EcoRenovator - View Single Post - Heating Degree Days NOT useful for sizing

bdgWesternMass · 04-14-16, 01:57 PM

Hello stevehull,

I read your description of thermal mass with great interest. I have about 85275 pounds of sand that I use as a radiant slab in my office. I think it stores about just shy of 400,000 btus of usable btus. I'm in the process of trying to figure out exactly how to estimate the value of this in order to calculate the lowest usable water temperature I can operate at.

I'm thinking what I may do is this winter set-up a buffering hot water tank and see how low I can set it's thermostat while tracking the temperature along many points of my system.

Short of that I don't think there is why to estimate.

04-14-16, 01:57 PM	#12
bdgWesternMass Lurking Renovator Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Williamstown, MA Posts: 21 Thanks: 3 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Hello stevehull, I read your description of thermal mass with great interest. I have about 85275 pounds of sand that I use as a radiant slab in my office. I think it stores about just shy of 400,000 btus of usable btus. I'm in the process of trying to figure out exactly how to estimate the value of this in order to calculate the lowest usable water temperature I can operate at. I'm thinking what I may do is this winter set-up a buffering hot water tank and see how low I can set it's thermostat while tracking the temperature along many points of my system. Short of that I don't think there is why to estimate.