Solar Heating

Depending on where you live, the addition of a solar heating system can yield a net increase in the value of your property. Here you will learn how to select an affordable solar home heating system for your home.

Most homes are dependent upon nonrenewable energy resources such as natural gas, heating oil, or propane. Those who depend upon wood or wood products such as wood pellets to heat their homes often find that even this resource can be difficult or expensive in some areas to obtain.

If you happen to use electricity to directly heat your home, you may know of instances when this heating option is less than optimal (such as during outages in the winter).

Although a complete change-over from one of these heating options to solar may not be feasible for most homes, there are certainly some ways solar energy can be incorporated into your total home heating plan.

Heating and cooling account for nearly 60% of the total energy usage in the average household. This figure does not include other devices in the home that use energy, such as the water heater, clothes dryer, and television.

How Solar Heating Works

Tips for Choosing the Right Heating System for Your Home

When selecting a new solar energy heating system, there are some things you should keep in mind:

• The cost is one obvious factor. Calculate the cost of the system and the projected heat output of the system. For example, if the system cost is $10,000 but is projected to save $100/month in actual heating bills, are you willing to wait 8 years for the payback in energy savings?

  Of course, if energy costs go up before that time, the savings will be greater and the payback of the system will be seen much sooner. Not only that, keep in mind that most systems available for purchase have a 10 to 30 year warranty and can be expected to have a life of several decades.

• Depending on where you live, the addition of a solar home heating system can yield a net increase in the value of your property. In most cases, you can expect upon selling your home to make 50-80% of the cost of the solar heating system back. Add that back to your energy savings in the home and you can expect a decent return.
• The type of solar home heating you require could depend on the climate you live in.

  Will the system be passive, active, or a combination of the two? If you happen to live in southern Georgia where the climate is fairly mild, a simple passive system (such as one that could be incorporated using a sun room) may serve to dramatically decrease your dependency on traditional methods of heating.

• A new home is easier to build a new solar heating system into than an already established home. In order for solar home heating to be fully effective, the home needs to be properly insulated and sealed.

  Also necessary are windows that have a high insulation value but allow solar radiation to enter easily. These windows are coated or glazed to allow sunlight in while trapping that energy once it’s in the home.

• There are many new and innovative ways to heat your home with solar energy including solar radiant heating which uses power from solar panels to heat the floors in your home.

  Be sure to work with a solar professional that is current with the latest technologies that can be adapted to your home's unique needs.

Learn More About the Two Types of Solar Powered Heating

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