With outside temperatures continuing to drop, it’s hardly surprising that there is greater interest in finding cheaper, more efficient ways to stay warm this winter season. And sometimes these heating methods take unusual shapes and sizes.
Here are five home heating strategies suggested by Mother Nature Network —some strange, others handy ideas for warming your house for less:
1. Heat the person, not the house
One way to slash your energy bill is by focusing heat on the people in the home, not the house itself. A building doesn’t need to stay warm, but people do. Permaculture bloggers recommend several contraptions for doing this, including a heating mat or dog bed for your feet, a skirt around tables or desks, an incandescent heating lamp, electric blankets, and even a heated keyboard. And of course, you always have the option of wearing a sweater.
2. Warming with compost
Yep, you read right. When mixed right, compost generates heat. Do a quick YouTube search and you will find plenty of tutorials on how to make everything from a compost-heated shower to greenhouses. Although this method probably isn’t very practical for whole-home heating, it could provide a little extra warmth for the zealous composter.
3. Candle-powered room heater
Sometimes it’s amazing how easily we can meet our basic needs. One simple “technology” to generate additional warmth is the candle-powered room heater. All it takes are some tea candles, a metal bread pan, and two flowerpots. If you’re feeling crafty, watch this video on how to make it yourself.
4. Hook up your house to an underground computer farm
If you happen to live above the world’s largest underground city in Helsinki, Finland, then you should probably be harnessing heat from below. The city has expanded downwards, rather than upwards, creating underground parking structures, data centers and more. Excess heat from the computers is piped up to warm the city’s homes. Cool idea, we think, but unfortunately very location-specific.
5. Don’t heat at all
The concept of passive solar heating is gaining traction in many places around the country. Most of these homes use the sun’s energy, along with other heating sources like natural gas or wood. But some eco-construction builders are claiming their homes can run on little to no supplemental heat other than what is harvested from the sun.
Number 6…
While you can’t help but admire those who are so dedicated to reducing their heating bill that they are willing to mix compost or move to Helsinki, here at Gagne Heating & A/C we think there is a much easier (and less messy) alternative to improve the heating efficiency of your residential or commercial space.
We invite you to talk to one of our professional HVAC contractors serving metro-Atlanta about installing a new energy efficient heater in your home. During our free consultation, a Gagne technician will tell you just how much money you can save on your monthly heating and cooling costs, as well as answer any other questions you may have.
And if you’re heater isn’t working properly on these frigid nights, please don’t hesitate to call us at (678) 221-4328 anytime day or night. We serve businesses and residents’ emergency heating repair needs in Norcross, Chamblee, Sandy Springs, Marietta and all communities in the Atlanta metropolitan area.