Neat!Originally Posted by MacEntyre
I've seen more and more heat exchangers using heat-pipe technology, but I can't find a GOOD description on the "core" of the ERV's. Do they use heat-pipes? traditional stainless heat-exchanger?
My little house gets SO humid in the summertime. I'd love to see an air-exchange system that would fix the prob.
closed cell foam is mostly filled with air, and 1/2" of good ccf is going to be as warm as 3"+ of down.
You might want to get a mechanical contractor to look at your air conditioning. If it is over-sized for your demand you will get short run times that doesn't allow for proper dehumidification. If you have natural ventilation you will have the same moisture content you have outside. Say you were using some passive cooling system with natural ventilation. As the air gets cooler in your house the amount of water vapor it can hold is reduced resulting in a higher relative humidity. Say you had an 80d day with 50% RH. If you take the same air and cool it down to 74d without removing any moisture (dehumidification) you would have a 70% RH which might feel pretty humid.
The most efficient systems on the market right now are the variable speed fans with two stage condensers. These give you a long run time with low energy consumption for good humidity control while still having the capacity for those really hot days.
Thanks, JSquared..
Right now, I have NO central AC. I live in a small, partly earth-bermed house in the middle of nowhere...
The house stays cool, but gets very humid (for the reasons you mention above!). When Mac mentioned the ERV's can dump excess humidity, it made my ears perk up. If they can drop the excess, and I can run my dehumidifier on those wet wet days, I think I'll be good!
Sounds like you really know what you're doing, when it comes to AC! Have you ever worked with ERV's? Are they a new thing? I haven't had a chance to do much research since I posted yesterday, but they sound great. Low energy consumption, and can "save" your humidity levels in the winter, or "dump" the humidity in the summer!
Mac: I'd love to stop by & see, but I might need to take a few vacation days to do it.
Perhaps this should be an off-topic thread... hmm.
Just contacted Cabot about samples and a price quote for a roll of thermalwrap. If this stuff does what it says and is decent to pack, I'd prefer it over down. Not to mention that to make an underquilt out of this will be a thousand times easier than with down. Just sew a waterproof cover on it. You may not even need a quilt too. Since it works while compressed, you could just use it like a pad, only it won't be rigid in any way so it won't disrupt comfort. Or slide it in between the layers.
The only problem is that, living in Japan, there's no way I could pull off a group buy. Maybe someone will step up, that is if it's good stuff? Otherwise, it'll be about 6 months before I'm stateside. My needle threadin finger gets twitchy though ya know?
You can get much farther with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone. -- Al Capone
Here's the email I got when I requested a price quote from Cabot International. Cody,
Nanogel Thermal Wrap blanket sounds like a great use for insulated
hammocks. Unlike other insulating materials, under compression the thermal
conductivity of the blanket actually goes down (meaning it will be a better
insulator). One thing to note, the blanket is a bit dusty and therefore
you will need to encapsulate it for use. We do not send out free samples
but do sell evaluation quantities; 1 meter of the blanket for $150 plus
shipping. I can process your order with a credit card and have the
material shipped typically within a week. The 6mm roll is priced at
$4/square foot EXW our warehouse in Massachusetts; the approximate price of
an entire roll is $2,200 (a roll contains about 543 square feet).
I hope this information is helpful and please don't hesitate to contact me
with additional questions.
Best,
Shana
Holy @#$%@$%@#$%@#$%@#$%. Maybe 20 yrs down the line it'll be affordable. Plus, the rolls are 56 cm wide and 160 meters long. I'll stick w/ good ole' speer down!
Ya know, on second thought, we're talking about R-values reaching up to 15 or so. This may be one of those times where the money is worth it. I just wish I could get my hands on some of it. Flexability, weight, and durability are all so important and hard to understand without seeing/holding it. Maybe when I get back to the states, I'll run the numbers and see if making a pad out of this (one that would get you down well below 0 deg F) would be profitable and maybe I'll get me one of them fancy cottage company names!
Last edited by Highstrung; 03-17-2010 at 08:26.
You can get much farther with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone. -- Al Capone
I played with some aerogel samples a few years ago. Got excited, bought a gross of "Toasty Feet" (by PolarWrap) aerogel shoe insoles. Tried to sell 'em at T-Days - didn't do well...<g>... If you want a good idea what it feels/tastes/smells like, google "Toasty Feet". Some stores still have them. Like OhNo has posted, it's dusty and the encapsulation is what adds weight.
Aspens Aerogel's process produces a felt like material which "holds" the aerogel. That felt-like material doesn't "encapsulate"; so, you need yet another bag of some sort. While non-toxic the aerogel dust is VERY fine and will dry out your skin quickly.
Again, if you want to play with some, get a pair of Toasty Feet. Try here: <http://workingperson.com/> use their Search for aerogel - $12.96 If nothing else, they WILL keep you feet warm i like having 12 inches of fiberglass under your foot that doesn't compress.
Lots of the big companies are trying... POE made one; but, stopped...?
Lots of very clever people here. Hope someone can figure it out.
J.D. & SkyDog
Happy Trails,
J.D.
I never drink water. I'm afraid it will become habit-forming.
they are like heaters in your boots, but did not last but about 10 miles on the trail. That is when I found out the aerogel is really dustyAgain, if you want to play with some, get a pair of Toasty Feet.. If I had them again I would just use around camp when really cold.
Yes. They won't take the abuse of hiking. But, it's an inexpensive way to "see" what Aspen Aerogel's stuff looks like and gives you a sample to play with. And, YES, "heaters in your boots" - I want a heater in my pad!they are like heaters in your boots, but did not last but about 10 miles on the trail. That is when I found out the aerogel is really dusty
My sooper-dooper Grand Plan was to parley the sale of Toasty Feet into enough $$$ to buy a big pad-sized piece which I could experiment with. New materials are always being developed and I think the encapsulation problem will eventually be solved. NOTHING provides a better R-value insulation than aerogel. Guy named "Mark Veber" did a comparison here: <http://www.verber.com/mark/outdoors/gear/sleep-system.html>
(That's a loooo0ng read BTW)
Aerogel is so weird! Aspen's amazing breakthru technology to mass produce an insulation material is a first step. If you have the time and a few bucks, aerogel isn't that difficult to make - involves an autoclave. With "raw" aerogel different substrates/suspension materials can then be tried. Of course, major companies are investing tons to do that.
Aerogel, by itself, is like smoke and floats in the air! I still dream of a pad that I could tether onto my pack like a bunch of balloons
Happy Trails,
J.D.
I never drink water. I'm afraid it will become habit-forming.
I found a place that has free shipping for orders over $50, so I ordered 4 sets of Aerogel insoles @ $12.95. Will use a couple of pairs in camp shoes, but I'm willing to sell one or two pairs at cost + actual shipping. PM me if interested.
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