Natural Home Heating

Greg Pahl

Introduction

The oil embargo of 1973 sent shock waves through the United States economy and dramatically inflated energy prices nationwide. While millions of Americans sat in long lines at gas stations waiting for their ration of gasoline, millions of others searched for less expensive, alternative ways to heat their homes during the winter. Many of those people eventually ended up returning to the use of wood or coal in order to stay warm during the winter months, sparking a renaissance in wood and coal stoves as well as furnaces. The search for alternative energy sources also spurred the development of wind-, hydro-, and solar-powered technologies nationwide. For a brief time, it appeared that this country was on its way to making the inevitable shift from nonrenewable fossil fuels to sustainable energy.

But when the embargo ended, oil prices plummeted, and the Reagan Administration pulled the plug on the alternative-energy sector by eliminating the energy tax credits and incentives that had helped to encourage its growth. The budding alternative-energy industry collapsed. Many people continued to burn wood and coal for home heating, but the growing concerns about stove-related air pollution, as well as frustration with the extra labor and household mess, gradually eroded support for these fuels. The return to cheap oil was hard for most people to resist.

Then, beginning in 2000, the California electricity deregulation crisis, along with a sudden increase in the price of natural gas, brought energy issues back to center stage. The sticker shock of the 2000-2001 heating season was still fresh in the minds of most Americans when the tragic events of September 11, 2001 unfolded on television screens across a shocked and horrified nation. As the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapsed in clouds of smoke and debris, a false assumption that most Americans had long maintained--that life in the United States was somehow separate from the rest of the troubled world--crumbled as well. The attacks, and the subsequent U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan, also served as urgent reminders about the dangers of continued reliance on oil, especially imported Middle Eastern oil. It was déjà vu all over again.

Despite the terrible tragedy, the events of September 11, along with the California energy crisis, have had the effect of refocusing national attention on our overreliance on fossil fuels. It has become increasingly clear to a growing number of people that expanding the supply of domestic coal, oil, and natural gas to meet demand only prolongs our dependence on finite, nonrenewable resources. This strategy simply doesn’t make any long-term sense at all. But how can we break our addiction to fossil fuels? The obvious answer--once again--is renewable energy.

What’s more, since September 11, many people no longer view a shift to renewable energy sources as simply an environmental issue. In addition to making long-term business sense, support for renewables has now been elevated to the status of a national security issue. It’s now rightly viewed as being patriotic to support the development and widespread adoption of a broad range of sustainable energy initiatives that will ensure a steady, safe domestic supply of energy well into the future.

The revived interest in sustainable energy issues has also generated increased interest in renewable home heating. That’s a good thing, because it is estimated that one-fourth of all the energy used in the United States is consumed in heating buildings. Billions of Btus are expended every heating season in this country. Unfortunately, most of this energy still comes from nonrenewable resources such as coal, oil, and natural gas. In addition, as we have seen in the past few years, the prices of these fuels are becoming more and more unstable--and the supplies increasingly uncertain. Worse yet, these fossil fuels are now almost universally recognized as major contributors to global warming and a wide range of health concerns. Heating systems in the United States emit a billion tons of carbon dioxide and about 12 percent of the total sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emitted in the nation. Although it’s still hard for many Americans to understand or accept this fact, the end of the fossil-fuel economy is not that far off. We need to face this reality squarely and start to make the transition to renewables sooner rather than later, before the fossil-fuel energy market descends into total price chaos. The California deregulation crisis gives us just a hint of what that would be like. It’s not a pretty picture. That sort of scenario on a national scale is something we absolutely must avoid.

This is an especially vital concern when it comes to home heating. In most of the United States--especially the northern part--heating your home can literally be a matter of life and death. Heating is the largest energy expense in most homes, accounting for almost two-thirds of annual energy bills in colder parts of the country. But how can homeowners reduce or eliminate the use of fossil fuels in heating their home? Although there is no single, easy answer to that question, happily there are many interesting and viable alternatives. That’s what this book is all about. Natural Home Heating: The Complete Guide to Renewable Energy Options is a comprehensive consumer’s guide to home heating systems that rely on renewable sources of energy.

Among renewable sources, the most inexhaustible and cheapest is also the oldest--the sun. And the best way to take advantage of the sun’s heating capacity is to live in a carefully designed and constructed solar home. Unfortunately, the sun doesn’t shine very often in some parts of the nation. And in other, mostly northern regions, even a well-designed passive solar home will almost certainly need some additional source of heat during the dark, cloudy, frigid days of winter. But there’s another problem with the solar solution. Most people (myself included) live in homes that, due to their basic design, take little or no advantage of solar heating.What about us? Are we doomed to rely on fossil fuels until the supplies run out, or until we can’t afford to pay for them any longer? Fortunately, that’s not necessary.

