Renewable Energy Sources For Heating Buildings
Renewable Energy Sources For Heating Buildings
It's never been more vital for buildings to be heated with natural sources of energy than right now. Fuel pricing is subject to increases and carbon dioxide by-products certainly are a serious issue. Lowering energy usage and expenses are an increasing priority for many. The good news is that lots of houses can utilise things such as triple glazing, ground-source and air-source heat pumps, solar panel systems and wood burning stoves in order to save both the natural environment and decrease bill costs.
There are two main ways of making use of wood to heat a home. The first option is a stand-alone stove that can be used to warm a single room, and the second is a boiler for the central heating system powered by wood, pellets or chips.
Wood as an energy source is a low carbon option. The carbon dioxide given off when wood fuel is burned is about the same amount as the tree actually absorbed during growth. New trees are grown once the older ones are chopped down and therefore the wood is carbon neutral. Obviously the more locally the wood can be found the better.
Ground source and heat source pumps are also a very good source of eco friendly energy for the home. Ground source heat pumps can be used throughout the year and use pipes buried in the garden to extract heat from the ground. They are used to warm water for radiators and underfloor heating systems. Because the ground remains at a constant temperature, a ground source heat pump can be used throughout the year. In the UK, the normal soil temperature remains consistently at 10-13C at a depth of just one metre.
The pump circulates a mixture of water and food-friendly glycol around a ground loop (a loop of tubing buried in the garden). When the liquid travels around the loop it absorbs heat from the soil. The longer the loop, the more heat can be drawn. The heat pump needs an increase of just a few degrees of the water mix to function. The liquid is then put through a series of heat exchangers as well as a compressor, concentrating the heat, so that temperatures up to 65C are reached. They run on electricity, so there is no need to pay for gas, oil or solid fuels and they perform the best with underfloor heating or warm air heating systems rather than radiators.
Air source heat pumps work on similar principles to the ground source heat pumps but get heat from the atmosphere rather than the soil. They may be fitted outside a house or in the roof and they typically perform better at warmer air temperatures.
There are two main kinds of air source heat pump. An air-to-water system uses the heat to warm water, and an air-to-air system produces hot air which is circulated by fans to warm the home.
Air source heat pump systems are generally compact and require no storage area for fuel but they are less efficient when compared with ground source pumps and they make a tiny bit of sound so should be sensitively positioned.
Both ground source and air source heat pumps generate less heat than traditional boilers, so buildings using these need to be well insulated and draught proofed for the heating system to be effective. That's where triple glazing comes in.
Solar water-heating systems are yet another way of using renewable sources of energy in the home. They work using the sun's energy to warm water and can supply about fifty percent of a home's annual hot water. Solar power panels can be positioned on the roof or ground, taking in warmth from the sun's rays and moving it by pump or gravity, to a water cylinder from where it can be used. Solar power systems perform the best on south-facing rooftops, but can be located elsewhere.
There are many ways to adapt older houses to make them more affordable to run and more eco-friendly. Many new homes are in fact designed with these types of new products in place, but the more that green sources of energy are used for heating all types of properties, the better for absolutely everyone.
If you're looking at environmentally friendly energy, you may also want to consider eco friendly driveways. They are made from permeable paving materials to allow water to drain through, rather than pool and potentailly cause flooding. The aggregate can also be composed of recycled materials such as crushed CD's.
There are lots of ways to make your home enviromentally friendly, and the more that people do today, the better for everyone and the planet as a whole.
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