Heating sources (houses, living in, vs.)

[corel]

What is the best heating source for your home?
Are you aware of any "green" methods of heating? What alternatives to oil firewood, and electricity are being used in the area?
For example on a self-sustaining homestead what would be used?

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by corel

What is the best heating source for your home?
Are you aware of any "green" methods of heating? What alternatives to oil firewood, and electricity are being used in the area?
For example on a self-sustaining homestead what would be used?

There has been some use of geothermal heat exchangers around here but not alot. Some people use coal or wood pellets. Some even burn peat. Gas (mostly LP) oil and electric are still the big three. Wood is starting to to make a significant comeback though unless you have a place to store it and are young and healthy enough to cut, split ,stack and carry wood every day all winter it may not be a practical solution for you.

[corel]

Anyone there have success using a stirling engine?

[Coaster]

Originally Posted by corel

Anyone there have success using a stirling engine?

For what?

[corel]

To power heating. I know it has mutiple applications... but I'm not sure if or how it could be used for heating. I'm still studying/researching the possibilites.

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by corel

To power heating. I know it has mutiple applications... but I'm not sure if or how it could be used for heating. I'm still studying/researching the possibilites.

Maybe in Southern California, I highly doubt it in Maine (Southern or Northern). They are too costly right now to build one large enough to amount to anything and the temp difference has to be at least 7C which might be a tad hard to achieve when it is -35C outside already. I personally wouldn't want to use any of my houses heat to go toward the difference because I have NEVER seen a unit where it gives more heat or power than it takes to run it. I too am waiting to see how these may work in the future, but I doubt I will ever see it being used for a heat source in a true cold climate.

[corel]

I think the trick there would be to bury half of the engine so the difference would come from the above ground temp vs. under ground. And yes, you're right it will have to be a monster of an engine.

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by corel

I think the trick there would be to bury half of the engine so the difference would come from the above ground temp vs. under ground. And yes, you're right it will have to be a monster of an engine.

Hard to do if you get several feet of snow on the ground all winter.

[corel]

lol, good point.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by corel

What is the best heating source for your home?

I am not sure.

We have used peat to heat our Maine home. As well as coal, and woodchips. Of course cardboard and a small bit of wood. And even wood pellets.

I can harvest a lot of wood each year, though so far I have not really harvested any. We simply have had so much heating fuel that we have not gotten down to the wood yet. Managing 150 acres of forest gives me access to a lot of blow downs.

Coal worked well. I became accustomed to burning peat and coal while living in Scotland. However for us coal seems to be the most expensive.

Peat works well, and of course it is free.

Though for me collecting the woodchips last year was by far the easiest, and it is free too.

What is 'best'?

I don't know. I guess anything so long as it is free.