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Interested in having a dialogue about
this topic? Post your questions at the
Uponor blog where I'd be happy to engage in a Q & A
session with you.
Not so Trivial Stuff...
Did you know the temperature of
combustion is approximately 3400°F
(1750°C)? This is
categorized as an industrial temperature.
Did you also know the
temperature range on/in your body is approximately
80°F to 100°F
(27°C to 38°C)?
This is categorized as an a non-industrial
temperature.
Ask yourself this one simple
question...can we call the creation and use of industrial
temperatures for non industrial applications as a
sustainable action?
As our clients know, at most all we need
to heat people and spaces even in the coldest regions of
the planet is 100°F
(38°C)
However, there is an entire industry
promoting high efficiency heating systems based on
industrial temperatures and yet claiming to be
sustainable...
We can't make claims to sustainability if
we continue to destroy the potential work available in
industrial temperatures used in non-industrial
applications.
This is a very big deal!
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Did you know, along with gravity and two forces
controlling neutrons and protons; electromagnetism (which
includes radiant energy) is one of only four known powers
governing the universe. The great thing about these forces is
they decay, bond, build and connect in a relatively predictive
and reliable fashion.
In nature these virtues along with the four
elements of earth, wind, water and fire are in one spectrum,
nurturing, supportive and dependable.
If you truly understand
the philosophical meaning of “sustainability,”
you must also understand how words like “nurturing, supportive
and dependable” partially define renewable energy system.
So how does this relate to radiant
cooling and heating
systems?
Well, it just so happens that relative to the
industrial quality temperatures we create with combustion and
compression, the non-industrial temperatures we need for
people and buildings are readily and freely available in radiant dependant
renewable energy systems. You see the biggest radiant cooled and
heated surface known to mankind is the one we walk on every day
– it’s called earth; and just below and above the earth surfaces
in relatively short distances one can find all the low-grade
thermal energy we need without having to generate
industrial-grade temperatures.
In order to engage these readily available
non-industrial grade temperatures, we need to detach from our
traditional use of small surface area heat exchangers and engage
the use of large surface area heat exchangers. Why? Because
relative to the energy flux in buildings (Btu/hr/ft2 or W/m2),
in heating, a high flux served by a small exchanger needs a high
source temperature; and in cooling, a high flux served by a
small exchanger needs a low source temperature. Mankind to the
detriment of earth’s ecosystems has found it convenient to
obtain these high and low temperatures through the burning of
fossil fuels. However, with large surface area heat exchangers
we only need
tepid temperatures similar to those found on and in
the
human body – and these low-grade tepid temperatures can be
found in renewable
energy systems.
So where can you find large heat exchanger
surface areas which only need low-grade heat? Well, of course
the floors, walls and ceilings of spaces. As it happens,
controlling the surface temperatures of interior spaces falls
directly into the health
sciences of thermal comfort in a subset study defined as
the mean
radiant temperature. According to exhaustive medical
research the human body exchanges
50% to 60%
of its sensible energy with the surrounding environment via
radiation; ergo it only makes sense that we control the
radiant exchange; and we can do this with a combination of
building enclosure performance,
interior design and
radiant-based HVAC systems.
At the end of the day, radiant
floors, walls and ceilings enable the use of low-grade heat,
which supports thermal comfort with energy systems that are
nurturing, supportive and dependable…and, to me, that has always
made so much sense.
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Interested in having a dialogue about
this topic? Post your questions at the
Uponor blog where I'd be happy to engage in a Q & A
session with you.
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