deep horizontal or 200-foot-deep verti- cal holes in the yard. They exchange a home’s hot and cold air underground, where the temperature remains relative- ly stable year-round (between 45 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit). Geothermal heat pumps are three times as efficient as a typical furnace; even the excess, known as “super heat,” can be captured to heat household water. Estimated payback on a geothermal unit is two to 10 years.
Renewable energy solar panels
stoves, meanwhile, have come a long way, environmentally speaking. Whether old-fashioned or modern in appearance, a contemporary woodstove can serve as an efficient space heater. Note that materials matter. Steel
heats up and cools down quickly; soap- stone continues to radiate heat long after the fire is out; and cast iron falls somewhere in the middle. Pellet stoves burn rabbit-feed-like pellets of saw- dust, wood chips, crop waste and other organic materials. The DOE considers pellet stoves
Solar heat: Solar heat is either
active—capturing the sun’s heat by means of solar collectors—or pas- sive—captured via a home feature such as a sunroom with a south-facing wall that vents warm air into the home. For an existing home, an appropriately designed shed or garage can be well suited for a solar collector; otherwise, a shade-free roof space is often the best option. An active solar-heating system can be air- or water-based: the latter requires installation of a water storage tank, either in an insulated box outside or beside an existing indoor water tank. The DOE advises that the most eco-
nomic designs use an active solar heat- ing system to supply 40 to 80 percent of a home’s heating needs. By combining such a system with passive solar design features—such as thermal walls and tile floors—families may need very little supplemental heat other than solar. Wood stoves, pellet
stoves and inserts: Tradi- tional fireplaces look cozy, but they can send as much as 300 cubic feet per minute of a home’s pre- cious heated air straight up the chimney. Wood-
the cleanest solid fuel-burning resi- dential heating appliances; so efficient (78 to 85 percent) that the U.S. Envi- ronmental Protection Agency exempts them from smoke testing. Pellet stoves can be freestanding, or pellet stove inserts can be fitted to an existing fire- place. With airtight doors, temperature controls and easy loading and cleaning capabilities, fireplace inserts readily turn an energy-wasting fireplace into an efficient home-heating machine. Radiant heat: Radiated heat—dis-
tributed through a home’s floors, walls or ceiling panels, as opposed to base- board panels, steam radiators or forced air systems—is efficient, doesn’t ag- gravate allergies and can complement a variety of heating systems, including gas- or oil-powered boilers and solar water heaters if it’s a hydronic (liquid) model. With hydronic radiant floors, the most efficient and popular method, heated water flows from the boiler to specialized underlying tubing that is either embedded in concrete or seated between layers of subflooring. One downside: a radiant floor can’t be covered with carpet. But with all that toastiness under- foot, why would anyone want to?
Brita Belli is the editor of E-The Environmental Magazine and author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Renew- able Energy for Your Home.
natural awakenings January 2012 35
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