What and how do you heat your home and possibly shop during the cold winter months??

[jyoutz]

It's been sunny and close to or at 70 this week. Tonight it's cooling off though, the skies are clear and I'm hoping for a good killing frost.

We have snow in the mountains this week, but nights are still in the low 40s where I live.

 

[ultrarunner]

Already had one here...earlier this week had a couple of nights where it got into the low 20s. Other than my swiss chard, everything in the garden's done.

Wood heating never really went away in my part of the country, of course we don't have the strict pollution laws you have in Calif.

I do wish solar was a better option where I am...we do have a 3 season sun porch that warms up nicely on these sunny but cool fall days. Unfortunately from roughly Halloween thru the end of Feb. the sun's too low in the sky and is mostly blocked by trees for other than a couple hours in the morning. Trees are on someone else's land.

Makes sense and similar to my grandparents latitude...

 

[5030]

I wonder how much of that is individual tolerance of background noise. Like you, when I want quiet I want quiet. Everyone I know who has a pellet stove I find it quite noisy. Probably not to the level that it would be an issue in a workshop or something, but in my living room...yeah. Maybe they make quiet ones, but I've never seen one.

If it has a fan, you'll hear it. I find that constant low noise somewhat relaxing. I dampened it quite a bit with a silicone gasket between the fam and the backside of the heat exchanger.

 

[ovrszd]

If it has a fan, you'll hear it. I find that constant low noise somewhat relaxing. I dampened it quite a bit with a silicone gasket between the fam and the backside of the heat exchanger.

I don't know the technical terms so bear with me.

Our HVAC system uses a variable speed fan. It starts up gently and runs at a low speed. Only speeds up enough to be heard if it is behind as in you change the thermostat or activate it from off.

Our utility closet borders the living room. Terry has a Peacock tail feather arrangement in the corner of the living room. Only way I can tell it's on is if those feathers are moving slightly. No sound.

 

[5030]

Our HVAC system uses a variable speed fan. It starts up gently and runs at a low speed. Only speeds up enough to be heard if it is behind as in you change the thermostat or activate it from off.

The HVAC installer asked me if we wanted ours set up the same way (stepped fan speeds) and I told them no. Single fan speed. reason is, I run a Therm Guard on the set back thermostat which cycles the fan for 5 minutes every 30 minutes whether the furnace is running or not to distribute the warm air throughout the house when the biomass stove is operating (like it is presently) so I want the fan running at full speed, but you still cannot hear it running anyway. Ours is 100% forced air btw.

Used to be you could buy electronic thermostats with the intermittent fan only feature but not today.

 

[ultrarunner]

The HVAC installer asked me if we wanted ours set up the same way (stepped fan speeds) and I told them no. Single fan speed. reason is, I run a Therm Guard on the set back thermostat which cycles the fan for 5 minutes every 30 minutes whether the furnace is running or not to distribute the warm air throughout the house when the biomass stove is operating (like it is presently) so I want the fan running at full speed, but you still cannot hear it running anyway. Ours is 100% forced air btw.

Used to be you could buy electronic thermostats with the intermittent fan only feature but not today.

I bought one with intermittent fan only setting and it works well but I can’t use advance features as I have no fixed Internet.

Intermittent fan isn’t an advanced feature so I’m good.

Sensi by Emerson

 

[mike0000]

The CO-OP I buy my propane from delivered today, they were behind deliveries with driver issues. I buy on the “Summer fill program” they offer. We have a buried 500 (fill to about 400) gallon tank, summer price is $2.19 a gallon. Last summer it was $1.59 (we own the tank). With the wood I burn we only need to buy once a year. Pretty significant increase in cost,
like everything else these days.

Mike

 

[dlctcg]

We will be trying to use a lot more wood this year... But we are very worried about some of our fixed income & elderly neighbors that can not supplement with alternative heat sources... fuel prices are going insane & only look to be increasing...


Home Fuel Oil pricing in CT...
3 days ago Oil prices
150 gallons or more 5.759


Approx. 1yr ago -
October 1, 2021 Oil prices
150 gallons or more 2.699