Alternative Home Heating Sources Basics

Alternative Home Heating Sources Basics There are many alternative home heating sources that are out there for you to consider. Many people are looking for cheaper alternatives to natural gas as well as electricity, and there are many available. Some of them are more feasible than others, but they do take into account the environmental ramifications as well as personal cost savings that these alternatives may provide in the long run.

Solar heating panels as alternative home heating sources can be very efficient and very environmentally friendly. In most cases these do need to be replaced about every 20 years and can be very effective depending on the style and the materials that they are made of when it comes to home heating efficiency. Make sure that you look into the manufacturing as well as consider getting a sun tracker that will move the panels so that are at maximum absorption when considering this alternative to fill your needs.

Wood pellet stoves make excellent alternative home heating sources as they are able to provide heat at a much lower cost. These are also more environmentally friendly as they primarily use wood waste as opposed to needing new wood to work. Make sure to analyze the safety as well as the in home needs when looking into pellet stoves. However you must take into consideration how efficiently that they will heat as well as if your home will be able to accommodate them easily.

Geothermal may be one of the alternative home heating sources that you are considering, but this is easier said than done. This alternative does seem to work best when it used in conjunction of another heat source in order to maintain its efficiency. It is much easier to start a home with this type of heating than it is to add it on as the installation of pipes 6-9 feet below the ground and under your home will need to take place for this type of heating to work best.

Wood burning stoves as alternative home heating sources have one major drawback and that is that they are not very environmentally friendly. Otherwise, they do not have to take up a lot of room and in most cases these stoves can use the existing chimney that is for the furnace if there is one. These stoves work very efficiently and can produce a lot of heat, however they are in constant need of fresh wood and this is somewhat damaging to the environment.

These are just some of the various types of alternative home heating sources that are out there. In most cases these sources are more environmentally friendly and cost effective than the two predominant ones that are currently being used. Remember to look at the overall savings that switching to an alternative heat source will provide, not just looking at what it will cost to switch and making a determination based on that. Not all alternative home heating sources are going to be more cost effective, however for the most part they will be less dependent on our fossil fuels and more dependent on renewable resources.

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Alternative Heating Methods for the 21st century

Alternative Heating Methods for the 21st century With the cost of energy to rise substantially this year as well as next, millions of people are looking for a better way to pay for their heating bill. Of course, we can’t just flip the switch and have a nice warm home until we do a little research on just what options you have for alternative heating methods.

What options do you have?

Most individual who will replace their furnace this year will replace it with the same type of furnace. If this will be you, carefully consider if this is in fact the best choice for you to make. If you are dead set on purchasing another fuel oil furnace, make sure that you purchase the most energy efficient model available to you. These use much less fuel, whether that is propane, oil or gas. And they use the energy in a more efficient manner as well.

Let’s say that you are up for some change. If you are looking to start saving some money on your heating bill this winter, then consider the options you have. The next step up would be to consider a wood or pellet burning stove. Yes! A fireplace of sorts can be a good choice for heating your home. Homeowners who do so have been able to provide their house with high quality heat for many winter months. If you choose the pellet burning stove as alternative heating methods to use, then you will find a good range of heat control, a good quality heat as well as an easy to control heating system. No matter which system you use, today’s wood burning stoves burn wood or other solid fuels safely, efficiently, as well as cleanly. This makes them an ideal choice for many homes. A note, though: you’ll need to make sure you get the okay from your inspector before using any type of stove within your house and you’ll need to keep your chimney clean.

Looking For More Technology?

If you are, then consider these types of alternative heating methods. One of them is geothermal heating systems. With this type of heating solution, the heat is actually pulled right from the Earths soil. The Earth maintains a constant temperature several feet down, below the frost line. This heat is renewed continuously. It is safe, clean and it doesn’t cost a dime to reach. Well, you’ll need to install a system into your home and you’ll need a bit of electricity to get the heat pumps working, but besides these factors, your heating bill will likely drop considerably with the use of these alternative heating methods. Yet another option that you have as an alternative heating method is solar energy. Whether you tap into it to simply heat your water or to heat your entire home, you are extracting the suns energy to use within your house. This is exceptional because it allows you to better use energy as well as use a seemingly endless supply of energy. Solar energy solutions can actually collect and store energy within the home to use later. This means that you don’t have to have the sun shining down to use the heat that it is providing. Some houses are designed to completely go un-needing of any type of electrical, gas or other fuel type heating help.

Alternative heating methods right for you?

