Home-heating advice can fuel savings
By: JEANNIE GRIMWOOD
There are different home-heating systems that can save you more money on fuel costs. Those of you that are using wood stoves can get even better use of your burn time by the following methods.
Before every heating season, have chimney stacks adequately cleaned to aid drafting and prevent stack fires. Green and unseasoned wood causes greater creosote buildup, which results in other problems. It reduces combustion and increases the hazard of a fire. Layers of soot inside the stove reduce heat transfer to your home. Cleaning out the inside of your wood stove improves heat transfer. Chimney brushing can take from 20 minutes to several hours depending on stack length and complexity.
Install a “wetback” or water-jacket system to your wood stove. Heating household water through your woodstove is a good money saver. Some stoves come with accessories to attach water pipes. Installation time depends on distance between the stove and hot water heater.
Fuel-efficient heating systems are another way to save. Small forced air space heaters such as Monitors are excellent for smaller homes. They use minimal amounts of fuel to heat spaces. Remember to always use with surge protectors to protect electronic components. For hot water heating, Toyotomis, solar hot water heating and boilers with at least a three-pass heat exchanger will bring the greatest fuel economy. Toyotomis are on-demand water heaters. They are very durable because of simpler components and also have very low fuel consumption. Solar hot water heating can reduce fuel consumption 65 percent and even higher. New technologies make solar more usable even with minimal light levels.Viessmann has new solar technology available to connect with existing hot water systems.
•Lastly, boilers are the most multi-purpose. They can be used in large homes and complex floor plans. They are useful for in-floor heating, baseboard heating and solar heating. They can be 90 percent efficient if installing a three-pass boiler. Single pass boilers tend to block up more readily.
Jennie Grimwood has been married to a plumbing and heating contractor for 20 years. Chris Grimwood has more than 30 years experience in plumbing and heating in New Zealand, the Lower 48 and Alaska and operates Kiwi Mechanical Plumbing and Heating.
The above article is adopted from www.thecordovatimes.com. Please refer to their site for other good information on various other subjects.
