subject: The Green Approach to Heating a Home [print this page] The Green Approach to Heating a Home The Green Approach to Heating a Home
Pellet Stoves use sawdust or switchgrass tablets as fuel. Sawdust is a wood waste and switchgrass lacks enough nutrients for farming. So, in fact, you are making use of discarded by products. Pellets take up less storage space than cored wood and release less pollution and carbon dioxide than most wood stoves. There are no harmful fumes associated with the burning of pellets. One ton of pellets equals the same heat time as one core of wood.
Other than the expense associated with the installation of an active solar heating system, solar energy costs next to nothing. The sun's energy is gathered in a metal panel with a glass top. The sun shines in and in doing so, captures and heats the air. The heat is then transferred to pipes filled with liquid or air tubes and is then sent throughout the house using pumps or fans. As little as two hours of direct sunlight a day, can heat a home.
Geothermal heat pumps, or GSHP (ground source heat pumps), counts on a mild underground temperature to pump heat to and from the ground. Geothermal energy removes heat from the ground or the air. Since the heat comes from the center of the Earth, no energy conversion is necessary. A heat pump can provide both heating and cooling options. When used as a heat pump, the outside coil is the evaporator, and the inside coil is the condenser; and, the opposite is true during the cooling method. Depending on your location, the Earth's temperature runs between 45 and 75 F. For every unit of heat removed from the ground, as much as six units of heat are created. Heat pump technology continues to be of considerable interest because of the growing improvements to this home heating technique. Though the system is not cheap, it is easily obtainable, pays for itself in as little as 5 years, and is considered a valuable improvement to your home. You will see this reflected in your home's resale value, as well as improving its marketability.
When making a decision to heat your home as eco-friendly and cost efficient as possible, a comparison of specific outcomes from pellet stoves, solar heating and geothermal energy must be made. Weigh the cost and the result of each. In doing this, you will find the most effective and environmentally non-evasive process for heating your home.