Many individuals find themselves torn. They are looking for a way to lower their energy bill, yet in order to take advantage of any of these types of heating options, you’ll likely need to invest a great deal of money into their installation. Is it worth it? Going from a full dependent system to a completely independent system is also quite worrisome. What happens if it doesn’t work? What happens if something goes wrong? While there are many worries about using any of the methods described here, the fact is that one day, not too long away, the world will run out of oil, and people will be looking for alternative heating methods to use (the growing demand might make the price of alternative heating systems soars, though we're not there yet). Therefore, we can foresee that down the road, alternative heating methods will pay for themselves through lower costs of heating bills.

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Wood stove Installation for Dummies

To ensure a successful wood stove installation, you must consider the chimney, the floors and walls, the stove pipe and the type of wood stove that you are interested in using. The first and most important thing that you need to think about is the chimney. You have to have a chimney. Some people think that you can use a stovepipe through the window or the roof but you cannot. Basically, there are three different installation types for chimneys (see the image below): type 1, type 2 and type 3.

It is important to remember that all chimneys should extend a minimum of 3 feet above the surface of the roof and at least 2 ft. higher than all parts of the building and a maximum of 10 ft. The type 1 method is the most common for wood stove installation in single story homes. With this method you run the black stove pipe from the stove and connect to the insulated chimney at a support box that is located right below the ceiling. The chimney will be stacked until it is at the appropriate height.

The type 2 method of a chimney install for a wood stove installation is commonly boxed in with wood framing, stucco or siding to match the home. This chimney exits the wall and travels along the side of the house. It does not travel through the roof of the home. The third way that you can install a chimney is very similar to the type 1 install. This method is used for a wood stove installation for homes with a slanted ceiling. These chimney installs need a bracket to support the stove pipe at the roof level. The insulated chimney pipe will hang down into the room and then connect directly to the black stove pipe. Many things that you should remember when installing the chimney include the fact that you should only use a UL approved chimney. You should never pass a stove pipe through walls, ceilings, floors and windows. One good thing to remember is that the taller your chimney is the better. The less bends you have in your chimney, the better draft or suction you will have also. By using a cap on your chimney, you will eliminate any unwanted animals like birds from nesting in them during the warmer months.

The stove pipe is another consideration during wood stove installations. This pipe is used to make a connection from the stove to the chimney. The stove pipe that should be used is a single wall stove pipe. There are different thicknesses available that are 22 ga. or 24 ga. These pipes are often painted with a black paint that can withstand high temperatures. However, you can find stovepipes in porcelain enamel colors if you are interested in matching your stove. It is important to remember that the stove pipe should be at least 18 inches from any wall that is combustible, ceilings and furniture. A heat shield can be used to reduce the 18 inch limit. You might need to trim your stove pipe. The best tools for this are tin shears or some type of cutting or grinding tool. If you have the heavier gauge pipe, it can be more difficult to cut. Usually, the heavier gauge pipes use slip joints that are adjustable. These slip joints eliminate the need to have to trim the pipe. When you assemble your stove pipe for your wood stove installation remember to use black furnace cement. This will seal each piece of piping together. There are also sheet metal screws that need to be used at each joint in the pipe. When you attach the pipe to the chimney and the stove, ensure it is secure and tight. You can also use the double wall stove pipe called the clearance stove pipe. This pipe has a stainless steel inside wall and is painted with black on the outside. There is a space between the pipe walls that serve as an insulating layer.

This insulation allows for 6 inches of clearance rather than 18. If your clearance is limited with the pipe, you might want to consider the double wall stovepipe. It might cost a little more, but it is the best option for you. Floor and wall protection is another big consideration when you are looking at a wood stove installation. You must consider proper protection for your floor underneath the stove. If you are installing a wood stove, don’t do it on top of a wood floor, you will start a fire. Your flooring should be a concrete slab, brick, ceramic tile, marble or slate. However, tile, slate, ceramic tiles must be installed on top of concrete or brick also. There has to be non-combustible flooring underneath. The flooring underneath a wood stove should extend around all sides at a minimum of 8 inches. At the loading door, the floor should extend at a minimum of 18 inches out.

During a wood stove installation, the stove should be away from combustible walls. It is recommended that you meet the distance requirement and install protection on the wall that is non-combustible also. Many people like to match the flooring with what they use. If they are using brick for the flooring, then they will run the brick up the wall surrounding the wood stove. If you want to use a UL approved stove shield for the wall then you will need to mount it with spacers with 1” space to the wall. The size of the wall protection needed will depend on the local building codes or the owner’s manual of the wood stove that you use. You might want to check with a retailer if you have any questions about wood stove installations and the types of materials that you should use. Understanding these tips about the chimney, walls and flooring, and the stove pipe will help you determine what you need to do.

