These days there are even more chilly temps to remind us that the heating season is nearly upon us. The following are just a few more ways to produce, capture, and conserve heat on a daily basis.
Major sources of heat these days from utilities and retailers are electricity, oil, and natural gas. Alternatives to these suppliers are wood, propane, geothermal, and direct solar.
Alternate fuels offer many ways to keep a lid on heating costs. When the cost of one source of heat goes up, others may lag behind. Those that rise more slowly or not at all become the way to go. For many people, the great alternative is heating with wood. In the parts of the countryside where wood is abundant, every storm and every neighbor with a problem tree becomes an opportunity to save on next season’s heating bill. It takes a little time, some dry storage space, and cutting tools, but wood is a good and satisfying alternative heat source. Spacing the cutting and splitting out over the year means additional exercise in the winter when some of us tend to be less active.
Direct solar has become yet another way to reduce heating costs
In recent decades propane has become the big equalizer in managing heating costs. Many consumers have abandoned oil heat for other choices. Because propane, like oil, can be delivered nearly anywhere, there is no need to be close to natural gas lines buried underground. This means that for the expense of a heater and installation, a second choice for heating can be close at hand. When natural gas became so plentiful during the previous presidential administration, the price went down, bring much needed relief from high heating bills. Because propane, which is liquefied petroleum gas (LP) generally follows the pricing for natural gas, propane users benefited also. In the past couple of years, however, disruptions in supply and regulatory policies have caused gas and propane prices to move higher. It’s for this reason that alternative fuel/heat sources are so important. When the price of one moves up, others become more attractive.
Geothermal provides another source of relief from heating bills for those who can justify the initial installation. In a geothermal system, piping carries water or a coolant liquid through the ground where the normal temperature of the surrounding earth is about 56 degrees. The heating and cooling systems in the house only have to increase the temperature of the coolant from that level to the desired temperature in the winter time. In the summer months, the earth serves to reduce the temperature of the coolant that has circulated through the relatively warmer living space. There’s still a utility bill, usually electricity, for circulating the coolant and running the heating/cooling equipment, but it isn’t as costly as raising the temperature in the winter time from 10 degrees above zero to 68 degrees inside the house. Similarly in the summer time, the cooling system only has to overcome the temperature difference between 56 degrees and 80 degrees. So it’s an alternative. The big drawback is the installation cost up front. Extensive ditching and piping and sometimes even installation of ponds and concrete slabs go into geothermal systems. There comes a calculation of initial cost versus payback time, and this makes sense for people in many parts of the country.
Direct solar has become yet another way to reduce heating costs, and this method can be available for many. On a sunny day, the sun’s rays pour through glass windows to warm objects and the air inside a house. If windows are in the right places and if the warmth coming in can be trapped and held, direct solar can help during the daylight hours. As with a greenhouse, direct solar takes careful management. To take best advantage of the sun’s warmth, insulating blinds or shades have to be open when it’s sunny, and closed when it’s not. Good insulation and weather stripping combined with Thermopane windows help. There are drawbacks. In the winter time when we need it most, the days are shortest. Managing heat loss at night is a prime consideration. It’s helpful that we can generally do with less warmth at night. The sun’s rays also fade upholstery and rugs and damage furniture. If solar energy can be directed on to a thermal mass or other storage medium, the heat can be released afterward when the sun has gone down. This is the principle behind thermal mass greenhouses and heat-storing masonry walls and floors.
When the energy used to run a residential home furnace is electric or oil, then a kitchen range becomes one of the best alternative heat sources. Most areas allow the use of propane ranges. In a pinch, this can be an important source of heat. Not all propane ranges can be lit with a match. When this is the case, a power outage means the propane range won’t function, either. That’s why it’s an absolute requirement for me to have the option of lighting burners on the range with a match. When the power goes out in the middle of breakfast, even when it’s still dark, the cooking continues. Plan to do extra cooking when the air is cold outside, no matter what fuel your range uses. That heat stays inside and we also get soups, stews, pot roast, and cookies!
Older propane ranges featured pilot lights protected with thermocouples to prevent the buildup of unignited gas. Pilot lights used a tiny amount of propane around the clock. These days the ignition on gas and propane ranges is usually electronic, providing a tiny sparker on each burner to ignite the flame. The pilot light on an older range’s oven was usually a little difficult to reach, but could be managed. Today’s ranges use an electric glow coil or glow block to ignite the flame for using the oven. For this reason, newer ranges seldom can have the oven ignited with a match or lighter. Therefore, also for this reason, when the power goes out, even if it’s a range which allows lighting the burners with a match, the oven will not work. The top burners can go a long way toward keeping life fairly comfortable. Most gas and propane dryers, like gas and propane furnaces, will not function if the power is off because there is no way to ignite, and no way to move the heated air out of the heat exchanger part of the furnace.
And, of course, you must not run out of fuel in the tank! A backup tank is always a nice feature to have. When one tank runs out, the other can be used while the order goes out to refill. For decades, most propane ranges connected to two 100-lb cylinders. We always used one at a time. When the first ran out, we turned the valve to open the other, allowing the propane man to come to the house to replace the empty tank with a full one. With 100-lb or smaller tanks, this can be done by the consumer, as well, using a two-wheeled dolly. Make sure the connections are tight.
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Cars, home generators, barbecue grills, and emergency heaters produce carbon monoxide
To extend the odds of survival with some measure of comfort during a power outage or major storm, it’s not a bad idea to have some camping equipment available, along with stocks of the fuel needed. That best fuel, in my way of thinking, has always been propane first, then butane, then sterno. When the power is off or the range won’t light, it should be possible to set the camp stove on top of the range burners to use it. I don’t like to set anything very warm on a formica, wood, or even stone counter top. If using a Coleman camp stove, on top of the cast metal grate that sits atop the burner is the best place. Hot things are supposed to be up there. Sterno works okay for fuel in such a situation, but I’m always worried that by the time I get the cans out to use one of them, it will be evaporated or no longer functional.
A word of caution about other fuels. Once upon a time I almost set my pants on fire using Coleman fuel. Granted, it was an inappropriate use, but that fuel is very similar to white gas, which is just another form of gasoline. I would never want so volatile a liquid fuel inside a home. With this or any fuel, safety is always the primary concern. Another concern is carbon monoxide. Fuels burned inside closed spaces can produce carbon monoxide as a by-product. Because it’s odorless and tasteless, its presence can be detected only by a properly functioning detector designed for the purpose. Cars, home generators, barbecue grills, and emergency heaters produce carbon monoxide. Those items are for use outside in ventilated spaces. They must never be used in closed quarters or when anyone is sleeping.
So the bottom line is to anticipate the change in seasons, dress warmly, plan ahead, and use alternate fuels safely. With care and a little foresight, we can look forward to an occasional outage or even a storm. And everybody knows when winter is coming.
Dr. Bruce Smith (Inkwell, Hearth and Plow) is a retired professor of history and a lifelong observer of politics and world events. He holds degrees from Indiana University and the University of Notre Dame. In addition to writing, he works as a caretaker and handyman. His non-fiction book The War Comes to Plum Street, about daily life in the 1930s and during World War II, may be ordered from Indiana University Press.
