Sustainable heating: Cheaper in the Long Run
posted on 12 July 2011 | posted in
Technology
Sustainable energy sources - from ground source heat pumps to solar to wind - it's the future whether established fossil fuel companies like it or not.
As for my own property, my house has ceiling heating. “WHAT?!”, I hear you cry – “…but heat rises!” Yes it does, and this was my exact reaction when I bought the house, but this was a strange idea conceived by house builders in the UK in the mid 1970s, who seemed to have forgotten primary school physics. By the 1980s, the practise appears to have been forgotten about in housing developments. I would like to have under-floor heating throughout the house, powered by solar panels on the roof. This is an expensive installation in the short term, but I have worked out that it would pay for itself within around 5 years. The idea is that water, heated by solar power, would be pumped around tubing beneath the floorboards. This would give equal heating throughout the house controlled by thermostats. Under-floor heating is the cosiest heating type for those with no carpets, especially during a harsh winter. Another great advantage is the fact that one does not have any fixed radiators on the wall, which makes more space for furniture. Solar powered under-floor heating is the way forward.
| |
|
|