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Pellet Stove Inserts vs. Pellet Stoves

Pellet stove inserts or freestanding pellet stoves are considered a wise alternative heating solution for keeping a house warm during the winter. Both of these stoves use pressed sawdust pellets as fuel, but the difference is one based on preference and space. Also both of these stoves can dramatically lower your energy bills by heating your home in a more economical and efficient manner than natural gas, electricity, or liquefied propane (LP) gas. Whether you are choosing to install a pellet burning stove in a preexisting structure or in a newly constructed space, the choice is a wise one that will provide you and your family with a great deal of warmth and some extra cash, once Jack Frosts winds start blowing this winter. The main difference between pellet stove inserts and pellet stoves is the look. From a traditional standpoint, many homeowners choose to install pellet stoves simply for their more authentic look. Pellet stoves are freestanding structures that invoke the feeling of an old potbellied stove tucked into a corner of a living room, kitchen or general store. These structures are perfect for historic houses where homeowners want to keep the charm and warmth of wood burning stoves but lose the mess, smell and hassle. However, freestanding pellet stoves are not only for those looking for a traditionally designed stove, as many stoves are sleek and modern enough to keep even the most modern home warm while seamlessly blending into the chosen style.

Furthermore, freestanding pellet stoves are easy to install after the fact, making them a fast favorite with homeowners currently involved in a remodeling project. Since freestanding pellet stoves require no chimney, a small hole drilled into an exterior wall is all the stove needs to be properly ventilated. Most stoves come complete with internal fans and exhaust systems that will ensure your home and family are both warm and safe.

Pellet stove inserts provide more of a fireplace feel as opposed to that of a stove. Using the same fuel as traditional pellet stoves, pellet stove inserts are usually chosen for family rooms, kitchens, bedrooms and even bathrooms in new construction homes or homes with extensive remodeling projects, since the instillation is a bit more complex than that of a freestanding pellet stove. These stoves are equipped with thermostats that allow you to set the exact temperature you require in your home. The thermostat is in conjunction with a mechanism that feeds pellets to the fire, allowing you to do something other than feed a fire. For this reason, pellet stove inserts are quickly becoming quite popular as a viable option for wood burning fireplaces that require constant attention. Also the clean burning aspect of the pellets is greatly improved over the messiness of wood.

When it comes to which type of heating source to use, the choice is purely personal. Some homeowners enjoy the lovely fireplace look of pellet stove inserts, whereas others take delight in having an old fashioned potbellied stove in their home. Both of these stoves that use sawdust composed pellets for fuel are excellent choices for home heating. Also both pellet stoves and pellet stove inserts allow homeowners to experience the same amount of cleanliness, efficiency and charm to their homes. Make the choice between the two types of stoves based on the desired look, the final costs and the amount of time and effort required in installing the stove into your home. At the end of the day, you will be just as pleased with either choice, as will your family once they enjoy the warmth provided by the stove.

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How to Select a Solar Cooker

A solar cooker is a device that concentrates and uses the heat of the sun to cook food. Solar cookers are great for camping or travel because they require no heat source and are very safe and portable. A solar cooker can be as simple as a reflective sheet of lightweight metallic material that unfolds or as complex as a permanent unit built into the sunny side of a house.A solar cooker will usually fit into one of the following four categories: the solar cooker that concentrates heat from below, the solar cooker than concentrates heat from above, the box-type solar cooker and the indirect solar cooker.

A solar cooker that concentrates heat from below is the easiest to make and also the most convenient type of solar cooker for routine cooking. Most solar cookers that concentrate heat from above are made of large circular reflective surfaces, usually metal. Food is placed in a pot in the center of the reflector which then concentrates the heat of the sun to cook the food. Different types include spherical reflectors, parabolic reflectors, parabolic reflectors combined with a cylinder (like a small oven) and planes of flat interrelated mirrors.

Another kind of solar cooker concentrates heat from above, focusing it like a lens. Lens-type solar cookers are some of the most popular and interesting commercially produced appliances. Many campers use a variation of this type of solar cooker called a panel cooker. A panel cooker is a sheet of metallic material that unfolds to create lots of interconnected reflective surfaces. To cook food, pots and pans are placed on the reflector just like a stove. Another easy-to-make solar cooker of this type is the funnel solar cooker which can be as simple as a sheet of metal rolled into a funnel shape and set in the sun. The pot for the food is then set in the center of the funnel to cook the food with no fire and no electricity.

