Thermal System TA

Stoves

I've loved this idea for a long time; the stoves take in air from the outside, preheat it by running it underground, then send it in for combustion. Coming out, it goes through a masonry heater design where the air is forced to twist and turn around bricks to hold the heat.

The chimney extends several feet above the roof and is metal painted black. In the summer this creates a passive updraft using the same mechanism to suck in cool air, chilling the masonry.

Water

This will be the primary means of thermal stability. I'll need to do some calculations to size all the components.

Externally, I can use solar collectors to heat water during the day during cold weather. I can use radiators to dump heat at night. It may be possible for one device to do both.

Internally I can use radiators as a heat exchange. I like the idea of these being copper and wood.

Automation can drive both. Internally I can turn radiators on and off to help balance the temperature. Externally, devices will be used when they will be effective. With some weather forecasting, we can set goals, for instance trying to raise the temperature of the water and the internal temperature higher than usual if cold weather is expected.

Freeze Room

This needs further research, but the initial math looks good. If I were to build a smallish room (12'x12'x10') with very good insulation (~R25) and store a lot of water I could pump cold air in during the winter and get everything to freeze. Then in the summer I could pump cold air out of the space to cool the house.

Roughly, my initial calculation showed that for a smallish house (~1500 sqft) with decent insulation (~R10) one 55 gallon drum of ice could keep the house at 72° with an outside temperature of 90° for about 2 weeks. And I found that I should lose the equivalent of 3 barrels of ice to ambient temperatures in the freeze room.

The freeze room can be used as a large freezer as well, storing frozen food all year long.