Had a question from a reader yesterday that I would like to answer here:
I live in NH and would like to know if it is possible to have a bermed home that stays around 68 degrees with simple supplemental heat.
My thoughts after living in ours for a year:
Yes, of course it depends on two things - the amount of sun and your interpretation of supplemental heat. We find that if we get even two hours of sun in a day, the temp will remain a comfortable mid-sixties through the nights with no additional heat. We may even be a bit over-glazed and it will get up to the 80s until we open the windows (regardless of the outside temps - have had them open with single digits), Our supplemental heat sources consist of the soapstone Tulikivi and stand alone electric heater. Although we have radiant istalled, it is much cheaper to run electric for several hours than to pay for propane.
There is so much more to this answer - it could be a thesis. I would appreciate any further questions or comments.
BettsBerm -- Documentation of the construction of our bermed home and ramblings about our life in the foothills of Maine.
1 comment:
Would you consider the radiant heat necessary? Say, for example, you only had the Tulikivi and the stand alone, would you feel comfortable relying on them in the coldest weather? I was looking at houses at http://enertia.com/ for guidance, but the homes look a bit too expensive considering what is included in the kits.
How did you end up going from the idea of a passive solar home to design to implementation? I'm fairly certain this is the route I'd like to take, but I'm unsure of where to start.
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