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You can get propane and CO/CO2 leak detectors at about any RV dealer, given your parents' age and possibly diminished sense of smell, might be a good idea. And smoke detectors, if they don't have them already. Although personally, I like oil. Yeah, spills can be nasty, but it won't explode.
Geo-Thermal could work, but...
It's a gigantic plumbing system, so you have the cost of excavation, laying all that pipe, making sure every joint is tight. And if it springs a leak, you gotta dig it all up again, to find and fix the leak. And since G-T is basically a heat pump, you'll be working the HP unit year around, for heat in the winter and A/C in the summer.
More insulation and plugging all those air leaks around outlets, windows, etc., is probably the best payoff. Lower the thermostat and close off rooms you never use. This past winter I put an electric space heater in the family room and the bedroom, and left the thermostat at 60.
A lot depends on your location (are your winters mild or severe), how much solar heating you can expect, and what your alternatives are.
Don't forget that new gasoline fueled electric generator..for the days the power will be out....ha ha.
snorpus: Down here in Mo-town...geothermal is about 40/60 k....10 grand a hole...
and if I remember correctly, we had about $1,400 of kerosene in mom's tank...that could be re-cycled to the 'waste oil collector for about $ 0.25 per gallon. .25 X 600= $240.00
might cover part of the cost of that heat conversion.
My kids have their orders...we phone everyday...if they don't get an answer...come and bury our bones and say goodbye...no interference with our living...period.
If your family needs to re-group for some reason in the future, I imagine they would do that at Mom and Pops in Wv...that kerosene tank might come in handy for several reasons.
sustainable, ready fuel that could be bartered if necessary...I would do as mom says, put in a kerosene heater and keep that tank on the full mark...
Yeah, I was thinking of that. I'm hanging onto the stove in the kitchen, and I'm keeping the outside tank. But to try and find a suitable kerosene stove has been the pits. The brand at a Gassaway hardware stove is KeroWorld. What type of heating do they use in other countries....like Northern Europe or Japan? Just curious.
Have that hardware store order that model I suggested...or I'll bet you can google it and order it on line...
just a simple fuel line connection (Brass fittings that seal) and the vent is regular 4" double flue through the wall.
115 volt receptacle for blower...Automatic thermo...has it all and is the right size.
My parents finally gave up the wood stove for a wall mounted natural gas heater. The heater is better looking than I thought that it would be and is fed from a tank outside. It heats beautifully. The only problem that I have seen is in purchasing the gas. You have to purchase early to get a good price and sometimes you have to wait for weeks to have the tank filled, so its not a good idea to run out.
Electric fireplaces don't generate a whole lot of BTU's. Older people tend to feel the cold more.
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