Most Efficient In Home Heating

[jharkin]

Fuel quality/consumption: Everyone's arguments regarding fuel and its calorific content are consistent with facts/statistics/science.....I'll be the first to admit that I'm bucking the tide on this issue.....Hopefully, the design/construction of the rocket unit will get me close to that "1/4 cord goal"....The 20% duty cycle I mentioned is an absolute worst case scenario....Previous test firings indicated that the heat banks (primary and secondary) effectively retain/radiate for almost 3 hours once the fires are extinguished.....After 2 hours of downtime, the outer casing of the rocket unit registered 250 F in an ambient environment of 75 deg. F.....How this will all shake out remains to be seen....For testing, the heat will be force-ducted from the test cell (10' X 15' plenum chamber) into my 750 SF office area which is moderately insulated....I plan to have Bermuda shorts as well as my woolies and a parka handy during the testing phase just to cover all the bases.

Best regards to all,
chief72

I think you might be missing jebatty's point. No matter how long the metal of the stove feels "hot" after the burn, at 1/4 cord over 6 months his calculated 1400 btu/hr is all he heat you are delivering to the room. I know SC is a very mild climate but even there I dont think 1400 BTU is going to come anywhere close to enough for 750ft2. That about as much heat as your typical home theater setup or powerful desktop PC throws off!


The laws of physics still apply, this thing cannot deliver any more heat to the room than what is liberated from the wood fuel burned, and a quarter cord is very little fuel.

 

[WiscWoody]

As far as building up here in Beersville Wisconsin, AKA Winter Wisconsin...I with regrets built a big high home doing much of the work myself and its not bad as far as cost to heat and power it. My electric runs $550 a year and i use 350 gallons of LP plus three cord of scrounge wood a year. It has poured ICF walls in the walkout cellar and R19 in the 6 inch standard walls above. I put R60 in the attic and sealed all of the leaks. I don't claim that it goes down to -30 and stays there for weeks but it does get that cold at night if not colder and itll warm up to 0 often during the day. WooHOO! theres ice on the lake now with the last couple of nights in the teens for lows. Ya got to love it I guess!!

 

[briansol]

3 pages in and no one really has addressed the DHW use. 8 kids = 10 hot showers. if even half of them are female, that's a LOT of hot water being used up. A geothermal hybrid water heater will NEVER cut it. person 3 is cold let alone, 4, 5,6,7,8,9,and 10.

I think you're going to want a wood-fired boiler system if not only for the hot water set up.

 

[Highbeam]

3 pages in and no one really has addressed the DHW use. 8 kids = 10 hot showers. if even half of them are female, that's a LOT of hot water being used up. A geothermal hybrid water heater will NEVER cut it. person 3 is cold let alone, 4, 5,6,7,8,9,and 10.

I think you're going to want a wood-fired boiler system if not only for the hot water set up.

Nah, just run a bath and wash all 10 of you in the same water. Father first is traditional.

My showerhead puts out 1.5 gpm of heated water. If we conservatively assume 10 minute showers and that the water is 100% hot water then you need 150 gallons of storage. Let's be smart though and assume that at least half of the residents shower in the morning vs. at night so 75 gallons is fine. Totally in the realm of available water heaters.

 

[johnny1720]

I have a tankless propane hot water heater, we only have 2 kids and me and the wife. This thing uses about 160 gallons per year. If you need that much water go with a tankless.

 

[woodgeek]

My oldest daughter has occasionally taken 90 minute showers, with a 1.5 gpm showerhead not going full blast....didn't run out of water with my (80 gallon) HPWH on 'eco'.

 

[Highbeam]

My oldest daughter has occasionally taken 90 minute showers, with a 1.5 gpm showerhead not going full blast....didn't run out of water with my (80 gallon) HPWH on 'eco'.

I would freak out! More worried about my 51 year old septic system than anything.

 

[semipro]

My oldest daughter has occasionally taken 90 minute showers, with a 1.5 gpm showerhead not going full blast.

In my experience if you close the HWH supply valve slowly enough while they're showering they'll think they've used up all the hot water.

Edit: there is this also: http://www.showermanager.com/conservation-store/shower-timer-home.shtml

 

[woodgeek]

Eh, works out to ~$0.60 of wind power. Its not like it happens every day.

I prefer the low tech solution of banging on the door loudly after 60 minutes.

 

[jebatty]

You can reduce you hot water costs dramatically by getting a sand box and rolling around in it occasionally to rub the dirt off, also no need to use pumice or the like to get the dead skin off, defoliate on the cheap. Energy for hot water used = 0.