Sources and methods of alternative heating in a private house and apartment. New Year in the country or alternative heat sources for a private house

In the desire to cause as little environmental damage as possible and reduce the consumption of non-renewable energy resources, many homeowners are considering alternative heating as a source for heating their home in winter period time. At the moment, homeowners have access to a variety of alternative heating sources that use solar energy, fuel pellets, wood briquettes, geothermal pumps, etc. in the process of generating heat.

Such systems are not only safe for environment, but also provide a number of advantages to home owners - they do not involve the use of products from the gas, oil or energy industries and reduce monthly heating costs. To find out which home heating alternative is the most acceptable and profitable, you should familiarize yourself with the specifics of each heating system available on the market today.

Geothermal system - using the heat of the Earth

Currently alternative views heating systems are represented by a variety of devices, among which there is a geothermal pump that allows you to efficiently generate heat in homes located in the temperate climate zone. According to the principle of operation, a geothermal system is similar to a standard home heating scheme - for its operation, it is necessary to install radiators to circulate the coolant, however, the key element of such a system is not a boiler, but a geothermal pump. Like a traditional gas boiler, this appliance is compact in size and does not take up much space in the house.

The efficiency of the pump is impressive - with one kilowatt of electricity consumed, it generates five kilowatts of heat.

Principle of operation geothermal system consists in the fact that the heat exchanger is placed in the thickness of the earth or in the thickness of thermal waters, and the coolant circulating in it takes on the ambient temperature. Next, the heated coolant enters the heat pump and then is fed into the circuit, giving off heat to the room.

This alternative heating method is silent, safe and very efficient. At the same time, the source of heat for the geothermal heating system is an endless resource that is available at any time. Among the disadvantages of this method there are such nuances as the complexity of installation, the high cost of equipment, the laboriousness of land work, so geothermal alternative sources heating with your own hands will be quite problematic and you will have to resort to the help of geodesy specialists.

Use of solar energy

solar systems heating alternatives can be active or passive. Passive solar heating relies on the use of special elements in the building structure to collect and store energy. Projects for the construction of such houses provide for the placement large windows on the south side of the facade, as well as the presence of surfaces inside the house to absorb and store solar energy. Such absorbing surfaces can be concrete walls and floors and other heat-saving materials in the construction of the house. They collect heat and store it for later use.

Active heating systems for a private house are alternative, they involve the presence of complex and expensive equipment - solar collectors, heat pumps, heat exchangers, tanks and elements to control energy collection, a parabolic solar steam boiler, etc. In the process, active solar heating systems rely on the use of electricity, necessary to power some elements.

Both heating systems are quite efficient and use 100% renewable solar energy as the heat source.

They can be used for heating and hot water supply of houses. Among the advantages of this type of heating, it is worth noting the absence of harmful emissions, environmental friendliness, stable operation, and a reduction in monthly heating costs. Disadvantages are also present and lie in the high cost of equipment and the complexity of its installation in the house.

Boilers using renewable energy sources

Unlike the systems listed above, which are complex and expensive, heating a private house with a wood-burning boiler can become an affordable and effective option for heating a house for a wide range of rational and economical owners. Currently, wood heating country house- this is good alternative traditional gas boilers, the use of which implies the inevitable receipt of solid gas bills every month. And how to organize heating a house without gas can be found here.

At the same time, the owners of the house who have chosen this heating option can buy firewood for heating at an affordable price or prepare it themselves and achieve even more impressive savings. You can buy wood-fired boilers for home heating, prices for which depend on the chosen model, in a store or on the manufacturer's website. When choosing a boiler, you should pay attention to its specification.

The following indicators are of decisive importance:

It is worth noting that firewood is not the only type of fuel that boilers can run on. In particular, alternative heating boilers can use sawdust, peat briquettes, pellets, fuel pellets as a combustible fuel. Such materials are much cheaper than gas and liquid fuels, such as fuel oil. In addition, they can be produced in any country and do not require the establishment of supplies from other countries.

Renewable wood-fired boilers can be used as primary or secondary heat sources in the home, and the owner can choose the model that best complements the existing heating system and makes it more efficient and economical.

prospects

Competition among companies involved in the production and sale of alternative heating systems motivates manufacturers to establish more and more affordable prices to attract customers. In use alternative heating the authorities of states that do not have their own sources of oil and gas and depend on export supplies of fuel are also interested. Therefore, it is likely that in the coming years, the installation of alternative heating systems in the house will become commonplace, and homeowners will be able to take advantage of the operation of an environmentally friendly system that is qualitatively different from traditional heat sources.

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Alternative energy sources for heating a private house

aqueo.ru » Heating » Alternative energy sources for heating a private house

The modern term "alternative" is borrowed from the Latin language (alternatus - other) for the need to choose from several options or designate each of these considered options.

Energy sources for heating

The traditional way

Traditional methods of heating an apartment or a private house require the arrangement of a heating system, which includes:

a heat source that converts the energy of fuel combustion or the energy of network electricity into thermal energy;
a heat exchanger for transferring thermal energy from an energy carrier to a heat carrier, for the subsequent distribution of heat to heat consumption points;
a closed pipeline circuit, through which the movement of the coolant is stimulated in a natural or forced way;
heating devices that distribute heat from the coolant to the environment of the room.

The figure below shows the structure of a heating system with a boiler as a heat source and heat consumption points in the form of radiators and underfloor heating.

The structure of the traditional heating system of a private house

Flaws

For most types of heating systems, heating boilers are sources of thermal energy. In them, gas, liquid or solid fuels are burned in order to use the heat of combustion of the fuel to heat the coolant (the so-called gas, liquid fuel and solid fuel boilers).

Another option for heating the coolant in the heat exchanger of the heating boiler is to use the energy of mains electricity ( electric boilers heating).

Each type of boiler and the corresponding energy carrier has certain negative features that affect the efficiency of its use:

Gas-fired boilers are widespread due to the availability of gas.

The negative factors accompanying the use of gas for heating are:

organizational and technical complexity of connecting to the gas pipeline;
the threat of ignition or explosion in case of violation of the rules for the operation of gas heating equipment or improper installation by one's own hands;
rising prices for gas resources.

Electric boilers are the easiest to install and maintain with your own hands. The most significant disadvantages are:

volatility of equipment - when the power supply is turned off, the flow of heat into the heating system stops;
high electricity tariffs.

Liquid fuel boilers as sources of thermal energy are quite difficult to operate. From the negative, we note the following factors:

the high cost of liquid fuel, the complexity of its delivery and safe storage;
noise at work
unpleasant odors when burning fuel.

Home boiler room with oil boiler

Solid fuel boilers on coal, peat, wood or pellets impress with the cheapness of fuel resources and energy independence in operation, but they have their drawbacks:

fuel loaded with your own hands into the boiler furnace quickly burns out;
lack of automation of the fuel loading process;
the need for constant visual monitoring of the operation of the boiler.

All of the above heating systems have two common shortcomings:

they operate on non-renewable sources of thermal energy - the fuel is completely burned without the possibility of any recovery;
the operation of equipment that burns natural resources or uses centrally supplied electricity is accompanied by a constant payment for the volume of energy spent and service providers for its provision.

The figure below shows the delivery of liquefied gas for gas heating at home.

