Proposal: Utility Building

[msimerson]

Functions

Wood Stove / Furnace / Boiler

1. Wood stove in the lodge is a significant fire risk, among our greatest.
2. New stoves must be EPA 2020 certified
   1. Requirements are getting stricter about smoke emissions (now: 20%)
3. Current stove useful lifetime is about 15 years (3 yo)
4. proposed wood boilers are 90%+ efficient
   1. ~200,000 BTU/hr, huge woodbox reduces reloads to 2-3x per weekend
   2. most have built-in propane fueled starter
   3. Vedolux Lambda 650, $13k, 220k BTU/hr, 92%, 7.5 cu/ft box, 770 gallon
   4. Flöling S3 Turbo Boiler 50, 163k BTU/hr, 7.4 cu/ft box, 600+ gallon
   5. Classic Edge 760 Titanium HDX, $13k, 245k BTU/hr, 90%, 23 cu/ft box, 330 gallon
5. Indoor Air Pollution from existing stove
   1. occasionally smokes up the lodge
   2. always emits fine particle pollution inside the lodge
   3. often creates a stink cloud outside the lodge
6. it takes up a huge amount of space in the drying room
7. feeding it is messy and the mess is indoors
8. being in a commons area, it is "too accessible" and gets tampered with
9. necessitates a "heat tube" and chimney in the middle of the lodge

Wood Room

• house and dry 2+ years of firewood (cure time target: 18+ months)
• waste heat from the wood boiler would help dry the stored wood
• current wood room
  • houses about 1.5 years supply, limited space requires shuffling wood each season
  • leaks a lot of heat from the basement
  • is a mouse super-highway into the lodge
  • could be repurposed

Electricity

• dedicated room for a propane generator
  • sufficient to power the Lodge & Zoo
• space for an electric main transfer switch (mains <-> generator)
• optimal: combine genset with battery. The battery is fantastic for handling startup loads and permits a smaller generator. Combined with battery storage, the generator runs only to charge the battery. The generator runs only at peak efficiency and uses up to 80% less fuel.
• lodge electrical feed comes via this building
  • moves transformer away from the Lodge
  • removes power pole and power line from lodge area

Water Treatment

• booster pump
  • sources of water leaks in the men's room (bleeding, condensation, etc.)
  • eyesore
  • noisy
  • pro: in Men's room, we can hear when it behaves "differently"
• sediment filters
• water softener (to avoid mineral deposits in water treatment equipment)
• UV sterilizers
  • in current location, they are difficult to access and maintain
  • current location has too little space to put in larger treatment options

Water Heating

• present water heaters
  • (3) electric in the bathroom/shower area (100+ gallons)
  • (2) propane tanks in the kitchen (100 gallons)
  • the tanks consume a lot of space and take a long time to fill and empty
• proposed water heaters
  • use a heat exchanger with the wood boiler to pre-heat potable water for the lodge
    • uses our abundant biofuel (wood) to reduce electric load
  • a hybrid heat pump water heater
    • up to 3x more efficient than plain electric
    • dries the air and the stored firewood
    • can be used to warm portions of the lodge when unoccupied
  • replace WH tanks in the lodge with mini-tanks or tankless heaters (boosters)
• much less water needs to drain for winter shutdown

Building Features

• fireproof design, inside and out
• easy to clean up wood mess
• efficient heat distribution
  • glycol lines carry hot water to zones that demand heat (Lodge, Zoo, Sauna, etc..)
• water treatment room can be kept above freezing with minimal expense
• waste heat from wood boiler dries stored wood
• uses water in distribution pipes and 800 gallon tank for heat storage

Pros

• frees up the wood room
• allows removing existing furnace from Lodge
  • doubles the space in the drying room
  • removes a fire risk from the lodge
• removes the plumbing mess from the men's room
• uses wood to preheat water, reducing use of electricity and propane
• removes much of the electrical mess in the pantry
• right sized generator permits switch to electric ovens and stove, using less propane in the kitchen

Cons

• large investment
• Meany doesn't have hydronics experience

[msimerson]

[msimerson]

The SketchUp file: Meany Works Utility Bldg.skp.zip