Home » Posts tagged 'warming'

Tag Archives: warming

Olduvai
Click on image to purchase

Olduvai III: Catacylsm
Click on image to purchase

Post categories

Post Archives by Category

How to Keep Warm in a Cool House

March 17, 2015

How to Keep Warm in a Cool House

Heating is a huge source of fossil energy use in cooler climates. In the Netherlands, for instance, heating accounts for 20 to 25% of total primary energy use, despite relatively mild winters. This means heat supply guzzles as much fuel as transportation. [1] According to many, the solution to the high energy use of heating systems is to be found in better strategies for thermal insulation.

A well-insulated building can indeed lower energy use spectacularly, to the point that there’s no need for a heating system: the heat produced by people, electric devices and the sun can ensure thermal comfort. Orientating a building (or a whole city) around the sun is another important design element that can render heating redundant. For new buildings, the design and the orientation are much more important factors for energy efficiency than the choice of the heating system, if that’s needed at all.

When we talk about existing buildings, however, things look very different. There are several methods for insulating older buildings, but their effect on energy use is usually limited in comparison to what a new building can achieve. What’s more, insulating existing buildings can be expensive and some of the easier-to-apply methods can cause problems, such as crack formation, frost damage, mould and rot. [1] And, of course, it’s not easy to re-orientate an existing building toward the sun.

 

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, not Places

February 14, 2015

Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, not Places

These days, we provide thermal comfort in winter by heating the entire volume of air in a room or building. In earlier times, our forebear’s concept of heating was more localized: heating people, not places.

They used radiant heat sources that warmed only certain parts of a room, creating micro-climates of comfort. These people countered the large temperature differences with insulating furniture, such as hooded chairs and folding screens, and they made use of additional, personal heating sources that warmed specific body parts.

It would make a lot of sense to restore this old way of warming, especially since modern technology has made it so much more practical, safe and efficient.

 

Most modern heating systems are primarily based on the heating of air. This seems an obvious choice, but there are far worthier alternatives. There are three types of (sensible) heat transfer: convection (the heating of air), conduction (heating through physical contact), and radiation (heating through electromagnetic waves).

The old way of warming was based upon radiation and conduction, which are more energy-efficient than convection. While convection implies the warming of each cubic centimetre of air in a space in order to keep people comfortable, radiation and conduction can directly transfer heat to people, making energy use independent of the size of a room or building.

 

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Olduvai IV: Courage
Click on image to read excerpts

Olduvai II: Exodus
Click on image to purchase

Click on image to purchase @ FriesenPress