Delivery of liquefied gas to a private house

Nuances that need attention:

Such a convenient and familiar heating of a private house by burning non-renewable organic resources leads to a catastrophic decrease in natural fuel reserves for money from our own pocket! Naturally, the prices for fossil fuels will constantly rise.
Fuel combustion is accompanied by emissions carbon dioxide and volatile toxic combustion products, with the precipitation of resins and soot.
Each consumer of organic fuel is forced to equip additional premises:

for fuel storage;
for its combustion with the release of combustion products into the atmosphere.

Alternative heating concept

When considering alternative home heating options, you need to decide on the concept itself.

Alternative heat sources for a private house include two fundamentally different types of equipment:

Devices that work in addition to a self-installed electric or gas boiler. For some reason, a boiler running on gas or electricity does not provide full heat for the heating system of the entire building.

The main heating power is provided by the boiler, and during the period of peak loads or off-season, alternative sources support its operation. In this case, alternative heating will be, for example, a do-it-yourself pellet boiler, or a waste-burning unit, and even infrared heaters.

Devices that completely replace the boiler on gas, electricity or other traditional energy source. Their heat output is sufficient to provide alternative heating for the home.

The most common alternatives for heating housing without burning gas and other fossil fuels are technologies that use the energy of natural resources - heat from the bowels of the earth, geysers, sunlight and climatic processes - wind, ocean tide.

House equipped with solar panels

Modern methods of heating

The practical implementation of projects on the use of the energy of natural resources and phenomena as an alternative source of heat for heating a home most widely affects:

energy of sunlight (solar thermal systems);
wind energy (wind energy);
energy of warm earth interiors (geothermal pumps).

Two options for the practical application of natural energy for the needs of alternative heating of a private house are noted:

energy transformation natural phenomenon into electrical energy, which will then be used for autonomous heating, that is, heating the house from its own internal source of electricity;
direct heating of the working coolant of the heating system.

Solar system

When arranging solar heating systems with their own hands, both options for solar radiation are used:

Converting sunlight energy into electrical energy using solar panels.

It is customary to call solar batteries a group of semiconductor photoelectronic converters combined in one common module to generate electricity. Several solar modules create a circuit to provide a private house with a certain amount of electricity.

The power of each solar module can be from 50 to 300 watts. The figure below shows the principle of using solar panels for alternative autonomous heating of a building.

Scheme of heating a house using solar panels

The principle of operation of the solar system:

from the solar module, the converted luminous flux enters the battery pack;
batteries generate direct current, which is sent to the inverter;
in the inverter, the direct current is converted into alternating current, which is used to heat the heating elements in the heating system.

Solar panels can only generate electricity. They do not create thermal energy, do not transform and do not accumulate. They work equally effectively on a frosty day or at a positive ambient temperature, since the intensity of the incident solar flux is important to them.

Use of solar collectors for direct water heating.

In private housing construction, do-it-yourself installation of solar collectors for alternative heating is more popular than installation of solar panels. Collectors convert solar light fluxes directly into thermal energy, bypassing the formation of electricity.

Do-it-yourself collectors for heating have a wide variety designs which can be divided into two types:

flat-plate collectors, consisting of absorbers - elements that absorb sunlight (in the simplest case - metal plates or black sheets) connected to a piping system;
pipe collectors assembled from glass tubes, inside of which a steel absorber is inserted.

The figure below shows one of the do-it-yourself options for making a solar collector with copper tubes placed in the absorber for heating the coolant.

A coolant with a minimum crystallization threshold is pumped into the tubes. AT middle lane Russia is recommended to use a 60% aqueous solution of propylene glycol with a crystallization onset temperature of -390 C.

Copper tube solar collector

Both types of collector systems are mounted on the sloping part of the roof of the house. The figure below shows the principle of heating a building using a collector.

The coolant heated in the solar collector (red line) enters the buffer tank, which acts as a heat accumulator and an automated system for maintaining the temperature in the heating and hot water circuits.

If there is a lack of incoming heat on cloudy days, the water in the buffer tank is heated by another available heat source, for example, water from a gas boiler, which is the main heat source of the heating system.

Thanks to automation, the temperature in the heating system is constantly monitored. At night, the lack of solar heat is compensated by connecting a heating element to maintain a comfortable temperature level.

The principle of operation of the heating system from the solar collector

home wind power

The use of the kinetic energy of air flows for the needs of heating a private house is carried out in two directions:

Converting the kinetic energy of the wind into electrical energy by rotating the rotor of special wind generators.

The resulting electricity is stored in batteries and, as needed, through inverters (similar to solar heating technology) is used to heat water in the heating system. In calm weather, heating devices are connected to the general electrical network.

Converting the energy of the rotating rotor of a wind turbine into thermal energy for direct heating of the coolant using VTG vortex heat generators.

The dominant method in private housing construction is the manufacture and installation of devices consisting of a windmill, a generator and a battery to generate their own electricity. The design captivates with its simplicity and possibility self assembly.

Differ among themselves wind generators according to the following indicators:

the location of the axis of rotation - vertical or horizontal;
number of propeller blades;
screw pitch.

The figure below shows a house equipped with wind turbines with a horizontal axis of rotation.

Wind turbines for power supply of a private house

Geothermal (heat) pumps

Devices that can use the geothermal energy of the earth's interior allow owners of private houses to significantly save on gas or other types of fuel when heating their homes. Thermal energy is extracted directly from the depths of the earth or from the bottom of a reservoir using a device called a heat pump.

The principle of operation of a heat pump is similar to the operation of a refrigeration unit using freon:

when liquid freon passes through pipes at a considerable depth in a reservoir or in a drilled well, in which a positive temperature is maintained even in winter, freon begins to evaporate, turning into a gaseous state;
the gaseous phase of freon rises up and enters the compressor, which compresses it strongly;
when gas is compressed in a limited volume, it is heated up to 80 degrees C;
freon is cooled in the heat exchanger;
in the throttle chamber, due to a decrease in temperature and pressure, freon again turns into a liquid;
the cycle is repeated.

Heat pumps are energy-dependent units, however, the power consumption for the operation of the device is incommensurably lower than would be required for direct electrical heating of the coolant.

The temperature of the coolant in the heating system with geothermal devices does not exceed 50 degrees, which is not enough for radiator heating, but for "warm floors" - quite enough.

Heat pumps structurally differ in the technology of heating freon until it passes into a gaseous state. Depending on the source of "low-level heat" emit:

water installations for obtaining heat from surface reservoirs or underground groundwater;
earthen, "taking away" heat from the ground;
air.

Scheme of operation of a ground source heat pump

When classifying geothermal devices, the type of coolant in the heating system is also taken into account - water or air. Accordingly, the devices receive the designations "soil - water", "soil - air", "water - water", etc.

Video about heating

How to organize economical heating at home with your own hands, is described in the video below.

The logic of switching to alternative heating is not only to save money on buying gas or paying electricity bills.

Of course, non-renewable energy prices are skyrocketing. But how can one not recall the words of D. Mendeleev, who said: “Burning oil is the same as heating the stove with banknotes”?

It is unreasonable to burn tons of coal or tens of cubic meters of wood for the sake of heating a modest room and at the same time cause irreparable damage to the purity of the surrounding ecology.

