Heating Brooklyn – Heating in the Northeast

If you live in the Northeast, you know the winters can be frigid indeed. Nonetheless, despite its deep freeze, you’ve got to find ways to stay warm and cozy. Of course, you always have those “tried-and-true” methods to heat your home, such as gas, propane, or even wood, but have you considered other sources of heating that are not conventional and that may even be renewable and (gasp) good for the planet? Let’s take a look at some of these “renewable” heating sources that might just help you stay warm and cozy this winter — for less than you pay now.

Solar heat

There are a variety of ways you can “capture” the sun’s heat and then use it, either to heat your water or your home, provide electric needs, or all three. Solar hot-air collectors and solar “thermosiphoning” panels are two ways to direct sun-warmed air into your home, cutting your heating bills significantly. There are many sites on the Internet that can tell you how to do this pretty inexpensively, and in some cases, to do it entirely yourself.

Passive solar heat in home design

Did you know that in fact, you can take your existing home and do some pretty inexpensive things to make it much more “solar heat” friendly? Or, if you’re in the market for a new home, you can design your own from the ground floor up by utilizing things like solar windows and managing building design so that the sun’s rays are used most effectively both for heat and light. Again, the Internet is a great resource to find ways both to retrofit your existing home or to build a new passive solar heat home with elements already incorporated.

Earth sheltered homes

Earth sheltered homes not only insulate your home naturally from winter’s frigid temperatures, but when used with geothermal energy in mind, can actually provide a way to heat your home naturally, from the earth up. (This is something best done with a new home rather than an existing home.)

Other Brooklyn heating and energy-saving ideas

If you have a home and you just can’t see yourself putting in solar panels yet, take heart. There’s still plenty you can do to cut your energy costs this winter. Alternative energy sources like wood pellets are usually more cost-effective than fuels like gas or oil, and putting in a wood pellet stove is a relatively small investment.

Getting an energy audit done

And of course, if you haven’t had your home evaluated for its energy efficiency, you should do so. Home energy audits can be done yourself (lots of resources are available online), or you can hire a professional home energy auditor to do the job for you. An audit will show you where there are leaks in your home that let hot or cold air escape, thus making your home less energy-efficient, and also use infrared cameras to detect where insulation may be missing or where leaks are occurring that can’t be easily detected. A home energy audit will also be able to tell you whether or not things like your furnace or air-conditioning system could be replaced with more energy-efficient and safer models common to both save you money and save on energy consumption, too.