Heating Vertebrae lodge

The Chatter Creek partners wanted no chimneys to pierce the roof of Vertebrae Lodge. There was to be no obstruction to the shedding of the heavy snowfall that the lodge receives. Further, the partners wanted no open fire in the lodge, except for the kitchen range.

A freestanding, outdoor wood and coal-burning insulated furnace was installed about 30 or 40 ft distant from the lodge. A 200ft buried loop transfers a hot glycol/water mixture to a heat exchanger located in the crawlspace of the lodge. This, in turn, heats a hot water circulating system that supplies four hot water/air heat exchangers that heat and re-circulate crawlspace air. A fifth heat exchanger draws in and heats outside air and creates enough pressure in the crawl space to force heated air into the upper floors, through floor grates. The hot water circulating system also provides all of the hot water for the lodge and for a hot tub.

The following link gives details of the Outdoor Furnace at Chatter Creek and the entire heating system.

In 2004, the system was expanded to heat Solitude Lodge and a second hot tub. An "on demand" propane boiler was added to the system to maintain the glycol loop temperature in periods of cold weather.