In many countries, alternative types of heating and energy supply for an individual residential building are superior in demand to traditional methods of heating. The heating equipment market is filled with innovative alternative heating devices, the range of which is constantly expanding.

Air-to-water heat pump

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Alternative heat sources for houses and apartments

Most of us have normal gas, coal or combined heating. Of course, there is also electric way space heating, but it is not very common due to the high cost of electricity. But what to do if the heat is suddenly turned off, a failure in the pipe, a blackout, etc.? Don't freeze in the winter! Of course not, because in this case alternative heat sources come to the rescue. This is a mandatory attribute in an extreme or even catastrophic situation. Let's talk about everything in more detail.

Gas and electric heating

It is safe to say that today is an extremely turbulent and difficult time for many. Anything can happen to a gas line. For example, a major accident is eliminated for a long time, and if there are no alternative ways of supply, then people will freeze. As for the electric option, then, firstly, it is expensive, and secondly, it is not very reliable. This is due to possible congestion in the network when connecting a large number of consumers. Nevertheless, gas and electricity are by far the main sources of heat. All we can do is keep ourselves safe by installing emergency equipment. Sometimes you can make alternative heat sources with your own hands, we'll talk about this a little later.

Solid and liquid fuel boilers

These are perhaps the two most common solutions today. This is due to the high availability of equipment. Of course, the complexity installation work makes itself felt, but the cost of solid fuel (coal, firewood, etc.) is quite reasonable. But it is necessary to think about such a heat source in advance and install it together with gas equipment. Of course, water system can be carried out in parallel with the electroconvector, so, in fact, it is better to do so. As for liquid boilers, this is good decision, but in recent years the popularity of this method of heating is decreasing. This is due to the increase in the cost of fuel. The latter is vegetable and machine oil, and mining is also suitable. If you work in a factory where dozens or even hundreds of such fuels are poured every day, then it's time to think about this issue. Such alternative heat sources for the home are extremely relevant, especially if there are oil reserves. Let's go further.

Alternative heat sources made by hand - it's easy

Sometimes we ourselves can make something for heating. The easiest option is a potbelly stove. Most often, a barrel is used as a body or steel pipe large diameter. Two holes are made in the body, one is larger - a firebox, the second is smaller - an ash pan. It is desirable to make doors. Slightly below the level of the firebox door, it is necessary to make brackets on which the grate will be placed. The latter can be made from conventional reinforcement by welding. If you are making a potbelly stove from a pipe, then you need to weld the upper and lower parts. But do not forget that you need a chimney. To do this, a small hole is cut out from above, and a pipe is inserted into it. In fact, such alternative heat sources, made by hand, are quite capable of heating a large room in the cold season. Coal or wood is used as fuel. Do not forget that you need to connect to the chimney.

Long burning furnaces

This heating option has become more common over the past few years. This is due not only to good advertising, but also to the high efficiency of the method. The bottom line is that there are two stages of fuel combustion. At the first, smoldering and the release of wood gas occur, and at the second, the combustion of the latter. As a result, we have a fairly efficient, but at the same time economical heating. But it is necessary to carefully monitor the moisture content of the fuel. If this indicator is higher than the norm, then the amount of heat given off will not be so large, sometimes such fuel will not even smolder. Therefore, more attention must be paid to storage. It is better to give preference to a garage or any other covered dry room. Breneran (Canada) and Buleryan are considered leaders in the production of long-burning furnaces with an air or water circuit. In principle, such alternative heat sources for an apartment should not be ignored. Moreover, sometimes this is the only available solution.

Heat pumps - alternative sources of heat for a private house

Many people have not even heard of this method of heating a room. But today, if we consider alternative sources of heat, this is one of the the best options. This is due not only to high efficiency, but also to safety. The bottom line is that the heat collected from the soil or water is transferred to the heating system. Most often used in summer reverse principle(building cooling). As you can see, one heat pump can solve several problems. In winter it is a heating system, in summer it is air conditioning. In terms of efficiency, heating costs will be about 10% lower than gas. But often the problem lies in the fact that not everyone can afford heat pumps, because this is expensive equipment that requires accurate professional installation. Yes, and this system is too dependent on electricity, so it does not make much sense when there are problems with electricity.

Install TEK or fireplace

Hydrodynamic installation (heating), aka TEK, is a new source of alternative space heating. The design of the installation includes an expansion tank (hydraulic accumulator), a pump and an electric pump. The principle of operation is based on the release of energy from two streams of water that collide with each other when they enter the tank. Often just connected to heating system apartment or house and does not require the installation of additional equipment, such as a circulation pump, a mechanical filter, etc.

As for such a solution as installing a fireplace, this is not available to everyone. But if you live on the top floor or the building has a chimney, then you won't have any problems. Of course it's pretty expensive pleasure and requires a lot of indoor space. But in return you get excellent heating. In principle, these are the most popular alternative heat sources for summer cottages, where there is a lot of space and it is possible to make a chimney yourself. The main thing is to work out the air heating system correctly so that air flows through the entire room.

Basic information about solar systems

Solar systems, despite their complexity, are quite popular. But if their use is difficult in apartments, then for a summer residence or a country house this is just what you need. Such a heat source consists of a solar collector (vacuum). A collector is installed on the roof, where it collects the energy of the sun. When the rays hit its surface, the room is heated. It is noteworthy that the system works even at sub-zero temperatures or cloudy weather. But do not forget that it is extremely important to monitor the condition of the plates, clean them from snow, leaves, etc. Since thermal energy As a result, it enters the heat exchanger, then it is used for the heating system and water heating for household needs. But in places where the sun is almost never there, such systems are not practical to install.

So what to choose

We have considered the main part of alternative heat sources. As you can see, there are quite a few of them. But what you install is up to you. So, solar systems are preferable in the southern and central regions, and in the northern ones it is practically useless to mount them. A fireplace is suitable for a country house, and it is better to put a slow-burning stove in an apartment. The best alternative heat sources for a garage are potbelly stoves, as here you can burn oil waste without worrying about a specific smell.

Conclusion

That, in principle, is all that can be said on this topic. The choice is very large, it is necessary to be guided not only by your own preferences, but also soberly assess your financial capabilities, as well as the appropriateness of a particular choice. If you come to the country a couple of times a year, then it hardly makes sense to install a solar system there, this is equivalent to installing a potbelly stove in a renovated apartment. Of course, the decision is yours, but make it deliberately and think about safety first, as well as about not freezing in difficult times.

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Heating without gas: 7 alternative heat sources for a private house

Traditionally, a private house is heated by a gas boiler. But what if the site is not connected to the gas main? Or there are interruptions in the gas supply and you want to have insurance for this case? Or you just want to reduce dependence on gas and the state.

In this case, it is necessary to consider the option of alternative heating of the house. And then we will analyze what can be used. Which appliances will serve as a full replacement for a gas boiler and provide heating without gas, and which can only be used as a supplement.

What is an alternative heat source

Since traditionally the house is heated by a gas boiler, by alternative heating of the house we will mean any heating device that does not work on gas.

When it's relevant

You do not have the opportunity to connect to the gas network or it is too expensive;
You want to reduce dependence on gas and have insurance in case of severe frosts or interruptions in its supply;
To save on heating. Combining and properly managing heat sources will reduce your heating costs.

