Jim Todd is a noted vocational technical educator in Waterbury, Conn., with more than 20 years' experience instructing plumbing and HVAC apprentices. He is a contributing editor for NORA and co-authored a text on air conditioning. You can reach Jim at mrheat@optonline.net.
A friend of mine had been working on a solar heat system using a Fresnel lens to generate steam. His thought was to heat large buildings by directing magnified levels of solar energy on a collector, and his proposal included a set of pen and ink drawings of our state capitol.
Fire safety. Now there's a merit badge in the making! We are surrounded by heating appliances that rely on a flame to work, but we take for granted that they'll all work safely.