Winter is on its way in the Northern hemisphere, and every year it seems to get colder as the planet itself heats up. It is beyond time when we need to have a shift in the way we think about heating our home, that is not damaging to the environment. ‘It’s too costly’? ‘It’s a lot of messing about’, are just two of the comments that get thrown around when discussing eco-friendly heating options.
Yes, initially it can cost slightly more, but the long-term benefits need to be considered, not only to the area but your pocket. As more and more communities want to protect their world, green heating is encouraged and supported.
Check out with your local councils if there are available grants to help you convert to a greener heating system. Consideration should be given to the following three:
Solar Heating Panels:
There are two types of solar panels that can help reduce your costs and carbon footprint as neither produce carbon while operating.
- Photovoltaic Solar Panels use the sun as their source of power, collecting photons and converting them into electricity that can be used to run heavy power appliances during the day, like washing machines, dishwashers. Having hot water on hand can be costly but divert your solar powered electricity to the water tanks and heat the water from there.
- Solar Thermal Panels use the heat of the sun to warm water in a storage tank or pipes running throughout the house. The main types are passive or active solar thermal panels.
Both collect and convert the sun’s energy into heat but depending on the type of home you have, how many windows and where situated passive solar is not always practical. Active solar has an element that allows the converted energy to be moved into the home from the collector and absorber.
Electric Radiators:
Electric storage heaters are a super-efficient way to heat your home using the night economy tariffs. The ceramic bricks inside are heated throughout the night on the lower cost electricity and release heat slowly during the day.
Seen as energy efficient as the electricity used is converted 100% into heat. There are a variety of storage heaters available to heat your home, depending on your lifestyle, occupancy time, décor and of course budget.
Oil filled radiators are a thing of the past as water filled are seen as more environmentally friendly and less likely to damage anything if there was an accidental spill – these are used by the National Trust properties to protect the antiques. Look for the aluminium radiators as fully recyclable. Easily installed, best electric radiators offer a complete solution for heating the home with each room’s heating being controllable, saving on electric usage.
Pellet Stoves:
As an alternative to the rapidly depleting natural gas more homeowners are looking to stoves for their heating, and one of the most efficient is the pellet stoves. These stoves are neat to look at, take up minimal space and easy to operate. Only needing to add the pellets and ignite.
Smoke is kept to the minimum, which in turn lessens the smell and the heating of the outside of the unit; safer around children and pets. The pellets themselves produce less ash than firewood so much easier to keep clean, plus a significant reduction in creosote.
The pellets are very eco-friendly being from recycled products and are known to produce fewer pollutants and considered ‘carbon neutral’. Another benefit of the pellets is the cost, which is low and the size which is small, making them easy to store.
To live in an eco-friendly environment means not being complacent, but active in seeking out ways to improve your contribution to the lessening of the carbon footprint. Heating our homes in winter in an environmentally way is possible and economically. Don’t just sit on your laurels explore what is available and do your part in reducing the carbon footprints of winter.
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