Types of alternative energy sources

Conventionally, alternative heat sources are divided into two types:

Which work in addition to the boiler. By virtue of different reasons they are not able to fully provide the building with heat. The main heating capacity is covered by a gas boiler, while other sources support its operation during peak loads or off-season.
Which replace the gas boiler. These are those heat sources that are able to generate enough heating power to heat the building.

Consider which devices can be used in each case.

Heat pump

A heat pump is one of the most economical heating methods. It is powered by the mains and converts natural energy into heat to heat the house. Depending on the type, the pump can be the only source of heat in the house and fully provide heating without gas, or it can work in addition to the boiler.

Ground source heat pumps are a complete alternative to gas boilers. They work equally efficiently regardless of the outside temperature and fully provide the building with heat. Their disadvantages are: high initial cost, payback of more than 10 years and the necessary availability of a large plot of land in order to bury a soil collector.
Air source heat pumps are cheaper and easier to install. They can also replace gas heating, but at zero degrees and sub-zero temperatures, their efficiency drops dramatically. Heating becomes economically unprofitable. Therefore, it is best to use “air vents” in tandem with a boiler: in spring and autumn, when it is warm outside, the pump mainly works, and in winter and during frosts, a gas boiler is connected to work.

Solid fuel boilers

Solid fuel and pellet boilers- one of the most affordable ways to heat a private house without gas. They are cheaper than a heat pump and are able to fully provide the building with heat, regardless of the time of day and street temperature.

But when choosing and installing solid fuel boilers, you need to consider:

It is necessary to constantly monitor combustion and add firewood 1-2 times a day. Of course, this is not so difficult, but in comparison with gas boilers it is inconvenient. In pellet boilers, this is easier, since they provide for automatic feeding of pellets into the furnace from the bunker.
Woodworking is not developed in all regions and it is possible that good firewood will have to be transported from far away. So make sure you have access to at least 2-3 firewood vendors.
You need to buy firewood one year before the start of the heating season. A year is a necessary period for the firewood to dry out and gain energy value. Initial low humidity only for fuel briquettes.
You become dependent on wood instead of gas.
At certain volumes of consumption, wood heating is not cheaper than gas heating.
Need storage space. If firewood is stored incorrectly, it will get wet and lose its energy potential. See the article how to store firewood.
From time to time you will have to clean the chimney and the inside of the boiler from soot.

Solar collectors

Solar collectors - good way reduce gas consumption and supplement the operation of a gas boiler.

It will not work to fully heat the house due to collectors. They definitely need a second (main) heat source to pair with them, because in winter the daylight hours are shorter and the solar intensity is much weaker than in summer.

Collectors are ideal for hot water heating in summer, spring and autumn. And in winter they can only be used to support heating.

Fireplace with water circuit

Such a fireplace is a combination of a traditional fireplace and solid fuel boiler: it is installed indoors and connected to common system heating. Inside the fireplace there is a container with water, which heats up during the burning of firewood. Due to this, you not only heat the air in the room, but also heat the water in the heating system, which then enters the radiators, floor heating or storage tank.

Theoretically, a fireplace with a water circuit could be an alternative gas heating. But since it does not have an automatic fuel supply and new firewood needs to be thrown in every 2-4 hours, you should not count on it much. If firewood is not added in time, the fire will go out and the house will cool down.

Therefore, such a fireplace should be considered as an addition to the main source of heat.

Conventional air fireplaces

Conventional fireplaces are cheaper and easier to install. For it, it is not necessary to pre-supply a pipe, install a storage tank and provide for thermal protection. It is enough just to allocate a place and build a chimney.

The fireplace only heats the air around it. And to increase its efficiency, you can conduct air channels from the fireplace to each room. Due to this, the fireplace will heat not only the room in which it is installed, but also other rooms where air channels are laid.

The difficulties with an ordinary fireplace are the same: it will not replace a gas boiler, firewood will also have to be regularly thrown up and monitored for combustion. This is an excellent additional and alternative source of heat, but no more.

Pellet fireplace

A pellet fireplace also only heats the air around it. But it has two important advantages:

It is not necessary to have a chimney in advance. For such a fireplace, a small diameter pipe is needed, which is led into the wall, and not through all the floors of the building.
There is an automatic fuel supply. That is, you do not need to constantly monitor combustion. It is enough just to maintain the supply of fuel pellets in the bunker. And therefore, a pellet fireplace will do as an alternative heating without gas. But from a practical point of view, this is inconvenient: the fireplace is effective locally and heats only the room in which it is installed. It is impossible to use heat on a scale of the whole house.

Of the shortcomings:

You need access to high-quality pellets that will not clog the burner with soot and burn well.

Air conditioners

Air conditioning is the most affordable and easiest alternative source of home heating. You can install one powerful on the entire floor or one in each room.

The most optimal option for using the air conditioner is in late spring or early autumn, when it is still not too cold outside and the gas boiler can not be started yet. This will reduce gas consumption at the expense of electricity and not exceed the monthly rate of gas consumption.

Important Points:

The boiler and air conditioner must be linked to each other to work in pairs. That is, the boiler must see that the air conditioner is working and not turn on while the room is warm. Here you can not do without a wall thermostat.
Heating with electricity is not cheaper than gas. Therefore, you should not completely switch to heating with air conditioners.
Not all air conditioners can be used at zero and frost.

To be less dependent on gas, you need to work on the energy efficiency of the building. Read about possible hidden heat leaks in a private home.

Personal experience

I use four heat sources to heat my house: a gas boiler (main), a fireplace with a water circuit, six flat-plate solar collectors and an inverter air conditioner.

Why is it needed

Have a second (reserve) source of heat if the gas boiler fails or its capacity becomes insufficient (severe frosts).
Save on heating. Due to different heat sources, you can control the monthly and annual gas consumption rate so as not to switch to a more expensive tariff.

Some statistics

The average gas consumption in January 2016 is 12 cubic meters per day. With a heated area of 200m2 and an additional basement.

Fluctuations in consumption by day during the month are associated with different outdoor temperatures and the presence of the sun: on sunny days, collectors work, and gas consumption decreases.

conclusions

Heating without gas is possible. Some heat sources serve as a full-fledged replacement for a gas boiler, while others can only be used in addition. For convenience, let's combine everything in a table.

Alternative heating should be understood as systems that use free natural resources for their work. Among the most popular options for such systems are installations operating using solar and wind energy. On the device of such heating, all other things being equal, you will have to spend less money than on the construction of more familiar heating communications, and in terms of operating costs, alternative heating is in the undoubted leaders.

Back in the middle of the last century, people learned to use wind energy to generate electricity. The systems under consideration are based on wind turbines. A typical windmill consists of several blades and is connected to the generator directly or through a gearbox.

There are rotary, high-speed and low-speed models of wind turbines.

Slow windmills equipped with a large number of blades, they practically do not make noise during operation, but are relatively inefficient.
Design high-speed wind generator usually includes 3-4 blades. Such an installation is designed for wind speeds of 10-15 m/s. High-speed windmills are quite noisy, but have a high efficiency, for which they are most widely used in the world.
The rotary windmill looks like a kind of barrel. Blades are installed vertically. The advantage of such a wind generator is that it does not need to be oriented in the direction of the wind. Rotary models are distinguished by the lowest noise and, at the same time, the most modest efficiency. Heating a private house with a rotary windmill is extremely problematic.

