DesideriScuri
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Joined: 1/18/2012
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ORIGINAL: freedomdwarf1
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ORIGINAL: DesideriScuri
It's not an issue of taking a window out, but opening it up for the device. You don't have to turn your radiators off in that room. The point is that you'll use less heating fuel because you'll be gaining some heat from the sun. You can set the solar heater in the room you use most (if possible), and allow the other rooms of the house to be cooler.
I don't know how your central heating works but in all the places I have lived over here, if I put extra heating into one room it won't make a jot of difference to the boiler (furnace) at all unless the thermostat is in that room and thus fooling it into thinking the house is warmer than the rest of it actually is and therefore not burn so much fuel because it doesn't have to produce so much heat.
In the the house we're in at the moment, each individual radiator has been set according to what each of us needs in the way of heat. If my son or daughter decides to stay away for a few days or so and they turn their radiators off, it doesn't make a single penny's difference to the boiler because it is using the thermostat (which is in the front hallway) for the overall temperature setting and the heat measured in the water pipes to determine how much heat to generate and thus how much fuel to burn.
So in essence, we save nothing at all by adding a heat source to any room except the one where the thermostat is mounted.
Whatever room the heater is in, the radiator can be turned down, reducing the heat demand from that radiator. The furnace will see less of a temperature drop, which requires less fuel to heat back up to whatever temperature it needs to keep the water. If you put the window unit in the room that is either the coldest, the one used most during the day, or the one that is kept the warmest, you reduce the demand on the furnace.
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As far opening a window for the device, I haven't lived in any house where the windows are the same size as the windows in any other house I've lived in. Also, each window in each house I've been in is a different size to the other windows of the same house.
So, if there was a device that fitted into a window, the gaps around it would need to be filled in or the heat would escape faster than the device could generate it - thus completely negating the point of having it fitted in the first place. And, being a temporary addition and having to leave an otherwise secure window open and unlocked would also make any household insurance invalid.
No, any sort of window-mounted device just isn't feasable over here - it would have to be a permanent fixture into the brickwork and securely cemented in.
I don't know how often you move, but you build the unit yourself. Thus, you size it to whatever window you are putting it in. The window is only opened <12"(this works with up/down opening style windows, not necessarily side-to-side opening windows). It isn't too difficult to figure out how to secure a partially open window.
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ORIGINAL: DesideriScuri
I'm going to look into a geothermal system in the Spring. Currently, my house has one thru-the-wall air conditioner, which isn't even in a room that will be used the most. If I can cool my house using a geothermal system, it's possible that I'll be capable of not using any A/C other than that.
I think that's where the major difference is between where you are and our climate over here.
Unless we get an unusual heatwave, we need heating 90+% of the time, not cooling.
It's not common for people to have an A/C unit here at all except for those tiny little portable things and I would say that more than 95% of the time for those of us that do have one it wouldn't even get plugged in let alone used in ernest.
This may not work so well for radiator heating. Geothermal units will generally give a constant 10-15ºC, so heating return air (presumably colder than what you want it to be) would be easier if your return air is lower than that. You can use this to pre-heat your water for your hot water tank (feed incoming water into a transfer "tank" so that coils of geothermal heated liquid heats it to 10-15ºC before it hits your hot water tank. This would be something you'd do to your own home, though. It's a bit invasive and pretty much requires going through walls.
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ORIGINAL: DesideriScuri
Not every solution is a solution for everyone. The orientation of my house, the trees around me, and my location make PV cells a losing proposal at this point. Electrical rates would have to skyrocket and PV prices would have to plummet exponentially to make it likely for me to recoup my investment. Wind power may be viable, but I am limited by Township zoning laws regarding the size and placement of any wind generators.
I think, if there were a sensible solar unit at an affordable price AND if we had the climate to utilise it at near full capacity, it could work for a few people here. But I can't see it working for most. For those projects I've seen on TV where they've tried to use solar and wind turbines in new eco-buildings to lower the power bills it hasn't been overly successful. You also have to think that for the most part, your return credit for pumping your excess power (if you have any) back to the utility grid is pretty pitiful this end. We aren't geared for people to be able to give power back to the grid in any sensible or usable quantity.
And like you, a lot of our by-laws prevent the erection of wind turbines so the alternatives to power from the national grid is rather limited.
I know the return credit used to be (I looked at solar generation years ago but found out my ROI would be horribly long) paltry, and only for the "generation" portion (for me, that's <40% of the /KWH rate).
There is a solution, if you look hard enough and are skilled enough (that's still a question I haven't answered for myself). Go DIY-ing and you might be surprised.
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What I support:
- A Conservative interpretation of the US Constitution
- Personal Responsibility
- Help for the truly needy
- Limited Government
- Consumption Tax (non-profit charities and food exempt)
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