, just limited slow irregular connection. That is why I don't stay logged in to any site.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

byQ has the right idea. First we get a trap as much of the "Free" heat as we can. Only then try to find economical,environmental and sustainable ways to make the rest of what we need. Great combination Solar and wood. There used to be a member posting on here about how he froze at times in his 60s solar house during prolonged cloudy days,slept in the closet!. A wood stove would have been perfect for him.