It is the Sun that is currently considered as the most promising source of alternative energy. On average, for the year the star closest to our planet gives 30-35 thousand more heat that consumes the entire population of the Earth.

World scientists are constantly working to improve the efficiency of various solar installations and photovoltaic converters.

At home, you can assemble the mentioned installations and use them to heat water, i.e. building water heating on alternative energy is quite realistic. However, performance makeshift installations rarely reaches even 50% of the productivity of full-fledged factory-made units. Therefore, it is better to buy ready-made solar panels and all related elements, and already assemble and install them yourself.

What is remarkable industrial units allow you to get warm water even in frosty weather. All you need is for the sun to shine.

There are solar plants for indirect and direct heating.

Greenhouses and water boilers installed outdoors are examples of direct heating facilities. Even the glazed veranda is a kind of direct heating solar plant. However, the situation is overshadowed by the fact that heat is spent irrationally.
Indirect heating, on the other hand, gives the user the opportunity to install the unit for receiving solar energy where it will be most convenient, for example, on the roof. The functions of the coolant in such systems are usually performed by special non-freezing liquids. Heat is transferred from the water storage warm water is taken to the household needs of the user, its place is taken by a cold liquid and the cycle is repeated.

Also, solar plants are classified into flat and tubular.

The first type has the form of a box with a spiral heating element, usually made of copper. On three sides, such a spiral is thermally insulated, while on the sunny side it is covered with glass. Flat installations no problem assembled by hand. This is a budget and easy to use option, but the efficiency of flat installations leaves much to be desired. The functions of the coolant in the system under consideration are usually performed by an antifreeze liquid; water can also be used.
Tubular blocks are assembled from several tubes up to 400 cm high. The tubes are placed parallel to each other. The system can consist of any required number of tubes. The function of the coolant in such a system is performed by a special liquid with a low boiling point, due to which it is possible to significantly increase the efficiency of the unit. Compared to flat solar systems, tubular solar systems are approximately 30-40% more efficient.
It is possible to increase the productivity of the installation under consideration by including a special pump, heat exchangers and thermally insulated pipes in the system. The panel is installed at an angle, usually 30 degrees.

Tubular installations are great for heating water and can take an active part in heating the house.

Installation for solar heating at home

At the heart of the solar heating system of the house will be an elementary collector, which can be assembled with your own hands from improvised means.

First step. Remove the coil from the refrigerator and rinse it thoroughly clean water. It is important to remove all old freon from the coil.

Second step. Assemble the frame from wooden slats. Frame dimensions are selected individually in accordance with the dimensions of the coil. It is necessary that the coil fits between the rails without any extra effort.

Third step. Apply markup. Attach the coil to the rack frame and mark where the pipes will exit.

Fourth step. Install the bottom frame rail. Between the finished frame and the rug you need to lay a sheet of foil.

Fifth step. Increase the rigidity of the system. To do this, fill the rails on the back wall of the structure.

Sixth step. Glue the gaps between the previously laid foil and the base of the unit with adhesive tape. Such sealing will not allow cold outside air to enter the system.

Seventh step. Install supply pipes. Simple plastic water pipes are perfect for connecting water.

Eighth step. Seal the joints of the coil and plastic pipes with the same tape.

Ninth step. Finally fix the coil to the body. For fixing, you can use clamps from the same old refrigerator. Additionally, the product should be fixed with screws.

Tenth step. Cover the system with glass and glue it with tape around the entire perimeter.

solar collector

On this, the work on assembling the solar collector can be considered completed. It remains only to fix the supports so that the rays of the sun fall on the plane of the collector at a right angle. Additionally, a few screws need to be fixed at the bottom of the frame. They will not allow the glass to move out when heated.

A self-made collector is connected to a storage tank with water. The tank is connected to water pipes and / or heating pipes. To increase the efficiency of the system, the system is equipped with a pump.

Assembly and connection of the wind generator

Wind is the second most popular source of alternative energy. Homemade wind turbines allow you to provide the house with heat from minimal cost.

First stage. Select the appropriate type of structure and its power. Beginners are advised to opt for the most popular vertical wind turbines. Select power individually. Increasing the power of the wind generator is carried out by increasing the size of the impeller and adding additional blades.

However, remember that the more powerful the device, the more difficult it will be to balance it. The best option for self-manufacturing is a windmill with an impeller with a diameter of about 2 m and 4-6 blades.

Second phase. Make a foundation for the wind turbine. An elementary three-point base is enough. Determine the depth and area of the structure individually, taking into account the characteristics of the soil and the climate at the construction site.

Install the mast not earlier than the complete solidification of the base, i.e. in about 1.5-2 weeks. Instead of a foundation, you can use stretch marks. This is an even simpler option for installing a mast. Dig a small pit with a depth of about 50-60 cm, install a wind turbine mast in it and securely fix the structure with ordinary stretch marks.

Third stage. Make the blades. Perfect for this at home. metal barrel. You need to divide the container into identical parts in an amount equal to the number of selected blades. Mark the blades first, it is important that the blades are exactly the same size. Cut out the blades of the future wind generator. The Bulgarian will help you with this. In the absence of a grinder, you can get by with scissors for cutting metal.

Fourth stage. Fix the workpiece on the generator with bolts, and then bend the blades. Many parameters of the wind generator operation depend on how much the blades are bent. No specific recommendations can be made in this regard. You can only determine the appropriate angle by experience.

Fifth stage. Connect the electrical wires to the generator and connect the elements of the system into a circuit. Fix the generator on the mast of the windmill, then connect the wires to the mast and turn on the generator and battery in the circuit. Give the load with wires. At this wind generator is ready. You can connect it to the water heating system through the same storage tanks.

If you wish, you can assemble and install several windmills if one device is not enough to fully provide the house with heat.

Thus, the use of alternative energy is a very promising direction that definitely deserves attention. Now you can feel like a part modern world and significantly save on heating by assembling a simple wind or solar installation. Follow the instructions and you'll be fine.

Successful work!

Video - Do-it-yourself alternative home heating

Alternative heating sources - wind and solar energy, solid state boilers - can be used for private houses, and for an apartment in high-rise building an excellent option is gas heating, underfloor heating or infrared heaters. We will talk about the features of the use of these sources further.

The best alternative heating in a private house

Owners of such housing can partially refuse to use the usual natural sources of heat - firewood, gas and coal. As a rule, they make a choice in favor of the following alternative sources.

Energy of sun

Solar collectors are now mostly used in hot regions where there are many sunny days. They have a built-in storage battery, which serves as a keeper of the energy received. After all, at night or in cloudy weather, the batteries have nowhere to get a charge, that's when they use batteries. Collectors are of two types: flat and equipped with a vacuum tube. In summer, they work the same way, but in winter it is better to install a second type that works even at -35 degrees.

