Top Eco-Friendly Heating Ideas

Keeping our homes warm is no small task. There are so many options that it’s easy to get confused among the choices. When it comes down to the minute details, what matters most is the environmentally friendly factor. Luckily, there are as many, if not more, green ways to heat a home as there are oil-based.

Geothermal

The Earth gives humans everything necessary for survival, including heat for our dwellings. These systems use pumps to pull the consistent temperature of the Earth into the home, effectively keeping a home at a constant temperature throughout the year. It is used for heating and cooling through refrigerant inside the pump. Many areas of the world are already using this resource for climate control because it is cheap, renewable, and reliable.

Active Solar

One of the most visual and popular green energy sources is solar. The panels used to convert sun to energy are largely recognized, and are becoming a type of fashion statement. People are adding the panels to roofs and lawns, connecting them through tubing to the home. This type of energy works in every part of America, often in conjunction with other types of energy, to maintain consistency throughout the year. The biggest difference between solar types is the material used for conversion. Some panels use water, while others use glycol, and still others use air. Choosing between the types of panels depends on the budget and weather most common in the home’s area.

Biomass

Many people don’t realize they’ve already seen biomass in action. Burning wood in a woodstove is a type of biomass. This term simply means using anything that was once living for energy. This is one of the most renewable types of energy because it is possible to grow more plants. The biggest roadblock to this type of energy is legislation – biomass opportunities, such as hemp, are discouraged by lawmakers. If more lobbyists became interested in using more biomass sources, lawmakers would be forced to change current restrictions on all types of biomass energy.

Ice

Strangely enough, ice-powered air conditioners are becoming popular again. This type of cooling was popular when America was young, with ice companies in the North shipping ice to the South. In fact, the first air conditioned building in the South was cooled with ice. In modern systems, the ice is used to cool refrigerant, which in turn cools the air inside the building. The overall consumed energy is reduced using this old, yet new, idea in home cooling.