Journey Inn
Journey Inn owners, John and Charlene, followed their dream and built a bed and breakfast in the spectacular coulee country of western Wisconsin. They bought a set of twenty-four used Lennox collectors, and we knew just how to install them (they measure 3’X 6’, and they’re tricky). So, their builder constructed a garage with a sloping south wall, and the solar array provides comfortable in-floor heat through the heating season. (24)-collector solar thermal collectors heat a 300-gallon storage tank and ties into a high mass radiant heating system and provides preheated water for the back-up water heater. A high mass radiant heating system differs from a traditional heating system because it uses a two foot insulated sandbed under the foundation of the house as the thermal storage instead of water tanks. Tubing is installed in the sandbed and heat from the solar collectors is transferred directly to the sandbed. There is no heat distribution system in the house. As the house cools down, heat from the sandbed naturally rises, heating the house.