January in Maine and No Furnace

A month without a furnace...

OK, its been warm - but we are in Maine and our radiant heat has not run since the Tulikivi went into operation. If the sun shines, even for a minimal amount of time, the temperature rises to 80% and would continue to go up except we open the windows. Yes, that's right - open the windows in Maine. Nothing like fresh air all year long. The passive solar aspects of berming and south facing windows with concrete walls and floors are doing their duty. Should we have dreary days - firing the masonry stove once a day (twice if it is really cold - only had the second firing once), solves the problem. A smooth, even comfortable heat spreads through the rooms and soothes our aging bones. The thermometer hangs around 74 degrees throughout the night and into the next day. We are impressed.

Never have we gotten such fabulous heat with so little work - and such minimal wood. I would recommend this type of living to anyone.

The tile is chosen and the rooms are measured. We are going to use a combination of tiles in the living - dining - hallway areas. The plan is for a border (Crossville Empire Elba Nights polished) around the rooms, encircling the Tulikivi and down the hall. The tile in the living and dining rooms will be 12 x 12 Crossville Strong in Brown. The hallway will be a pattern of different sizes from the same tile. It is so difficult to picture and nearly impossible to finalize - but the die has been cast. Next week, we order and soon Dave will be back on his knees.
Pictures will follow.

bermed Tulikivi passive_solar sharon_betts