Natural Home Heating covers all of the options for renewable home heating. If you’re thinking about building a new home, you’ll find that there is a wide range of renewable systems that will keep you comfortably cozy on those long winter nights. If you live in a home with less-than-ideal solar design or exposure, you’ll appreciate the information on retrofit strategies that the book offers. And regardless of the type of house you live in, if your furnace or boiler is wheezing through its final days, you can find information in Natural Home Heating about how to choose the best renewable replacement system. For those who live in a mild climate, this book offers some excellent ideas on how to meet both cooling and heating needs with renewable systems. I’ll also offer some energy conservation strategies that will cut your heating bills and increase your comfort at the same time. Every little bit helps. And everyone has a role to play in the national shift to renewables.

We’ll begin this exploration in Part 1 with basic information about what makes for a comfortable home. We’ll look at heat transfer, temperature, humidity, and air movement. Then, I’ll introduce you to the main components of both nonmechanical and mechanical heating systems and explain what issues you need to keep in mind while trying to choose a system. We’ll also take a comparative look at the potential heat sources for a home heating system, such as stoves, furnaces, boilers, masonry heaters, heat pumps and so on. In addition, we’ll check out the fuels that these devices can utilize and their relative advantages and disadvantages. You may be surprised by some of the many options that are available.

In Part 2, we’ll examine the key renewable heating source: the sun. I’ll explain the fundamentals of passive solar heating design, including orientation, absorbers, heat sinks, distribution, and controls. We’ll also look at the basic components that make up active solar heating systems and how they can be combined into a variety of home heating systems. I’ll also explain which strategies are most appropriate for new construction and which are better suited for renovations or retrofits.

In Part 3, we’ll take a look at heating your home with wood. I’ll cover everything you need to know about obtaining, handling, storing, and burning wood. Then, because it’s so important from a safety standpoint, we’ll look at stove placement, clearances, hearthpads, chimneys, stovepipe, and more. Once we’ve covered the basics of heating with wood, we’ll check out the vast array of stoves, furnaces, boilers, combination systems, fireplaces, and masonry heaters from which you can choose, with special attention to costs and comparative advantages and disadvantages.

In Part 4, we’ll examine the exciting possibilities of using other forms of biomass (beyond cordwood) as a renewable home heating strategy. I’ll explain the various fuels currently available, including wood pellets, corn, and other grains. Then, we’ll explore the rapidly expanding world of pellet stoves, pellet fireplace inserts, pellet furnaces and pellet boilers. We’ll compare prices and examine the advantages and disadvantages of these systems.

Finally, in Part 5, we’ll take a look at geothermal home heating and cooling. I’ll explain the fundamentals of geothermal energy and heat pumps. We’ll examine air-source and ground-source heat pump systems. I’ll tell you how to choose the correct heat pump for your geographic location and how to size it and locate it properly. And we’ll also take a careful look at initial installation expenses versus long-term operating costs as well as the advantages and disadvantages of these systems.

Throughout the book, I have included conversations with people who are well versed in renewable home heating strategies. These movers and shakers in the industry will share their comments, observations, and knowledge with you. Along the way, I’ll also offer installation, operation, maintenance, and safety tips that will help you to avoid common mistakes that others have experienced with their renewable heating systems. Although this is not a technical manual, Home Heating Basics will give you the basic information that you need to make intelligent, informed decisions about your renewable home heating options. And that’s an important point. Many people ask, “What’s the best heating system for my house?” The answer, usually, is that you have more than one option. You will need to decide which one makes the most sense for you and your particular situation. To assist you in the process, I’ve included some extra tools at the end of the book. To help you understand system details, a thorough description of home heating terms can be found in the Glossary. For those who wish to learn more, check out the Bibliography for an extensive listing of other books, and the comprehensive listing of additional sources of information included in Appendix 1, Organizations and On-Line Resources.

I hope that by the time you finish reading this book, you will understand that it is possible to switch to renewables and stay comfortably warm, while also saving money and the environment. Living an environmentally sensitive lifestyle does not require you to be uncomfortable. In fact, you’ll find that heating your home with renewables can be a fascinating and enjoyable adventure--as it has been for me. Making this change does require that you become more aware of your choices and that you make informed decisions based on that knowledge. Knowledge is power. And some of that power can keep you quite comfortable in January. So, make yourself a cup of hot tea or hot chocolate (or your favorite beverage), sit down on the sofa, pick up a good book (preferably this one) and settle in for a long winter’s evening. And if you’re a little chilly, throw another chunk of wood in the stove, or perhaps just turn up the thermostat on your pellet-fired boiler.You’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that you are doing your part to help create a more secure future for everyone.