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You are viewing a single post made by subarctic in the thread called Greenhouse floor slab insulation?.
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Sep 27, 2021 12:43 PM CST
Name: Chip
Medicine Bow Range, Wyoming (Zone 3a)
Mounted a surplus flat-plate collector at a steep angle (for winter sun) and attached it to a loop of PEX tubing filled with 50% glycol to prevent freezing.

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The small PV panel drives a DC pump that circulates the glycol solution through a 400 gal. water tank under the floor— the heatsink.

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With good sun, water temps in the heatsink can get above 120°F. An AC pump circulates the hot water through a maze of PEX tubing in the sand floor.

I also mounted four black tanks on a south-facing wall, as passive heatsinks. They're also the source for watering plants, so there's no conventional plumbing.
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Took apart a quartz radiant patio heater and mounted the elements on the ceiling, on a thermostat, to warm the foliage directly.

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For severe cold, I have a small propane radiant heater attached to an outside tank. It gets used only a few times each winter. I've lost a few plants to cold air leaks at the corner intake vents, but in 12 years it's never frozen inside.

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