System Role Call
I have had a few people ask me about the various systems we put in place and how pleased we were with our various choices. It has only been a few months, but I thought I would interject some comments for the benefit of those who might be interested.
- Appliances: We have no complaints at all about our appliances choices. We kind of bucked the trend and instead of going with a suite from the same manufacturer, we got each appliance on it's own merit.
- We love the washer/dryer by LG. The steam freshen function is worth it alone. If you get this set, or any front loader, pay careful attention to the level of the machines. It is really quite critical for vibrationless function.
- The cabinet depth fridge is perfect for our needs and doesn't let us collect too many mysteries in the back, like most fridges do.
- The Bosh dishwasher continues to amaze us as to how quiet it is. Honestly, the first time we ran it, my wife and I were both with our ears to the door trying to figure out if it was actually running.
- Lastly, the LG stove is excellent. It was a bit of an adjustment to get used to the ceramic flat top, but I think it is a great product and the gigantic oven is incredible.
- Custom Kitchen: We love it. It is worth every penny.
- Concrete Floors with Radiant Heat: it hasn't been quite cool enough yet to turn on the radian heating system, but I have to say that the floors are very nice. The floor has yet to be treated with anything other than a preliminary sealer. Once the floor is entirely cured we will likely consider another sealing to resist absorbing spills, but the smooth feel to the floor and the comfort of walking on it is surprising. Our utility room in the basement slightly heats up the concrete directly above it and it is entirely decadent to walk there in bare feet. We look forward to a full test in the late fall.
- Passive Cooling: The day of our open house and a few other selected days in August put the design of the house to the test as far as cooling was concerned. We fared pretty well, with the House getting only as warm as about 27.5 C at the hottest. That is warmer than most people find comfortable, but with the air movement through the house out the top vent and the air exchanger helping with the humidity, it was certainly bearable. This makes me hopeful, as we have yet to completely enable the passive cooling lines beside the house (since we don't have a back deck yet to protect the intakes). The benefit? Our electrical bill was a third as big as compared to the same period last year. That includes power used for the power tools on site for the last bit of construction. Not too shabby.
- Wood Fireplace: it has not been cool enough to test yet and we still need to find ourselves some good dry hardwood for fuel. I will update on this later in the season.
- Insulation and Windows: the insulation alone has done an absolutely amazing job of moderating the temperature in the house compared to outside. With the windows and doors closed, the house takes days to lose cool or warmth compared to the outside temperature, but with a breeze and the windows open, we can cool down the house in minutes after a hot day. The windows are wonderful and really help keep the house all sealed; their real test will be winter.
- Solar Water Heat: I have been pretty impressed with the heat transfer from the panels. I admit that I have yet to really understand the readings from the controller well enough to determine how efficient it is, but it is nice to see the heat transfer pump going and feel the pipe hotter than is comfortable to touch going into our big heat exchange tank. We have had days in late July where the panels got up to over 100 C in full sun. We will see when we get our first gas bill how that whole system is working.
- On Demand Boiler and related systems: I have been very happy with the hot water and just judging based on the time I see the heater actually burning, we are certainly burning a lot less gas than before. As I mentioned, the gas bill with show us for certain how we are doing. As an aside, we added a circulation pump to our hot water system; one to each of the farthest bathrooms. Every day around when we wake up and when we are having dinner, the pumps circulate the hot water so that when we turn on the taps the water is hot right away. It saves a great deal of water that we would have poured down the drain waiting for hot water. I would recommend it.
- Thermostats on Showers/Bathtubs: this was not specifically a feature we intended to have, but worth mentioning. We ended up getting fixtures for the kids and master bath that have thermostat valves for mixing the hot and cold water, then volume valves for each shower head or bathtub filler. The bonus here, for a family with kids, is that if your toddler figures out how to turn on the water, the temperature will never get hotter than the thermostat setting, thereby avoiding scalding. In addition each thermostat "locks" at about 40 C and you need a bit of extra dexterity to go hotter (push a key and turn). By the time your children master that, they should be beyond the scalding risk age (tall enough and wise enough). Never say never, but it is a little thing that has already come in handy.
It seems I have a long post. I will add more details in follow up posts. Cheers!
