The environment is polluted in the winter not just by cars and factories, but also by stoves in houses that need to be warm. Meanwhile, half of the generated heat escapes through the room’s cracks and poor heating, and nearly two-thirds of the energy consumed in it is spent on keeping the house warm. If you want to make your home more environmentally friendly but aren’t ready to make radical changes, volunteers who provide the material about ecology for Essaywriter.nyc writing company recommend simply replacing wood and coal with fuel pellets.
However, in addition to wood, coal, and gas, there are now a variety of additional, more environmentally friendly options to heat houses. The main downside of all of these heating alternatives is that they are unpopular in Central Asia because of their high installation costs and long payback periods. Some of these approaches aren’t always capable of replacing the entire heating system and are only useful as supplemental heating. Take a closer look at these ways if you want to heat your home in a more ecologically friendly (and potentially more cost-effective) way.
Geothermal heating
It was first talked about in the U.S. in the 1980s. At first, it was a pleasure for the rich people, but today more than a million American homes have chosen this heating method. Since then, the country’s carbon dioxide emissions have decreased by 4 billion tons per year.
How does it work?
The energy source of geothermal heating is renewable and inexhaustible heat from the Earth’s interior. With the help of a special pump, the system transmits heat from the ground to the house through an underground water pipeline. Geothermal heating works similarly to an air conditioner. The system warms up in the winter when the ground temperature is higher than the air temperature. Summer, on the other hand, is cooler.
Features:
- uses almost half as much energy as conventional heating systems;
- does not produce harmful emissions;
- the pump consumes electricity, but 1 kW of electricity consumed is compensated by the generation of about 4.5 kW of heat;
- 20% more economical than heating with a gas boiler;
- works quietly and autonomously, does not require fuel supply and effort for maintenance;
- no risk of fire or overheating.
Solar collector
This is the most unusual type of heating, as it makes the most efficient use of the sun’s energy. You can use a collector to heat both a building and water.
How does it work?
The collector’s design makes it possible to convert solar energy into thermal energy and transfer it to a coolant, such as water in batteries. There are two types of solar collectors: flat and vacuum. The core module of the gadget, hermetically sealed cylinders made of special colored glass, makes those more efficient.
Features:
- the main advantage is environmentally friendly heat;
- there is no need to supply the device with fuel, but there is a dependence on the weather; the maximum efficiency of the collector brings during direct hits of the rays, in the morning and evening hours the power decreases;
- there are special accessories – trackers to improve the performance of the solar collector (in winter up to 15%, in summer – up to 40%);
- there are houses where 95% of the total energy consumed is provided by sunlight – this is rather an exception; if you do not live in an area where the sun shines 365 days a year, then this heating is only suitable as additional heating.
Infrared heaters
This is the most cost-effective and simple way to heat your home in an environmentally friendly manner. There have been a lot of rumors about these heaters. Some people talk about health risks, while others talk about the advantages.
How does it work?
It’s crucial to distinguish between infrared and UV radiation. The latter is quite risky. Infrared’s effect is proportional to its wavelength. It isn’t difficult to figure out. The shorter the wavelength, the higher the heating temperature and the worse for your health. Short wavelength heaters are ones that reach high temperatures quickly. They can be used to heat for a brief period of time.
Features:
- harm to human health is possible with prolonged exposure to shortwave radiation: skin drying, risk of retinal burns, loss of permeability of cell membranes;
- health benefits are also possible – when exposed to long-wave radiation, which penetrates only into the upper layers of the skin: for the elderly and people with weak immunity, to improve complexion and skin condition, accelerate blood circulation, improve the production of insulin, melatonin;
- compensates for harmful radiation from household appliances;
- does not burn out oxygen, does not pollute the air, does not blow out the dust around the room;
- no smoke, no noise, and no smell.
