Heating World

If you don't know anything about pellets then this article is a good place to start as you can save quite a bit of money annually by heating your home with them and a wood pellet furnace. So what are they? Well they are basically 1/4 of an inch in diameter, and range from 1/2 inch to 1 inch in length. It is important that you also have a stove for burning them in. Wood Pellets are normally comprised of spruce or pine, so you are typically burning softwood that has high BTU viability. Another thing that you are shooting for is getting a pellet that has a low ash content, this means that you will be burning cleaner for one and also that you will be required to remove the ash a lot less than some other...

Anyone with a waste oil boiler or furnace knows that its a challenge to supply it with only filtered used motor oil. Its a constant battle to keep up with it because the oil you get can be clean one day and the next day it can be extremely dirty and contaminated with antifreeze or moisture. This is a problem because if the smallest amount of particles get into your oil burner it can really clog it quickly and render it useless. An oil centrifuge is a must have for anyone who truly wants to make their waste oil boiler or furnace last long. Oil centrifuges spin used waste oil at thousands of rates per minute. Since the bad particles are heavier than the oil they settle to the bottom. All the dirt...

When considering a boiler (furnace) for heating your pool, what fuel should you choose? The first thing to consider is fuel storage, unless you have a piped gas supply you will need to have a tank for either heating oil or propane, (LPG) The types of boiler that you could choose are limited to those that burn fossil fuels directly, as above, or electric, which are not really suitable for pool sized volumes of water, unless they are of very high wattage. Of the standard gas and oil burning boilers you would need to compare both the fuel costs, and the efficience of the boiler to make a sound comparison. Basic Facts: - BTU = quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water 1...

Biomass boilers have been around for centuries, mainly as wood burning stoves. Now they pack a new punch as a carbon neutral way of generating heat, helping reduce the amount of harmful carbon emissions. In the last few years it became impossible to get away from the hype about green technologies versus fossil fuel technologies. Solar panels, solar thermal and wind turbines have ruled the headlines with major projects undertaken around the world. However, let us not forget the humble wood burning stove. Although not as flashy as a gleaming white wind turbine rotating at a steady speed over a green hill or a high-tech solar photovoltaic cell generating electricity out of simple sun light, the wood...

Corn Stoves are a great way to provide an alternative heating system for both homes and businesses. These stoves are a great heat source, especially if you live in a farming community or live in the mid west Corn Belt. They also give you the ability to burn corn, a crop grown naturally by farmers all over the US. Corn stoves are stoves that use corn as a fuel. They also are the only type of a stove that can burn almost anything. Fuels burned by them can include wood, grass, soy beans, orange or lemon seeds, cherry pits, rice, and many more other biomass products and wastes. Corn stoves are manufactured in many different different styles, sizes, heat output, the level of automation, and the size of a...

The advancement of modern technology has, indeed, enabled most people to live better lives in almost every area of the world. Everything, from the very difficult task of scrubbing the laundry from the whole family by hand, to the somewhat easier chore of washing the supper dishes, has been made more bearable by the advancement of technology. This fact is especially applicable, for example, to the changes that have been developed in the field of energy consumption. The wood burning stove gave way to the coal furnace. This was eventually replaced by the natural gas or oil home heating units. For many years most people were delighted with these products. The price of fuel was relatively low; so why...

The price of gas going up so high these days people are starting to look into more alternative energy sources to fuel their homes. There are many new fuel sources being talked about these days and with all the talk these days about our global warming crisis people would really like to heat their homes with an environmentally friendly fuel source and one of the more popular upcoming eco-friendly fuel sources are wood pellets. What are wood pellets you ask? Well what pellets are a form of biomass that are created from renewable wood sources such as small pieces of wood that you cannot use and sawdust. There are millions of tons of wood waste available in our country and in Canada and by turning it...

The debate has been raging for years: gas vs. wood burning fireplaces. Fireplaces have always been used for heat, for good feelings, and for a place to gather for a cozy night. So what makes a fire great? The labor of chopping wood to use as fuel, or the ease of simply flipping a switch and having that friendly glow illuminate your living room? Of course, there are pros and cons to each, but how does a person choose between them? Wood Fireplaces Whether your idea of a perfect fire is cuddling in front of a warm fire or reading the paper in the evening after a long day of work, a wood-burning fireplace is a great choice for you. If you live in an area that receives freezing temperatures, then...