The sun is the most important producer of heat on earth - every day it gives 80 thousand billion kW, even all the power plants in the world will not replace it, so you will not be mistaken if you install a solar collector with your own hands following the example from the video:

Wind energy

To use it, you need to install a wind generator that will help convert the force of the wind into a heating source. Components any wind turbine are masts, blades and a weather vane. To convert the wind, it is equipped with a battery, a generator, a controller. The performance of the device depends on the height of its blades. To ensure proper heating in one house, it is enough that the windmill has a height of 25 meters.

Depending on how the axis of the device is located, horizontal and vertical windmills are divided. Their horizontal appearance has greater productivity.

The principle of operation of the wind generator is as follows:

The blades of the device, rotating from the wind, activate the generator rotor, which begins to produce alternating current.
The current flowing to the controller is converted from AC to DC.
direct current charges rechargeable batteries from which it enters the inverter.
Passing through the inverter, the current is converted to single-phase. In this form, it is used to heat the room.

According to the following photo, you can understand the device of the windmill and the principle of its operation:

The following video proposes to see how you can assemble a wind generator with your own hands on the basis of a home fan:

Solid fuel boilers

It is an affordable and reliable way to heat any home. Now there are many modifications of such boilers that operate on compressed pellets. Due to the economical use of fuel, they do not need to stock up much. The principle of its operation is the same as when using a gas or electric boiler: pipes are attached to it, from which the heated coolant (usually water) enters all rooms of the house.

Such a boiler consists of a combustion chamber and a fire-tube heat exchanger. They are enclosed in a water jacket. The key element of the heat generator is a flare burner, which involves forced air injection. The scheme of operation of such heating is as follows:

Combustion products are placed in the furnace, which release energy.
Through the flame tubes, heat is transferred to the water jacket.
After burning, the waste passes into the chimney and is thrown out.

To increase the efficiency of the boiler by 3-5%, an economizer can be installed at the flue gas outlet, which will take the remaining heat.

Before using a solid fuel boiler, some conditions must be taken into account:

It should be filled with firewood once or twice a day. Pellet models have automatic fuel supply.
You need to stock up on firewood in advance - preferably one year in advance, to give them the opportunity to dry well.
Arrange a dry and covered room for fuel storage.
Find several suppliers of firewood so as not to suffer from a lack of them.

How a long-burning solid fuel boiler works is shown in the video:

During the operation of such a boiler, it is required to periodically clean the chimney and the inside of the boiler from soot and soot.

Heat pump

Its action is based on the Carnot principle, according to which the pump collects the low-potential energy of the environment, converting it into high-potential. Such pumps consist of circuits (external, external) with a coolant, an evaporator and freon. The principle of operation is dismantled in the diagram:

The external circuit receives energy from the environment, and can be different types, including:

earth-water. This means that the circuit receives energy from the earth and water. It is located deep in the ground in a horizontal manner, so you will first need to do large-scale land work.
water-water. This is a great option if there is a reservoir near a private house in which you need to lower the outer contour.

You can learn about the principles of operation of heat pumps and how to install them from the video:

Depending on the ambient temperature, the efficiency of the heat pump will be determined. If it is correctly installed, it will provide the whole house with heat in winter, and in summer it can be used as an air conditioner.

Alternative heating in multi-storey buildings

The main obstacle in refusing central heating is a common riser, from which the coolant enters each apartment. To redo the heating, the consent of not only the relevant authorities is necessary, but also the desire of the neighbors to also disconnect from the general heating network. New high-rise buildings are an exception, since they provide for individual wiring, and a heat meter and a shut-off valve are installed in front of each apartment. It is enough to close it, and then it will be possible to choose an alternative heating for yourself and carry out its installation.

So, the following options can be an alternative to central heating in high-rise buildings, which are also acceptable for private houses:

Infrared heaters

These are heating devices that give off heat to the space through infrared radiation. You can do it with your own hands various options of these heaters, the most primitive among which is the option using an aluminum foil sheet and a radiator:

A sheet of foil is taken that matches the size of the battery or slightly larger.
The sheet is fixed on the wall behind the battery.

This will allow the energy not to go into the wall, but to hit the reflective surface, and aim at the living space. So, the heating of the room will immediately increase by 2 times, and in the most primitive way.

The simplest heater for 100 W and for a private house can be made with your own hands, following the instructions from the video:

Gas heating

It is based on the use of main gas, and the key point in arranging such a system will be the choice of a gas boiler. Most often, they acquire its two-circuit form. In such a modification of the heating device, oxygen is taken by the device directly from the atmosphere, and combustion products are removed from its internal chamber through the ventilation pipes.

The operation of the gas boiler is fully automated - after its installation, it is not necessary to constantly monitor the process. The sensors installed on it are triggered when gas is supplied to the burner. After receiving a positive response from them, the device itself ignites the fuel that has entered it.

The heating system with such a device provides for the installation of a circulation pump, which ensures the uninterrupted movement of the coolant (special antifreeze or water) in all rooms in the apartment.

But the installation of such a serious gas device may not be available in all rooms. The following requirements are imposed on the room where the boiler will be located:

A door 80 cm wide should lead to the room.
The area of the room is not less than 4 m2.
It is desirable that the room has a window.
For some models of boilers, forced ventilation must be equipped.
The boiler is mounted on a load-bearing or other permanently built wall, which is made of non-combustible material. If there is no such wall in the apartment, then in the place behind the boiler it is necessary to attach a layer of metal that would prevent the occurrence of a fire.
The gas boiler must be located at least 30 centimeters from other heating appliances.

Putting the gas system into operation must be carried out in the presence of specialists from the company providing gas to the apartment.

Warm floor

a person without special skills in electricity can conduct it, but it is best to entrust the preparation and restructuring of the electrical wiring in the apartment to a knowledgeable electrician. This must be approached especially responsibly in old high-rise buildings, which provide aluminum wiring. It is unlikely to withstand the load from the total power of "warm floors".

It is advisable to lay a separate cable for each room, and replace the aluminum wiring with copper. Each such cable must be brought to the apartment panel and provided for it with a separate circuit breaker.

The "warm floor" system provides for the installation of a collector. If its installation will be done manually, then it is better to purchase ready-assembled collectors together with wall cabinets.

The process of laying such a system is as follows:

Set up the base. On the basis of gender, which is often cement strainer, a foam plastic is laid, the thickness of which should not be less than 5 cm, and waterproofing is laid on top of it in the form of a polyethylene film.
Select a pipe layout. There are several of them, you can create your own scheme, in which the entire floor surface would be involved.
Install pipes. During laying, you should try not to bend the pipes, install fittings at their ends to connect to the manifold.
Perform a system connection test. Before its launch, testing is carried out, in the absence of leaks in it, a reinforcing mesh is laid on top of the pipes.
Pour the screed over the pipes. It can be performed with the “warm floor” system turned on, the heating temperature of which should be no more than 22 degrees.

After the screed has dried, any flooring, and its adhesive-based variety, is glued to the “warm floor” with heat-resistant glue.

Video: Alternative home heating

The following video will consider a complex consisting of several sources of alternative energy:

It is more difficult to disconnect from the general utility system in an apartment, but once you have completed the re-equipment of your home, you can forever forget about cold rooms and unbearable heating bills. In addition, some sources can be used in conjunction with central heating, which will keep the living space in constant heat.

The quality of the heating system directly affects the comfort of a private house. The heating system must be given due attention, since it will take a long time to be indoors, especially in winter. Today, more and more consumers are choosing alternative heat sources for their homes.

