Mail Archives: geda-user/2018/02/03/09:00:20
Hi all,
Maybe a rather unusual question, but at the moment, I'm "abusing" PCB in
the construction of our new home, intended to rely on 100% solar energy:
we plan to use the ground under the house for storing heat, by laying 3
lengths of 100 m (~300 ft) of tubing in the foundations as a heat pump
source. The heat is collected from PVT panels, a solar collector, and
perhaps even a heat exchanger in the fireplace flue, and then sent
through this underground tubing whenever the underground temperature is
lower than the source temperature.
(As an added bonus, the solar panels and the roof are cooled in the
process, significantly increasing the panels' efficiency, and lowering
the need for air conditioning on hot days.)
The underground tubing comes in fixed lengths of 100 meters, and this is
where PCB comes in: I created a plan of the foundation compartments
where the tubing is laid in meanders or spirals (haven't decided which
is best yet), using PCB's R function (Info -> Report Net Length) to
check the total length of one 'tube'. Whit a bit of trial-and-error, I
can neatly fill in the different compartments up to the total lenght,
observing a minimum bend radius (arc tool, of course).
Question (and the answer is probably 'no', but I'm curious anyway): with
the cursor over the net, is there a way to report the net length up to
the cursor, even when the total length is more? The actual tubing has
markings at every 10 meters, and it would be convenient if I could
duplicate this in the PCB plan -- but it might also be handy when
designing CPU and memory buses for actual pcb's.
Thanks already,
Best regards,
Richard Rasker
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