Alternative Heating Systems


Alternative Heating Systems

Alternative heating systems were high on many homeowners agenda when the price of oil peaked at just under $150 barrel last Summer. The oil price and has now fallen back to less than $40 a barrel as the world economy has faltered and the global credit crunch and financial considerations have taken centre stage. One thing seems certain though is that with the growth of the developing nations oil demand and prices are sure to pick up again so any savings on oil fired heating are sure to be short lived and people with oil fired heating are recommended to fill their tanks and take advantage of the current low price. Now that Spring is upon us many homeowners will be considering how to switch from traditional heating to an alternative heating system in preparation for the next heating season.

The driving force for alternative heating systems last year were concerns about the economy in addition to uncertainty about the cost and availability of the more traditional energy sources. Add to this concerns of many people about the effect of global climate change believed to be caused in some measure by burning fossil fuels. These factors combined to create a huge boost to sales of wood stoves, wood pellet stoves, solar heating systems and residential wind power systems.

Wood stove sales in particular rocketed to record levels in the fall as many homeowners rushed to install wood burning stoves just in time to burn reduce their costs over the heating season. So what is all the fuss about? At the end of the day it usually comes down to folks wanting to save money or doing their bit to save the world. This site aims to inform and provide knowledge about the key issues to be considered about alternative heating.

We are still aiting for news on President Barack Obama's intentions to promote green energy policies. Environmental lobbyists and the alternative heating industry alike are waiting to see what measures President Obama will introduce to promote alternative heating and alternative green energy policies. President Obama went on on record in 2007 as saying the three most important issues are energy, education and health care reform. Of course this was before the global economic and banking crisis hit the world but there is little doubt that President Obama will be keen to promote environmentally friendly alternative heating and alternative energy systems. The new president is known to be keen to reduce dependance on Middle Eastern crude oil. We could be about to enter a golden age for Alternative Heating systems.

With the long term trend of increasing costs for heating oil, propane and utility bills it is only natural that cost conscious home owners will consider installing alternative heating systems and will also look at alternative power generation methods. Fortunately there are numerous sources of alternative heating and alternative energy available to homeowners today. The geographical location of the property and the most readily available local fuel supplies often determines the most suitable type of alternative heating system to install.

Here are a few benefits that may be obtained by installing an alternative heating system:

Alternative heating systems can dramatically reduce domestic fuel bills substantially and in a few cases can eliminate bills completely.

Alternative heating systems will usually improve the value of your home sometimes by many times the annual saving fuel bill saving.

The environmental damage being caused by global warm is big news. Some alternative heating systems are carbon neutral and therefore of benefit to the environment as well as your pocket.

Installing an alternative heating system to your home can reduce the risk of normal inflation and sky rocketing fuel prices in particular.

The most obvious natural renewable energy methods of cheaper fuel generation are solar power and wind turbines, though if you need to generate heat it is likely that solar power may be in short supply when the heat is actually needed! Geothermal systems are also growing in popularity in many locations. Renewable energy methods such as these usually incur a substantial initial investment but tax credits are available for some homeowners to help offset the costs.

Homeowners should allways keep in mind that all forms of power generation that are powered by the local climate will need a conventional heating method as a backup for times when the weather itself is unable to generate enough power to keep up with demand, for example on a freezing cold day with no wind, a wind turbine will prove useless though over the course of the year it may be able to reduce utility bills massively.

Other forms of alternative heating usually depend on burning a fuel supply such as corn, wood or wood pellets. It is worth bearing in mind that the price of corn will vary more greatly than wood as it is a world commodity. Corn prices per bushel have varied between $2.50 and $10 over recent years thanks to unfavourable weather patterns in the US midwest and the trend towards using corn to create ethanol, a gosoline substitute particularly popular in South America. Wood prices are usually a little more stable. Where both fuels are readily available it is probably a good idea to go for a dual fuel burner that can burn both wood and corn that allows you to switch to whatever is the most economical.

It is vital that homeowners properly consider the available systems before selecting an alternative heating method for their home and it may well be worth consulting local professional experts. As with all home improvements a well designed and installed system can add substantial value to a home. Over the next few weeks and months we will be publishing several articles offering hints and tips on how to select an alternative heating system. We will also be looking at alternative power generation methods for other uses.