Alternative heating sources are systems that work with heat generators on renewable energy sources. These are solar, geothermal and biological energy. Boilers, heat pumps and solar panels are used to store heat and generate electricity.

This is what a biofuel boiler looks like.

Alternative heating systems of each type have their own difficulties and features. Less problems arise when using gas and electric boilers. The main plus is a constant supply of fuel. It is enough to connect the boiler once, set it up with your own hands, and not worry that the fuel will run out in the middle of the night. Of course, there is no insurance in case of interruptions, emergencies, but this rarely happens.

Heating the house with heat pumps by water-to-water type

These heating methods provide for the need to have a well for groundwater intake and for draining waste water back into the ground. A consumer for a small private house will have to drill 2-3 such wells for water intake and 1-2 for waste drain. The drilling depth should be 50 m. It is also necessary to obtain permission from the state control services.

Appearance of the water-to-water pump.

Heating with heat pumps by brine-water type

To implement the project, it is necessary to drill a well up to 200 m deep. It should contain pipes in a U-shape along with the solution. It is possible to arrange a heat exchanger, which will be located at a depth of at least 5 m. This is necessary to reduce the difference in heat received in different months of the year.

Heating scheme based on a brine-water pump.

The depth and number of wells is determined based on the ability to obtain the required 50 W of thermal energy. It is obtained from each running meter of a drilled well. As a result, alternative heating of a private house with the help of heat pumps according to the water-water or brine-water scheme is characterized by minimal heating costs compared to indicators characterizing other types of heating systems.

Heating the house with solar thermal storage collectors

Alternative heating with solar thermal storage panels will directly depend on the intensity of sunlight, which is different at different times of the year. At night and in cloudy weather, solar radiation is not enough for the collectors to work.

What is used for

Solar panels are often used for heating water or for household and household needs. Hot water takes part in heat exchange in monovalent storage tanks. Solar panels can act as an additional source of heat generation for water heating and heating systems in biovalent storage tanks.

Types of solar collectors

Solar collectors are divided into two types:

flat;
having a vacuum tube.

Heating with solar panels.

If the equipment is used in the summer, then the performance coefficient of both types will be the same. For winter it is recommended to use vacuum collectors. They can work at temperatures up to -35 degrees.

Flat collectors are able to heat the air up to +60 degrees. Vacuum collectors are designed for heating up to +90. In other parameters, the devices are similar.

Collectors with vacuum pipes are excellently used as an alternative heating for a country house. At the same time, appliances can heat water.

TEK

A hydrodynamic water heater is another good alternative to gas heating. She still does not have much fame, but the simplicity, profitability of using it for heating a house makes her noticeable. In addition to water, the installations allow heating oil, salty, dirty water.

Design

The installation consists of an expansion tank for heating water, a pump, an electric pump. Heating occurs when the streams of water supplied to the tank collide with each other - thermal energy is released. When heating the premises, the water heating installation is connected to the heating system of a private house, no additional installation of a circulation pump is required, a boiler is connected to heat the water.

Principle of operation.

Ventilation

The use of ventilation as a source of heating at least sounds interesting, because the purpose of ventilation is to remove air from the premises, which contains dust, lack of oxygen and the presence of unpleasant odors. But part of the heat is also removed with the air. How can it be used? Also, you can install a heating element in the ventilation system (in its supply part) with your own hands to supply heated air to the house.

The highest efficiency of the system supply and exhaust ventilation, with forced circulation and heat recovery.

The systems use warm exhaust air to heat cold, supply air. Better economy, equipment utilization rates are achieved by adjusting the air flow according to its actual demand.

From biomass, which includes organic waste, manure, plants, wastewater, biogas is obtained as a result of decomposition by bacteria. It is expedient to heat low-rise buildings with chips from wood pellets, logs, and pressed waste from the woodworking industry. Fuel enters the boilers using various methods of automated supply. As for log-fired boilers, fuel is loaded into them manually.

The alternative to gas heating also includes pallet fired boilers. They can be both manual and automatic fuel supply. This contributes to the fact that a person does not need to be constantly near the boiler. The automatic control system maintains the temperature at a certain parameter.

This is what biofuel looks like.

Heating the house with boilers that run on waste oils

Waste oils are not related to renewable energy sources, however, they take part in the formation of materials that must be disposed of.

Underfloor heating system

For heating a country house, the well-known heating scheme is perfect - "warm floor". During installation, no additional redevelopment is required. You can save significant amounts of money on heating. The system is installed under the floor covering. If you have the necessary knowledge and skills, you can do the installation of a warm floor with your own hands.

Underfloor heating installation process.

Ceiling heaters

Another alternative heating of a country house is the installation of ceiling special film heaters. For example, foil, which is simply mounted on the ceiling. Under the action of an electric current, heat is evenly distributed throughout the room.

For owners of private houses there is an opportunity to significantly reduce bills for utilities or not use the services of heat, electricity and gas suppliers at all. You can even provide a considerable economy, and if you wish, you can sell the surplus. This is real and some have already done it. For this, alternative energy sources are used.

Where can you get energy and in what form

In fact, energy, in one form or another, is practically everywhere in nature - the sun, wind, water, earth - there is energy everywhere. The main task is to extract it from there. Humanity has been doing this for more than one hundred years and has achieved good results. At the moment, alternative energy sources can provide the house with heat, electricity, gas, warm water. Moreover, alternative energy does not require any super skills or super knowledge. Everything can be done for your home with your own hands. So what can be done:

All alternative energy sources are able to fully meet human needs, but this requires too large investments and/or too large areas. Therefore, it is more reasonable to make a combined system: to receive energy from alternative sources, and if there is a shortage, “to get” from centralized networks.

Use of solar energy

One of the most powerful alternative energy sources for the home is solar radiation. There are two types of installations for converting solar energy:

Do not think that installations work only in the south and only in summer. They work well in winter too. In clear weather with snowfall, energy production is only slightly lower than in summer. If your area has a large number of clear days, you can use this technology.

Solar panels

Solar panels are assembled from photovoltaic converters, which are made on the basis of minerals that, under the action of sunlight, emit electrons - they produce electricity. For private use, silicon photoconverters are used. In their structure, they are monocrystalline (made from one crystal) and polycrystalline (many crystals). Monocrystalline have a higher efficiency (13-25% depending on the quality) and a longer service life, but are more expensive. Polycrystalline ones generate less electricity (9-15%) and fail faster, but have a lower price.

This is a polycrystalline photoconverter. You need to handle them carefully - they are very fragile (single-crystal too, but not to the same extent)

Assembly solar battery easy with your own hands. First you need to purchase a certain amount of silicon photocells (the amount depends on the required power). Most often they are bought in Chinese trading floors aliexpress type. Then the procedure is simple:

A few words about why the substrate for the solar panel (batteries) should be painted white. The operating temperature range of silicon wafers is from -40°C to +50°C. Operation at higher or low temperatures leads to rapid failure of the elements. On the roof, in summer, indoors, the temperature can be much higher than +50°C. That's why white is needed - so as not to overheat the silicon.