Reasons for Firewood There are many reasons for using firewood as a source of heat and beauty. It has a low cost or can even be free if you have your own source. It is a renewable resource and, if properly harvested, can be helpful to forests and property owners. While most people think of burning wood as dirty, the new high efficiency woodstoves and outdoor wood furnaces are very clean-burning, often reaching over an 80% efficiency rating. It doesn't require electricity. On a cold, snowy night when the power goes out there is nothing nicer than a hot fire to huddle around with your family. The appliances used for burning wood are quite numerous these days. From typical iron woodstoves to soapstone...

Fireplaces are the centerpiece in most homes where all the members gather automatically on winter or cool summer evenings. People opt for the ideal fireplace depending on their requirements. The choices are portable electric fireplaces, outdoor fireplaces where you can use gas fireplace inserts and wood fireplace inserts. Ventless gas fireplaces are all the rage today since they deliver almost 100% fuel efficiency and do not require a chimney. There are options of wall mount fireplaces and freestanding gas fireplaces or a ventless see through fireplace that is a décor enhancer. As far as portable patio fireplaces go, electric portable fireplaces can be a good option though you would have to...

The National Fire Protection Association reports that in 2003 there were 3925 deaths due to house fires. Furthermore, in the United States, someone dies in a fire every 134 minutes. Sadly, while children under the age of five make up only nine percent of the population, they make up seventeen percent of fire deaths. These statistics are downright frightening, but the good news is that there are ways to prevent this from happening to your family. Be aware of potentially harmful objects in your home. There are everyday objects in most homes that are true fire hazards - clothes dryers, furnaces, space heaters, fire places and appliances. To reduce the risk of these items, stay aware of when they...

Suggested Uses for Gas Logs Vented gas logs are designed to mimic a wood burning fire in an open fireplace, offering the same realism in both looks and performance they're best chosen simply for decoration and ambience. Vented Gas Logs are not meant to heat your home - they are designed as a substitute for an open burning wood fire. Vent-free appliances of any kind - including vent-free logs - are designed to be used for short periods of time as a supplemental source of heat. Since vent-free appliances (also known as ventless or unvented) actually "vent" into your room, side effects of long-term use can include excessive mold, mildew and poor indoor air quality. Again, not an appliance that's really...

You can conduct your own home energy audit to reduce your energy bill. Energy prices are rising rapidly due to the natural disasters that hit the U.S. Gulf Coast and disrupted oil well operations. Here's four areas you can easily assess for energy savings. Find Air Leaks In Your Home: Did you know you can increase your energy savings 5 - 30% per year just by plugging air leaks in your home? Here's how youinvestigate air leaks and plug them. Check for air gaps along floor edges and baseboards. Look for air gaps around: - Electrical outlets - Switch plates - Door weatherstripping - Window frames - Attic hatches - Fireplace dampers - Window or wall-mounted air conditioners Here's other places where air...

When it comes to heating a home there are two main considerations that need to be addressed: saving money and ensuring minimal harmful impact to the environment. One way to cut costs on your energy bills and to also ensure safer environment is to make an evaluation of your existing home heating system and to determine whether it needs to be upgraded to a more efficient system. Forced Air Systems, Forced Water Systems When it concerns creating a warmer home there are a number of options to choose from with each option offering a separate set of advantages and disadvantages. For example, you have forced air systems and forced water systems and then there is electric baseboard heat which is a new and...

The never ending rise in heating costs has brought about interest in alternative methods for heating. There are many modern methods to extract energy from nature, but many new technologies such as solar (photovoltaic) panels are far from affordable for the average person. Today's high efficiency fireplaces are very efficient, producing very little emissions. The upfront cost to the homeowner is affordable, and the benefit received is well worth the investment. Similar to woodstoves, wood burning fireplaces can provide enough heat on a single load of wood to heat entire homes for the night. Many fireplaces are capable of 6-10 hour burn times, allowing the homeowner to add wood in the morning to a...

One of the biggest killers in the home is one that you can't see, smell, taste or hear - it is carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is a type of toxic gas that is colorless, tasteless and odorless and is produced as a by product of combustion. Being exposed to high levels of carbon monoxide will kill a person as it works as inhibitor and will prevent the blood from carrying oxygen around the body to vital organs. As you know, your body needs a fresh supply of oxygen to survive and without it, organs begin to shut down. Each and every appliance that burns fuel has the potential to become a deadly producer of carbon monoxide and if this leaks into your home it can have fatal effects. Appliances that can...

