A century ago, and for about 400,000 years before that, most people burned wood to stay warm. Then the arrival of oil- and gas-fired central boilers and furnaces liberated them from the toil, mess and smoke. Today, fluctuating prices, a desire for independence and a new generation of clean, efficient stoves have attracted homeowners like Richards to a flourishing back-to-basics home-heating movement. Annual shipments of pellet stoves, which burn biomass in the form of compressed sawdust from lumber mills or managed forests, jumped from 18,360 to 141,211 units between 1999 and 2008, a 650 percent increase. Large-scale installations include Vermont’s Bennington College, which uses a wood-chip-fueled biomass boiler to heat 85 percent of its campus.

Winter heating needs can be reduced in a superinsulated structure by more than 80 percent in Minnesota, and by 94 percent to 97 percent in the North Carolina locations. The same dwelling designed for the Minnesota climate can cut air-conditioning needs by 60 percent.

A heat pump filter is a vital component of your heat pump. It helps to keep dirt and debris from being discharged into your home. Heat pumps draw cool air into the device and distribute warm air within the house. Before the cool air is drawn into the pump, it is filtered to remove dust and debris. This helps to maintain cleaner air indoors. With time, the pump filter accumulates a lot of dirt and debris. This reduces efficiency of your heater. It is best to change the filters regularly for better performance of the heat pump. This is a simple job that doesn’t take much time or effort, as outlined below.

In home designs today, gas fireplaces can be found in any room of the house. From bathrooms and bedrooms to living rooms and outdoor spaces, these gas fireplaces are sure to spark some creative design ideas in your own space.

Being passive isn’t always a bad thing, especially when it’s passive solar heating and cooling. The idea behind passive solar is to design buildings that take advantage of natural heat from the sun in winter; and shade and wind and in the summer. Although the concept has been used in many cultures for centuries, passive solar design principles recently have been refined a great deal, even since the 1970s.

The ground temperate is a constant that you can use to heat and cool your house. Over the summer the deep ground temperature is warmer than the air and into he summer it is cooler. The ‘ground-source heat pump system’ uses underground water from a 1,000-foot deep well and pumps, that are basement heat exchangers to move the water.

The system uses no fossil fuels and provide comfort year-round, with zero CO2 emissions, for a fraction of the operating cost of conventional HVAC systems. Geothermal systems also have fewer moving parts than conventional systems, so they are more reliable and require less maintenance, so they last for decades. As a rule of thumb, complete systems run about $2500 to $3500 per 500 square feet of living space. So, a complete geo-thermal system for an average size 2,500 sq. ft. home would run between $12,500 and $17,500. Geo-thermal for larger homes could easily cost $25,000 to $30,000.

The cost of heating a house isn’t getting any cheaper. In fact, it’s getting more expensive every year, and it doesn’t look like that’s a dying trend. As a result, many people are looking­ for new ways to stay warm and they’re finding the answer in an old favorite — coal stoves. Not only can a coal stove heat up your home, but it can save you money as well, especially if you live in Pennsylvania. Don’t worry, this article will explain.

Energy efficient window curtains keep a home’s temperatures idea year round. In the cold months these curtains may be insulated. This is in order to keep the cold air out of a home.

In the summer, energy efficient window curtains should keep the hot rays of the sun out of a home. This will help to keep the interior of a home at a stable and comfortable temperature.

Biomass Fuels
Biomass fuels are organic materials—often industrial byproducts—that can be used as fuel for heating. The definition of a biomass fuel varies from state to state, but in general, it is an organic matter generated on a reoccurring basis that can be used for fuel.