A solar box cooker is simply an insulated box, often built into the sunny side of a house with a glazed glass top. Food is set in the box in a pan, and then cooks over time much like a crock pot. Sometimes a solar box cooker is combined with a reflective panel to increase its capacity to focus heat. Box-type solar cookers have been in existence for many years and are widely used in home applications.

Finally, an indirect solar cooker is a solar cooker concentrates the rays of the sun to heat a tank of oil or water, which is then used to store energy to cook food. This category of solar cooker includes a variety of applications such as biogas digesters, chemical cookers and solar hot water heaters. The sun in this case is used to create the energy to power whatever secondary source actually cooks the food (biogas, hot water, a chemical reaction) instead of cooking the food directly.

Even if you never use a solar cooker at home, it makes good sense to have one or several on hand: one to keep in the car, one to keep in the garage and maybe a spare packed away in a pantry or cupboard. A solar cooker is a remarkably efficient and effective way to make a meal during a power outage or while traveling or camping when no firewood or gas is readily available.

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How to Find a Great Antique Kitchen Stove

With natural gas and electricity costs rising month by month, more and more people are looking to antique kitchen stoves or picking up an antique wood stove to save on utility costs and become more energy self-reliant. The center of any Victorian or early American home was its antique kitchen stove. The kitchen stove provided warmth for the home and a place to cook dinner or boil a pot of water for tea or coffee. Antique kitchen stoves come in many forms and may burn wood, coal, oil, biomass or natural gas. They can be original and in need of restoration, restored and up for resale or they can be replicas of antique stoves constructed of modern materials and made to modern specifications.

How do you go about choosing antique kitchen stoves that are right for your specific applications? First, think about why you want an antique cooking stove. Is style your main consideration? Many companies sell top of the line replicas of antique stoves that are extremely expensive but also incredibly durable. If your budget will allow for one of these custom designer antique replicas, you can expect to have the stove for the rest of your life. High end homes and gourmet kitchens use these stoves as a selling feature, so if style and resale value are your main goals, a replica stove may be your best bet.

If on the other hand you are looking to an antique kitchen stove to save you money and warm up the center of your home, you might want to consider a new or used antique wood stove. Keep in mind that you will have to install a special chimney for such a stove and that stringent building codes exist for such chimneys. You will also want to seriously think through where you will find your wood supply. Many people make the mistake of assuming that wood will be easy to come by and free, when in fact wood must be located, chopped, stacked safely and then cured for at least a year before you can burn it. Otherwise, you will have to pay for your wood just like you pay for your gas and electricity.

Another option is an antique gas burning antique kitchen stove. When looking for an antique gas stove, make sure you have a ready source for replacement parts and a reliable contractor to install the stove. The last thing you want is a charming little stove that doesn’t work is missing critical parts or is installed incorrectly and has created a fire hazard in the very place where you want to feel safe and warm. Antique kitchen stoves are durable sturdy alternatives to modern gas or electric stoves. They are gaining popularity due their stylish looks and money-saving potential. Do your homework, line up a reliable and knowledgeable contractor for installation, think in the long term instead of what’s cheapest right this minute and you’re sure to find a stove that will give you generations of warmth and pleasure.

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How to choose a wood stove fan

Choosing a wood stove fan can be challenging when confronted with all the choices in wood stove blowers and alternative heating products. Wood stoves operate on the principal of radiant heat, meaning the material the wood stove is made out of actually store heat and radiates it into the room as opposed to fireplaces which tend to lose most of the heat they generate right up the chimney.

While wood stoves have become one of the most popular forms of alternative heating, without a wood stove fan or a wood stove blower the heat may not be distributed as evenly as what is desired. People sitting close to the stove may feel too warm, while other parts of the house will feel too cold. An electric ceiling fan will push the heat down and help distribute it to some degree, but running a ceiling fan all the time uses a lot of electricity. Electricity is expensive and, since most electrical plants generate power by burning coal, using electricity to distribute heat from a wood stove generates a carbon footprint that might be unacceptably large.

The first wood stove blowers resembled simple hair dryers and were basic electric fans positioned over a vent. The only settings available on these early wood stove blowers were “on” and “off” so they didn’t provide a lot of control over how much heat was distributed or where the heat went.