Tired of paying those high fuel bills to heat your home? If you don't mind some hard work, you might be able to save a bundle by switching to wood as your primary heat source. There are many other benefits, as well. Let's explore some of them. Saving Money Depending upon how much work you are willing to do, you can save a bit or a bundle. For example, you can buy wood already split and seasoned (dried), ready to burn. This is the most expensive way of buying wood, but you do not have to buck, split, and season the wood. Someone else has already done all this work for you. Even so, you could still save a bit on your heating bill. Look at your heating bill for the last year or two and compare that...

Saving money is the one thing that we all have in common. We all are looking to save where we can. There is a component to some hot air furnaces and air conditioning air handlers that will save you a lot of money! With electricity prices rising greatly in the next few years, this is one thing that you must consider when purchasing anew hot air furnace or air conditioning system. If you are purchasing or are considering the purchase of a new hot air furnace or central air conditioning system in the near future you will want to take a serious look at buying a system the uses a ECM motor to move the air. The ECM (Electronically Commutated Motor) is an ultra high efficiency programmable brushless DC...

As people remodel their homes or build new ones, they are always looking for the newest and most cost effective methods of heating their homes. In their rush to be cutting edge, they may be overlooking one of the best existing methods for providing heat: radiators. Far from the ugly metal monsters of the past, modern radiators are smaller, more efficient and much more attractive than you might think. Many people view radiators as being out of date or inefficient. They are used to the massive metal boxes which stuck out into rooms and made it impossible to decorate properly. If you look at the modern radiators on the market today, you may be surprised to see how much they have changed over the years...

tion_start --> Lots of tax dollars and nervous energy are being expended on the latest glitzy ideas for creating alternate fuels to put in your car's gas tank. Ethanol is the darling of the renewable energy club. But have you taken a close look at the amount of energy it takes to produce a gallon of ethanol? We don't need to look at statistics, just consider the simple facts about corn, which is used to make ethanol. To produce ethanol from corn you must: till the soil, plant the seed in neat rows, fertilize, irrigate, harvest the corn kernels, transport them, process the kernels into ethanol, and transport the ethanol to the final user. Then you must drive your vehicle to the nearest station and...

You may agree that heating the room where your family congregates would be greatly helped, heating wise, by acquiring a stove to provide the warmth that the family needs for total comfort and relaxation, but what form of various types of stoves will you use? Of course, we all know that electricity has brought many comforts to humans in the course of history since it was discovered, but too along with those comforts has come pollution and the very high cost of electricity. So, even though heating a stove through electrical means is available, it may not suit your needs. Wood is a natural commodity, and wood stoves have provided the heat necessary through wood burning stoves for centuries. Wood...

Napoleon fireplaces are headquartered in Barrie, Ontario. The Company started out as a manufacturer of steel railings in 1976 but converted to fireplaces around 1981. They now ship their products all over North America. They also make inserts, gas grills, stoves and accessories. Warming up to a beautiful fireplace after a cold day is a wonderful pastime. A fireplace also makes a very romantic evening on a cold winter night. Napoleon fireplaces are one of the top names in gas fireplaces. Their lines of fireplaces come in the following styles: - Natural Vent - Direct Vent - Vent Free There is also gas or electric options designed to meet your own individual needs. The Napoleon fireplace inserts are...

An increase in the minimum wage will not release the working poor from their economic constraints. To achieve economic prosperity means making good choices and hard decisions. A Real Life Story As a child growing up in the 50's and 60's in the Midwest, my parents understood the difference between needs and wants or having and not having. We lived in a small, modest 3 bedroom house with only one television (black and white), one car, no air conditioning, no dishwasher and very few extras. Yes, my parents took an annual vacation to Florida with the neighbors. Our family was considered to be middle class just like our neighbors who also lived in modest homes with only one television, one car, no...

nment regulations and standards are becoming more stringent with manufactures heating and cooling systems. The goals of these regulations are increased energy efficiency and products that are environmentally friendly. All manufactures now display these ratings on their product to help the consumer make informed choices. This article’s goal is to help the consumer understand the manufacture's ratings as you consider purchasing a new home appliance. AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency) is the standard measurement of efficiency for gas and oil-fired furnaces. Given in percentages, this number tells you how much of your fuel is used to heat your home and how much fuel is wasted. The higher...

The resources that have been used to empower worldwide economies are becoming extinct, causing fighting in the Middle East, and an accelerated international government power trip. The sooner every home owner and business entity makes the decision to begin using renewable energy, the sooner the world will be a more pleasant place to live. One renewable energy source is the use of the sun to create energy that can be converted into a source for electricity. One thing is given while using this source; the sun will never burn out, leaving anyone with no power. In addition electricity can be generated by the use of the wind, or even by creating a water wheel. There are also new innovative mechanisms that...

