Just buy a stupid wood stove.............

So you have a house.......just reach for the thermostat............

Most of us know that in the modern era, heating and cooling is a no brainer. You build a house, or buy one, and everything you need to control the climate in your house is there. If its cold, turn up the thermostat, if hot turn it down.

I was in the US Navy for 8 years and for part of that time I was in the nuclear field. I was actually qualified to run a nuclear reactor and did many times. The principle of generating heat are nothing new but I was always fascinated but thermodynamics and the study of heat transfer. Most think that heat is removed, put an ice cube in a cup of coffee and it cools off, so where did the heat go. The premise is heat is transferred between objects not cold. Sit on a cold floor, and when you get up that spot is warm, why?, Your body transferred heat to the floor.

Thermodynamics are everywhere, even in your home heating and cooling system. The ability to control the climate depends on how you transfer the heat, in the winter we ad heat, summer we remove heat. Thus ends my Thermodynamics lesson. If you want to control the climate in your home control the heat.

I wanted to heat my home with natural fuels, and not rely "totally" on the electric grid. My choice was wood. With the work involved I even used wood when I live in a conventional home, and a outdoor furnace. It simply cant be beat, if you dont mind the work. In todays world not every one can go harvest a couple of trees, get 4 chords of wood and be set for the winter, time is precious. If you have the time though, this works. However, you can apply the same principles to an oil furnace, boiler system or even electric. It comes down to the need to control, the basic platform of home automation.

In a nuclear system, fission supplies the heat, heat is transferred to water, water heats more water to steam, and steam does the work. My system is the same basic principle. A wood furnace, coupled with a biomass exchanger, will transfer heat to water. The water then will be the body, or vessel to store the heat until its needed, whether its used to heat air for climate control, or preheat DHW, its vital that the 1000s of kilocalories transferred in the exchanger, be stored....some place.

I have done the calculations, and for me, with the system Im designing, it will be feasible to have a holding tank of 500 gallons of water, thoroughly and completely insulated. With a steady or at least a minimal amount of additional heat inputted to offset any loss, its still feasible way to store the heat. Other systems are out there, some use tanks with water and rock to store the heat. I have seen systems where a succession of insulated barrels are used, again your ideas, your methods.

Now the method to control all of this.........that in the next blog