AUTOMATIC FLOOR

Radiant Floor Heating, Second Edition

The latest radiant floor heating methods and materials In this fully updated guide, master plumber and long-time contractor R. Dodge Woodson explains, step by step, how to install, test, and debug in-floor heating systems--the healthy, quiet, economical, and clean heating method. Radiant Floor Heating, Second Edition now offers details on alternative fuel sources and covers new material options and installation procedures, updated code information, and state-of-the-art piping and heating equipment. Revised illustrations featuring modern products are included in this practical resource. Get everything you need to: Understand and explain the advantages of in-floor radiant heating Select superior equipment--tubing, boilers, expansion tanks, pumps, and controls Install embedded and dry radiant heat systems in new or existing homes Incorporate hot water heating into your designs Set up heating zones for variable temperatures throughout a house Design a solar-powered system Use alternative fuel sources Provide outdoor ice removal and other amenities Troubleshoot and repair system problems

The latest radiant floor heating methods and materials In this fully updated guide, master plumber and long-time contractor R. Dodge Woodson explains, step by step, how to install, test, and debug in-floor heating systems--the healthy, quiet, economical, and clean heating method. Radiant Floor Heating, Second Edition now offers details on alternative fuel sources and covers new material options and installation procedures, updated code information, and state-of-the-art piping and heating equipment. Revised illustrations featuring modern products are included in this practical resource. Get everything you need to: Understand and explain the advantages of in-floor radiant heating Select superior equipment--tubing, boilers, expansion tanks, pumps, and controls Install embedded and dry radiant heat systems in new or existing homes Incorporate hot water heating into your designs Set up heating zones for variable temperatures throughout a house Design a solar-powered system Use alternative fuel sources Provide outdoor ice removal and other amenities Troubleshoot and repair system problems

THE "GREEN" FISKER CAR.......(SEE PREVIOUS POST WITH OBAMA AND THE GREEN MONEY HOLE) TAXPAYER FUNDED WORSE MILEAGE THAN THE AVERAGE SUV (FORD EXPORER)

Update: Fisker Karma Electric Car Gets Worse Mileage Than an SUV

The Fisker Karma electric car, developed mainly with your tax money so that a bunch of rich VC’s wouldn’t have to risk any real money, has rolled out with an nominal EPA MPGe of 52.

Not bad? Unfortunately, it’s a sham. This figure is calculated using the grossly flawed EPA process that substantially underestimates the amount of fossil fuels required to power the electric car, as I showed in great depth in an earlier Forbes.com article. In short, the EPA methodology leaves out, among other things, the conversion efficiency in generating the electricity from fossil fuels in the first place.

In the Clinton administration, the Department of Energy (DOE) created a far superior well to wheels MPGe metric the honestly compares the typical fossil fuel use of an electric vs. gasoline car.

As I calculated in my earlier Forbes article, one needs to multiply the EPA MPGe by .365 to get a number that truly compares fossil fuel use of an electric car with a traditional gasoline engine car on an apples to apples basis. In the case of the Fisker Karma, we get a true MPGe of 19. This makes it worse than even the city rating of a Ford Explorer SUV.

Congrats to the Fisker Karma, which now joins corn ethanol in the ranks of heavily subsidized supposedly green technologies that are actually worse for the environment than current solutions.

Postscript: I will say, though, that the Fisker Karma does serve a social purpose — Hollywood celebrities and the ultra rich, who want to display their green credentials, no longer have to be stuck with a little econobox. They can now enjoy a little leg room and luxury.

FORBES ARTICLE HERE===================================================================
In a parking lot near Detroit, General Motors is accumulating Chevy Volts. They cannot yet be sold to the public because the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not yet delivered the required mileage sticker for the window. We can, though, get a preview of how the EPA may complete this admittedly tricky task from the mileage numbers they recently assigned to the all-electric Nissan Leaf. The Leaf’s numbers make it clear that this Administration is willing to resort to accounting fraud to promote its automotive agenda.

The traditional metric for automobile efficiency is miles per gallon (MPG) of gasoline used. But what does MPG even mean for a vehicle that doesn’t burn liquid fuel? Most of us would agree that the Leaf certainly does use fuel — after all, something must create the electricity, and in the US that is generally some sort of fossil fuel. So theoretically we should be able to create an MPG equivalent, or MPGe for short, to measure the fossil fuel use of electric vehicles.

For more than a decade, within the EPA and the Department of Energy (DOE), a number of different approaches to this problem have been discussed. With the release of the numbers for the Nissan Leaf, we now know what approach the EPA is taking, and results are depressing for those of us who would like to see transparency and adherence to science in the Administration. This Administration has a huge intellectual investment in electric vehicles and financial investment in the Chevy Volt. Like a shady company trying to pump up their stock by choosing a series of highly questionable accounting conventions, the EPA has chosen an approach that grossly overestimates the MPGe of electric vehicles.

The Nissan Leaf was rated at 99 MPGe. To reach this number, the EPA created a conversion factor between a quantity of electric energy, measured in kilowatt-hours (KwH) and a volume of gasoline, measured in gallons. They did this be dividing the potential energy or heating value of a gallon of gasoline (115,000 BTUs) by the energy in a KwH of electricity (3412 BTUs) to get a conversion factor of 33.7 gallons per KwH. Using this factor, they can convert miles per KwH of electricity in an electric vehicle to an MPGe that is supposedly comparable to more traditional vehicles.

The problem is that, using this methodology, the EPA is comparing apples to oranges. The single biggest energy loss in fossil fuel combustion is the step when we try to capture useful mechanical work (ie spinning a driveshaft in a car or a generator in a power plant) from the heat of the fuel’s combustion. Even the most efficient processes tend to capture only half of the potential energy of the fuel. There can be other losses in the conversion and distribution chain, but this is by far the largest.

The EPA is therefore giving the electric vehicle a huge break. When we measure mpg on a traditional car, the efficiency takes a big hit due to the conversion efficiencies and heat losses in combustion. The same thing happens when we generate electricity, but the electric car i

bathroom: electric floor heating system, complete linen set (bath and hand towels), hairdryer; starter supply of shampoo, lotion, bath soap;
utility closet: iron and ironing board, vacuum & ect.

Electric Floor Warming System used to heat tile flooring. The system is designed to heat the designated square footage when installed in mortar under tile or masonry flooring. The heating mat is simply layed out on the floor in the area you want to heat prior to tile installation. The heating element is less than 1/8" thick, so the rise in flooring height is negligible. This system is BRAND NEW and manufactured by Warming Systems Inc. which offers a 15-year warranty on its product. The wire is pre-spaced at 3". With any floor heating system, if the wire is spaced more than 3" apart, you will feel cold "streaks" on the tile surface. Beware of heating systems that tell you to space the wire over 3".