We all know that water flows down hill. If you want water to move up hill you have to "do some work" to get it there. If you do not want water to flow down hill you have to "do some work" to stop it like building a dam. "Doing some work" is like paying your energy bill because it causes some discomfort. The first thing you need to know is that heat naturally flows from a hot area to a cold area. Heat moves in three ways One way heat moves is radiation. We all know that if we are exposed to direct solar radiation we can feel the heat from the sun flowing directly to us. The sun is very hot so the heat flows from the sun to the earth. Sunburn is the result of solar radiation. The second method of...

Being there are several different systems to choose from, the decision of which gas fireplace venting system to use in your home can be a bit overwhelming. The ventless gas fireplace, the B vent or the natural vent, the direct vent will allow for different options to be used. With all of these systems, no chimney as used with the wood burning fireplace is needed. The ventless gas fireplace is just as it claims to be. No vent, chimney or flue is needed for this fireplace. The air is drawn in from the front of the unit and used for the combustion process. This air is then returned to the same room. Even thought there are a few of the major manufactures that does not produce the ventless gas fireplace...

What is a condensing boiler? A condensing boileris a boiler that employs a more efficient method of extracting heat from combustible fuel than a traditional oil or gas fired boiler. A great deal of heat is wasted in a normal non-condensing gas or oil boiler in the form of hot flue gases that escape up the flue vent. This gas will be at a temperature of about 180°C. A condensing combi boiler is designed to permit these gases to rise as in a standard boiler but at the top the gases are redirected towards and cycled around a secondary heat exchanger, which draws heat from them, leaving them at a temperature of approximately 60°C. Some condensing boilers even have dual heat exchangers, to extract even...

Simply put, energy efficiency is a technological concern. Energy conservation is a human concern. For example, you can make furnaces and air conditioners more efficient by improving the technology that governs their operation. But people are responsible for turning the thermostat to 68 degrees instead of 75 degrees. Yes, this is an oversimplification. But it makes an important point. Technology can take us only so far as we attempt to keep energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions down. People have to take responsibility for using the technology wisely. The focus on energy efficiency and energy conservation has been around for quite a while, at least since the 1970s when the oil crisis had gasoline...

Nowadays it is always important to ensure all regulations are followed when dealing with any fuel burning appliances in the home. Failure to do this in some cases may have repercussions should you try to sell the house or dwelling in the future. Assuming there is an existing fireplace in the home with an existing masonry class 1 chimney the fitting of a woodburning or multifuel stove whether it is of traditional or a modern/contemporary design should not present any great problems. It is always wise to consult a qualified woodburning stove fitter such as a Hetas engineer for the fitting of the woodburning stove to ensure all regulations are met and the stove is fitted safely. In the case where a new...

Jesus, a cup of coffee, and me - Sit back, relax, and ENJOY!!! You don't have to feel guilty about drinking a few cups of coffee!! I figure, if you wait long enough, some study somewhere, will find that there is some kind of medicinal benefit to just about everything we like to eat or drink. I like to have a few cups of coffee a day - and now the researchers say it's o.k. Thank you God!!! This afternoon I was sitting outside with my cup of coffee (I drink Fair Trade and Organic Coffee) taking a break, and reading my Christian romance novel, when I looked up at our house and noticed the patches on the siding. Our house is quite old, probably late 1800's. Although there have been many repairs in...

One third of homes in the United States are heated with fuel-fired heat. This refers to fireplaces, wood burning stoves, inserts and other fuel-fired appliances. According to the United States Fire Administration, 36% of residential home fires in rural areas are caused by this type of heating. So can we heat our homes without burning down the house? Yes! Properly maintaining our fireplaces and stoves, burning the right fuels, protecting the inside and outside of our homes will allow us to safely and efficiently heat our homes. Here we will be looking at the maintenance of fireplaces. Have your fireplace or wood stove inspected by a certified chimney specialist annually. This is the most important...

What are water to water heat exchangers? Firstly, a heat exchanger is a device that is built to transfer heat from one fluid to another, or to transfer heat from one fluid to a different state or across a solid surface. The transfer of heat is usually done through a solid wall that keeps the elements separated and making sure that both elements do not mix or come in direct contact with each other. This is usually added to outdoor boilers or outdoor furnaces for heating of pools, hot tubs, and spas. And, this is added to help melt the snow off your driveway. The best thing about this device is that it can even lower your monthly hot water cost and may even eliminate it. Designs of water to water...