*After receiving a few of our very "unseasonably warm winter" winter heating bills, I have decided to freeze my family forcing each of us to carry around blankets and extra socks & sweaters! THEN the other day Kelli asks to write about heating alternatives! Our warm hero!*
Kelli McDonald is a home and garden expert. She also writes for a handful of blogs and LuxeYard.
Unique
Alternatives For Heating Your Home
With the prices of heating your
home rising, finding unique alternatives for heating your home is definitely
the next step. While converting your
current home heating source to a newer alternative source may be expensive, the
money you save on heating bills will be vast.
Check out these six alternatives for heating your home, and do some
investigating before choosing the right method for you.
Switch
To Natural Gas – In 2008 when the cost of heating oil rose beyond
belief, many people already made the switch to natural gas. However, if you were not one of them, and
your heating bills continue to rise, you should consider switching to natural
gas now. Converting from heating oil to
natural gas could cost you anywhere from $3,000-$7,000, depending on the size
of your home, the efficiency ranking of the system and installation fees.
However, in order to switch to
natural gas, which comes from a local utility provider, you would need to be
within range of that company’s network.
For those who are lucky enough to be able to switch, you could receive
the added benefit of converting other appliances, such as your stove, dryer and
water heater to natural gas to save even more money.
Ground-Source
Heat Pumps – Geothermal heat pumps use the temperatures just beneath
the surface of the earth to heat your home, instead of burning oil or gas. The cost of a ground-source heat pump
installation can reach upwards of $10,000, which is far above the cost of a
conventional heating system. However, it
pays for itself in energy savings in approximately five years, with a reduction
of about 35% in your home heating bills.
Passive
Solar Heating – Turning to the sun for heat is one of the most
economical and environmentally safe ways of heating your home. However, the effectiveness of solar heating
is dependent upon your climate, and will not fully replace your current heat
source. For the most, this option is
best for those building a new home, not looking to upgrade to a cheaper cost of
heating.
Active
Solar Heating – Similar to passive solar heating, this unique
alternative for heating your home uses a device known as a collector to absorb
and store heat, and works with your currently heating system. While the cost of an active solar heating
system can range between $15,000-$20,000, this is very dependent on the size of
your home, your current heating system and the climate you live in. However, active solar heating systems can
save you anywhere from 40%-80% over your current method.
Wood
Burning Stoves – In the last decade, or so, wood burning stoves have
become more efficient and safer than in the past, and can save you
approximately $20 per million Btu, over your current heating oil system. The price for a wood burning stove and installation
fees is approximately $1,000, and may even fit in your current fireplace, which
would reduce installation fees.
Pellet
Burning Stoves – Another unique alternative for heating your home is
a pellet burning stove, which burns cleaner and is more efficient that its
counterpart, wood burning stoves. The
pellets are comprised of sawdust, nutshells, wood chips, corn kernels and other
biomass waste. A typical pellet burning
stove costs approximately $1,700 - $3,000, with lower costs for installation
than wood burners, and often do not require a chimney. The average cost of a bag of pellets is
anywhere from $120-$200 per ton.
However, pellet burning stoves require the use of fans ran by
electricity, whereas wood burning stoves do not.
*this is not a sponsored post, nor did I receive anything for posting it. I did not check out all the content either so if it is found not to be original to the posting author, please notify The Mom Standard immediately.*
