What's the most energy efficient way to heat your house?
According to the Department Of Environment, geothermal heat pumps are one of the most energy efficient ways to heat and cool a house. They seem to have the additional advantage that they do not require external (to the house) heat exchangers and operate very quietly. They are 50-70% more efficient at heating and 20-40% more efficient at cooling and can reduce electricity use by 25%-60% compared to traditional electric heating and cooling systems. and reduce emissions up to 72% when compared to an electric resistance heating and standard air conditioning systems. Its great advantage is that it works by concentrating naturally existing heat, rather than by producing heat through combustion of fossil fuels. The technology relies on the fact that the Earth (beneath the surface) remains at a relatively constant temperature throughout the year, warmer than the air above it during the winter and cooler in the summer, very much like a cave. The geothermal heat pump takes advantage of this by transferring heat stored in the Earth or in ground water into a building during the winter, and transferring it out of the building and back into the ground during the summer. The ground, in other words, acts as a heat source in winter and a heat sink in summer.
Hello..These isn,t any way to do it. If you seal the house to tight you make it worse, if you don,t seal it enough ..heat loss..i don,t care what kind of windows you have there is heat loss. Over the years if spent a small fortune trying to save energy and guess what the heating Co.,s keep raising the cost of heat. so all the money i spent was for nothing. Im paying 5 times as much to heat my house today and spent a ton on insalation products. So a SOLVED my problem and my future heating problems. because heating will always go up, and up.. I sold the house and moved to warmer climate..the climate is nice all year long and i only have a fraction of the cost for the air conditioners i use at times, The first year i moved i saved over $5,000.00 in heating bills, deducting my air condition cost..taxes are lower also, and in 10 years ill save over $50,000.00 to $60,000.00 that will go back into my savings, and long term investments and retirement fund, not in heating Co,s pockets. It was hard for me to do also but now im glad as heck i did it and i should have done it yeras ago...So good luck with the heating problem , i just thought i would share my solution with you that i made about the big house i was heating each winter..
there are alot of variables with this type of question...alot depends on how much money you can through at the issue,is it an existing house or new home construction? one of the best ways, if you are in a practical geographic location, is the use of a high efficient heat pump system. you can get some very very efficient ground/water sorce units but the initial cost of these systems for either a retro fit or a new home can be very very high, one of the best for efficiency though. air to air heat pumps are also a very good way to go especially if you were concidering central air conditioning as well because they do not cost a whole lot more then an a/c system and do the same job plus they heat as well (basically they are an a/c unit that will also work in reverse and move heat from the outside and bring it inside) air to air systems are not practical in areas that the temperature stays below -8 degrees celcius for long periods of time as they will end up running on the back up (usually electric or natural gas) for extended periods, but if that doesn't bother you then go for it. best thing to remember on any heat pump is to not cheap out on the system, you truly do get what you pay for with these units and it is also very important to spend the extra dollars on a top of the line thermostat to control it. it takes awhile to get used to the way these systems heat but once you do you will never go back.
Actually the answer is not to heat your whole house, just heat the portion you are using the most. Most homes are not only overheated in terms of too high a temperature but some are also overheated in the sense that large areas that don't even get used regularly get heat. The best thing to do is to use as little heat as possible and put on a sweater if you are cold. The body adapts quite amazingly and its cheaper and better for everybody. Make use of the sun's heat as much as possible too. There are many ways to do that. Architecture can make a big difference here.
Make sure your home is well insulated. Insulation helps keep heat in during the Winter and keep it cool during the Summer. Turn your heating dial down 2 degrees from what you normally have it on. Two degrees doesn't make much of a difference, but it'll help you save a lot on your energy use. DON'T use personal heaters. Blankets are always better. Truthfully, they use twice as much energy as your regular central unit. Turn your heat down as low as you can stand it at night. Stay warm by using extra blankets and using a water pouch full of warm water. You stay warm during the night, and you can always kick the heat up some when you wake up. Not only is this energy efficient, but it'll also help you save a lot of money on your utility bill.