Modern wood stoves use the heat generated by the wood stove itself to move pistons in a special kind of engine that in turn makes the fan rotate and push the hot air into the room. These non-electrical engines, sometimes called “Sterling Engines” are much more energy efficient. They run on the heat generated by the wood stove itself and need no electricity. The energy cost savings from using these self-propelled types of wood blowers can is substantial especially when calculated over several seasons.

Very recently a new kind of wood stove fan has become available that attaches to the stove and runs without electricity or batteries, much like the newer fans that are part of the stove itself. These little self-generating wood stove blowers operate on something called the Peltier effect: the hotter the stove gets, the faster the fan spins. This means that constant adjustment is not necessary. The fan will spin faster automatically when more heat builds up and slow itself down when distributing the heat is not so much of an issue.

The new attachable “Eco-fans” generally sit on top of the wood stove and can dramatically impact the efficiency of the wood stove. Gains of up to 35% in heating efficiency are not unusual. What is especially nice about an attachable Eco-fan is that, unlike early non-electric wood stove blowers these little fans do not rely on blazing hot temperatures in order to move the fan blades. They are sensitive to modest temperatures and moderate temperature changes, thus reducing the amount of wood that has to be burned in order to distribute the heat around the room. So the newest type of attachable wood stove fan not only saves electricity, it saves wood too. The room stays warmer with a cooler stove because of the fuel efficiency and sensitivity of the wood stove fan.

The newer attachable non-electric wood stove blowers are available from a wide variety of retailers and run between $100 and $250 depending on the size of the fan and the materials used in its construction. Chimney fans sit on top of the chimney outdoors and help to induce a draft so a wood stove fire burns more efficiently are also available. Chimney fans do not distribute heat but do help create and maintain it. A good chimney fan uses no more electricity than an electric light bulb but is fairly expensive. A new chimney fan runs about $2,000.

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How to Choose a Gas Furnace for Use with Biogas

Choosing a gas furnace doesn’t have to be confusing or difficult. Natural gas is a popular choice for home heating because it burns cleanly and in many parts of the country it is affordable and easily available. It does need to be piped into a home and fed into whichever gas furnace is installed but once a gas line is run to a house, gas is an efficient and cost effective way to heat a home. Home that are adjacent to landfills or farmland (especially dairy farms and pig farms) may also be able to make use of biogas produced from animal and plant waste.

Every gas furnace comes with an efficiency rating that tells the consumer how good it is at burning the gas fed into it. The most common efficiency ratings are 80%, 90-92% and 97% or above. A gas furnace with an 80% efficiency rating will be the least costly to purchase but will cost the most to operate because it burns more gas to generate heat than a more efficient model. However, if a homeowner will only be in a home a year or two an 80% efficiency gas furnace is probably the best choice. The additional cost of a more efficient model will take longer than two years (in most cases) to recoup through fuel savings.

The most efficient gas furnace (97% or above) is typically not a good deal unless the homeowner lives in a part of the country where the cost of natural gas is very high or unless the homeowner knows the furnace will be used for a decade or more. Homeowners who know they will not be moving can comfortably choose the most efficient model available. Choosing a reputable contractor will insure the correct size of furnace and the most efficient ductwork is installed for maximum home heating comfort.

To use biogas in a gas furnace, it is necessary to insure the biogas generated is of the same purity as natural gas. For homeowners who live on a dairy farm and already have a biogas reactor installed, this means making a simple call the contractor who installed it to make sure the proper equipment is included to refine the biogas for home use. Once it is sufficiently refined, it can be used just like natural gas in any ordinary gas furnace.

In many parts of the country biogas is already used to heat homes, often without homeowners even realizing this. Some communities have been able to tap local landfills and refine biogas for home heating and in rural areas farms sometimes sell it to public utilities for public use. To find out whether biogas is already available in your area, or to find out how to install a biogas reactor on your own farm, contact your public utility or go to the EPA website to download free info on funding.

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How It Works: Outdoor Wood Furnace

An outdoor wood furnace can ensure your home stays toasty warm even during the coldest winter nights, but many would-be furnace owners find themselves confused to how the system works. Instead of not using and outdoor wood furnace to lower your energy bills, help the environment and heat your home, look at this great system as a viable option when it comes to heating your home. An outdoor wood furnace can quickly pay for itself many times over and keep your home a great deal warmer than other, traditional forms of heating, including electricity, liquefied petroleum gas (commonly known as LP gas) and natural gas.

