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The test area is in our Bear Creek Dome in the open living room area.

The test area is 16'×16', divided into four 8'×8' sections, with one of those sections divided in half again. The entire area is now covered with a 4" thick concrete slab. The tubes are ½" pex which contain water for the radiant floor heating system. We installed 2 temperature probes under each section directly below the insulation lying on top of the sand base. Two additional probes were placed underground in the soil, one at 36" and one at 84", both of these approx. 10' in from the exterior wall.

Section #3 consists of 2" thick Styrofoam high density insulation (Dow Brand) under 4" of concrete. This is what was used under the rest of the concrete slab.

Section #1 is divided in half. One 4'×8' section has a layer of Reflectix Brand "Bubble-wrap" insulation consisting of 2 layers, each 1/8" thick, of "Bubble-wrap" (3/8" diam. air bubble pockets) with reflective foil film on the top and bottom. The entire thickness is approx 1/4" under 4" of concrete. The other 4'×8' section has a layer of 3/8" thick insulation under 4" of concrete. The black insulation consists of a core component of extruded expanded polystyrene (EPS) 3/8" thick material with a 3mil black polyethylene film laminated to both sides.

Section #4 has a 4" thick Styrofoam high density insulation (Dow Brand) under 4" of concrete.

Section #2 has 1" of polystyrene high density insulation ("Certifoam" Certanteed Brand) under 4" of concrete.

What does this chart show? The insulation under the slab is stopping the heat transfer between the warmer mass above (the air or the slab) and the colder mass below the insulation (the soil). Because we are in a heating climate zone (central Minnesota) we want to stop the radiant heat from going down into the soil and keep the heat (or increase the heat) that is radiating upwardly, into the dome home.

Note: The August 1st reading outside was 30° cooler than the day before, July 31. July 30 was a 100° day and the prior two weeks saw temperatures in the mid 90°'s. Note the 3° rise in the ground temperature at both 36" and 84".

Note: 10-13-06 We are working with the doors open and there is still no heat in the radiant floor. Our plumber will be working on that part later.

Note: 11-29-06 The heat is on! Our plumber hooked up the electric boiler (14kw) and filled the system with reverse osmosis water on 11-27-06. The floor is warm and the space is very comfortable, even on the upper floor. The temperature differences are even more interesting!

Note: 1-8-07 It has been bitterly cold (consistently below 0°) with winds and the insulation was not complete nor the vapor barrier. Substantial amounts of cold outside air was getting inside. The interior air temps at times were in the the low 40's. We then concentrated on sealing the vapor barrier and completing the 16" to 18" fiberglass insulation.

Note: 3-21-07 We are basically done with all of the electrical wiring, exterior insulation, vapor barrier, and lots of special vapor barrier tape. At 7:30 AM we did a blower door test.
After pressurizing the dome interior, we went around the entire inside with a bottle of "smoke". We found numerous air leaks where the vapor barrier tape was not tight, at some areas we foamed (but weren't perfect) and at some sill plates and window corners. Overall, pressurized to 50 pascals, our ACH (Air Changes per Hour) was very low at .06 ACH. The blower door specialist indicated that with what we are doing, the Bear Creek Dome will probably receive a "5 Star Plus" Energy Star rating. We will be conducting another blower door test after the sheet rock and dome paneling are completed.