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Plumbing

Water from the well comes up to the house to a pressure tank.

Plumbing in the house is fairly complicated, carrying water up from the basement to the main floor and upper floor, and then back down again and through pipes under the concrete slab.

In many homes, hot water tanks are the greatest energy user. Instead of a hot water tank, our house has two on-demand water heaters. These are propane-fired Rinnai heaters -- one for the main floor and basement, and the other for the upper floor.

Even with all its complexity, the job of plumbing is made much easier by the use of modern flexible tubing.

Pipes are color-coded. The red and blue lines indicate hot and cold water. The pair of white lines is part of the hydronic floor heating. The green line is a data cable, with phone, TV, and internet lines.

Water in the hydronic floor heating system is entirely separate from the rest of the plumbing system. The hydronic system is separated into five thermostatically controlled zones, and an electric boiler keeps the water at the desired heat.

Rainwater from the roof is collected in a concrete cistern for use in watering plants. To avoid erosion caused by water that has been channelized, any water in excess of the capacity of the cistern is piped to an infiltration trench.

Next:  Electrical...

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