One of the biggest energy drains in a home is heating it throughout the colder times of year. There are multitudes of different heating systems that home owners can choose from, but which is most efficient and has the least environmental impact?
Well, perhaps the greenest of all heating systems is geothermal. Using the heat of the earth itself, there is little to no environmental impact with geothermal heating systems. However, geothermal isn’t available in many locations. In fact, it’s only available in very limited areas.
This means that other forms of man-made energy have to be relied upon in the majority of homes. This generally means burning fossil fuels, either directly in a furnace in the home, or at a power plant which produces electricity that will be used to heat the home.
Burning at Home vs Power Plant
You might think that having a power plant burn the fossil fuels is going to be more efficient than having many homes burning it. To some extent that may be correct, as the distribution of the fuel can be more efficient. But it’s not the only efficiency difference.
The biggest inefficiency in either case is in the conversion from heat energy to electrical energy. This maxes out at about 66% efficient. The conversion from electric to heat energy isn’t 100% efficient either, though it is rather close. This means that you have to burn almost half again as much fossil fuels to get the same amount of heating energy into the home. Certainly not efficient!
Of course, if the electricity is being generated by cleaner sources, it can dramatically impact whether localized or centralized power generation is more efficient. Geothermal electric can be extremely green power, and hydroelectric can be greener than burning fossil fuels as well. (Though there are large environmental impacts when dams are built on rivers.)
So it’s hard to say in a general case which form of energy distribution is most efficient. You will have to consider many factors that impact your specific circumstance to come to an understanding in that regard.
What type of Home Heating is Most Efficient?
It’s much easier to compare the type of home heating vs other home heating to determine which is most efficient. Wood stoves, gas furnaces, electric furnaces, forced air, and radiant heating are all different types that can be used in the home.
- Wood Stoves: Not very efficient and rather dirty to burn. Much of the heat generated is required to go up the chimney and exit the home, to continue to draw fresh air to the fire.
- Gas Furnaces: Very efficient and clean burning. Though the distribution of the gas can be very expensive, and burning of fossil fuels increases the amount of carbon in the air.
- Electric Furnaces: Somewhat efficient, and very clean at the home. May or may not be clean overall depending on how the electricity was generated.
- Wood Pellet Stoves: Efficient and somewhat clean burning.
Types of Heat Distribution Systems
- Forced Air: Noisy and somewhat inefficient. Much of the warm air ends up localized. Also can cause problems because it dries out the air. Adding in a humidifier decreases efficiency.
- Hydronic Heating: Efficient and quiet. Radiant heating allows for natural convection to distribute heat from radiators. Efficiency is increased when using in-floor heating rather than small radiators, as the area is heated much more evenly.