In addition to heating your home, an outdoor wood furnace can also heat your water so that you can retire that energy and money sucking hot water heater and enjoy hot water without the cost. Just like a traditional hot water heater, you can set a thermostat on your outdoor wood furnace to keep your water at an exact temperature that is safe for you and your family. If you have a recreational body of water to heat, such as a spa, hot tub or pool, your wood furnace can heat the water quickly and easily. Adding a hot tub or spa to your home can be quite expensive after the fact, once your energy bill arrives and you see exactly how much it costs to heat water to the proper level to ensure bacteria, molds and fungi are killed. Instead, use your outdoor furnace to heat your new toy without costing you an arm and a leg.

An outdoor wood furnace sits up to 500 feet from your home or any other building that you intend to heat, allowing you to move the noise away from your home. Most furnaces that are located outdoors pump heated air to the structure that is to be heated via underground pipes. These pipes are insulated so that the air being pumped to the structure stays hot. Once the air enters the structure, it travels through traditional heating systems, including a radiant baseboard, a forced air furnace or a radiant floor system to heat the building. In addition to heating your home, this furnace can also heat outbuildings, so that your greenhouse, storage shed, garage, pool house, boat house, guest house, barn or workshop is toasty throughout the winter season.

By burning wood, you avoid consuming fuels that are dwindling in the environment. Fuels like natural gas, LP gas, coal, and kerosene are limited and cannot supply the planet forever. By using wood, a renewable resource for your heating needs, you work to help the environment instead of hurting it. Furthermore, burning wood does not produce any excess carbon dioxide, which is produced when fossil fuels are burned and attributed to causing the greenhouse effect, where hot air is trapped on the earths surface, slowly raising the environmental temperature and melting polar ice caps. Finally, burning wood helps forests and serves as a pruning effect on overgrowths so that trees can expand and grow to their full size.

Just like a traditional furnace, those that burn wood feature a standard thermostat that allows you to control the temperature inside your home easily. Once the thermostat is lowered, the furnace is told to stop adding wood in order to lower the temperature. Conversely, once the thermostat is raised, the furnace will add more wood to the fire in order to increase the temperature. Although the furnace uses wood, the constant attention required for wood burning fireplaces is nonexistent, since the outdoor wood furnace is capable of both controlling temperature and adding more wood on its own.

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How do solar collectors work?

Solar collectors are essentially composed of a flat box made up of a transparent cover, an insulated back plate and tubes containing a coolant. They work on the principle of the greenhouse effect – solar radiation that comes into contact with the surface of the collector is transmitted through it and trapped inside the box. The coolant sealed inside the tubes warms up, allowing the heat to be used for various purposes, once the fluid has been moved to a storage tank by a circulation system. Usually, these tubes are made from copper and are situated over a back plate which has been painted black. This helps more solar radiation be collected. Insulation is placed on the back and sides of the collector to prevent heat from escaping.

Generally, these solar heat collectors are used to heat water. Solar water heating systems can be used in place of conventional home water heaters or to provide heat to homes and buildings in the same way as a conventional radiator. There are two main types of solar water heating systems – closed loop and open loop. Open loop systems use water as the coolant, which circulates between the storage tank and the solar collectors.

If the temperature is likely to drop below a certain level, it's necessary to use a closed loop system. The major difference between this type of system and the open loop type is that the water is replaced by a coolant that won't freeze while it's in the solar collectors. This coolant is often oil or refrigerant. Closed loop systems are more expensive than open loop ones and it's important to make sure that the water doesn't become contaminated with other fluids. Generally, the energy captured by the coolant in the solar heat collectors is transferred to the water via a heat exchanger to prevent this.

Collectors can be an important component of a direct solar heating application, or they can help heat water that then flows through radiators. In some cases, the water that has already been heated by the collector is then further heated by a boiler then circulated through radiators to provide heating.

It's also possible to use solar energy collectors with air distribution systems. This works in a similar way to a system distributing heat with hot water, but an air duct and blower are included. The air is passed over a coil when the temperature in the storage tank is high enough carrying heat through the building. If there isn't enough heat stored in the tank to make a difference in the temperature of the heating space, then the air will not be moved over the coil.

Solar collectors aren't always enough to heat a house by themselves. However, they can make a contribution to the heating of a home or other building, allowing conventional systems to use fewer resources and do less work. In the long run, this saves a lolong run, this saves a lot of energy and can even help you save money, no matter which strategy you use.

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