Solar collectors

Solar collectors can heat water or air. Where to direct the water heated by the sun - to hot water taps or to the heating system - you choose. Only heating will be low-temperature - for underfloor heating, what is required. But in order for the temperature in the house not to depend on the weather, the system must be made redundant so that, if necessary, another heat source is connected or the boiler switches to another energy source.

There are three types of solar collectors: flat, tubular and air. The most common are tubular, but others also have a right to exist.

flat plastic

Two panels - black and transparent - are combined into one body. Between them is a copper pipeline in the form of a snake. From the sun, the lower dark panel heats up. copper is heated from it, and from it - the water passing through the labyrinth. This way of using alternative energy sources is not the most efficient, but it is attractive because it is very simple to implement. Thus, you can heat water in. It will only be necessary to loop its supply (using a circulation pump). In the same way, you can heat water in a container for or use it for domestic needs. The disadvantage of such installations is low efficiency and productivity. It takes either a lot of time or a large number of flat-plate collectors to heat a large amount of water.

Tubular collectors

These are glass tubes - vacuum or coaxial - through which water flows. A special system allows the maximum concentration in the tubes of heat, which is transferred to the water flowing through them.

The system must have a storage tank in which water is heated. The circulation of water in the system is provided by a pump. You cannot make such systems on your own - it is problematic to make glass tubes with your own hands, and this is - main disadvantage. Together with the high price, it hinders the widespread adoption of this source of energy for the home. And the system itself is very efficient, with a bang it copes with heating water for hot water supply and makes a decent contribution to heating.

Scheme of organizing heating and hot water supply from alternative energy sources - using solar collectors

Air collectors

In our country, they are very rare and in vain. They are simple and easy to make by hand. The only negative is that a large area is required: they can occupy the entire southern (eastern, southeastern) wall. The system is very similar to flat-plate collectors - a black lower panel, a transparent upper one, but they directly heat the air, which is forced (by a fan) or naturally into the room. Despite the seeming frivolity, in this way it is possible to heat small rooms during daylight hours, including technical or utility rooms:, cottages, sheds for living creatures.

Such an alternative source of energy as the sun gives us its heat, but most of it goes "to nowhere". To catch a small fraction of it and use it for personal needs is the task that all these devices solve.

Wind turbines

Alternative energy sources are good because they are mostly renewable resources. The most eternal, probably, is the wind. As long as there is atmosphere and sun, there is also wind. Maybe for a short period the air will be still, but not for long. Our ancestors used wind energy in mills, and modern man converts it into electricity. All that is required for this:

a tower installed in a windy place;
generator with blades attached to it;
storage battery and electric current distribution system.

The tower is built any, from any material. A storage battery is a battery, you can’t imagine anything here, but where to supply electricity is your choice. It remains only to make a generator. It can also be bought ready-made, but it is quite possible to make it from an engine from household appliances - washing machine, screwdriver, etc. You will need neodymium magnets and epoxy resin, a lathe.

On the motor rotor we mark the places for the installation of magnets. They must be at an equal distance from each other. We grind the rotor of the selected motor, forming “seats”. The bottom of the recess should have a slight slope so that the surface of the magnet is tilted. Magnets are glued to the carved places on liquid nails, filled with epoxy resin. surface then sandpaper brought to smoothness. Next, you need to attach brushes that will remove the current. And that's it, you can assemble and run a wind generator.

Such installations are quite effective, but their power depends on many factors: wind intensity, how well the generator is made, how effectively the potential difference is removed by brushes, and reliability. electrical connections etc.

Heat pumps for home heating

Heat pumps use all available alternative energy sources. They take heat from water, air, soil. In small quantities, this heat is there even in winter, so the heat pump collects it and redirects it to heating the house.

Heat pumps also use alternative energy sources - the heat of the earth, water and air

Principle of operation

Why are heat pumps so attractive? The fact that having spent 1 kW of energy for its pumping, in the worst case, you will get 1.5 kW of heat, and the most successful implementations can give up to 4-6 kW. And this does not contradict the law of conservation of energy in any way, because energy is spent not on obtaining heat, but not on pumping it. So no inconsistencies.

Heat pumps have three working circuits: two external and they are internal, as well as an evaporator, a compressor and a condenser. The scheme works like this:

A coolant circulates in the primary circuit, which takes heat from low-potential sources. It can be lowered into water, buried in the ground, or it can take heat from the air. The most heat, which is achieved in this circuit is about 6°C.
The internal circuit circulates a heating medium with a very low boiling point (typically 0°C). When heated, the refrigerant evaporates, the vapor enters the compressor, where it is compressed to high pressure. During compression, heat is released, the refrigerant vapor is heated to an average temperature of +35°C to +65°C.
In the condenser, heat is transferred to the coolant from the third - heating - circuit. Cooling vapors are condensed, then further enter the evaporator. And then the cycle repeats.

The heating circuit is best done in the form of a warm floor. Temperatures are the best for this. The radiator system will require too many sections, which is ugly and unprofitable.

Alternative sources of thermal energy: where and how to get heat

But the biggest difficulty is the device of the first external circuit, which collects heat. Since the sources are low-potential (there is little heat at the bottom), large areas are required to collect it in sufficient quantities. There are four types of contours:

Rings laid in water pipes with a coolant. The body of water can be anything - a river, a pond, a lake. The main condition is that it should not freeze through even in the most severe frosts. Pumps that pump heat out of the river work more efficiently; much less heat is transferred in stagnant water. Such a heat source is the easiest to implement - throw pipes, tie a load. There is only a high chance of accidental damage.
Thermal fields with pipes buried below freezing depth. In this case, there is only one drawback - large volumes of earthworks. We have to remove the soil over a large area, and even to a solid depth.
Use of geothermal temperatures. A number of wells of great depth are drilled, and coolant circuits are lowered into them. What is good about this option is that it requires little space, but not everywhere it is possible to drill to great depths, and drilling services cost a lot. It is possible, however, but the work is still not easy.
Extraction of heat from the air. This is how air conditioners with the possibility of heating work - they take heat from the "outboard" air. Even at sub-zero temperatures, such units work, though at a not very “deep” minus - up to -15 ° C. To make the work more intensive, you can use the heat from the ventilation shafts. Throw a few slings with coolant there and pump heat from there.

The main disadvantage of heat pumps is the high price of the pump itself, and the installation of heat collection fields is not cheap. In this case, you can save money by making the pump yourself and also laying the contours with your own hands, but the amount will still remain considerable. The advantage is that heating will be inexpensive and the system will operate for a long time.

Waste to income:

All alternative energy sources are of natural origin, but you can only get a double benefit from biogas plants. They recycle animal and poultry waste. As a result, a certain volume of gas is obtained, which, after purification and drying, can be used for its intended purpose. The remaining processed waste can be sold or used in the fields to increase yields - a very effective and safe fertilizer is obtained.

Briefly about the technology

The formation of gas occurs during fermentation, and bacteria living in manure are involved in this. Any livestock and poultry waste is suitable for biogas production, but cattle manure is optimal. It is even added to the rest of the waste for the "sourdough" - it contains exactly the bacteria needed for processing.

To create optimal conditions, an anaerobic environment is necessary - fermentation must take place without oxygen. Therefore, effective bioreactors are closed containers. In order for the process to proceed more actively, regular mixing of the mass is necessary. In industrial plants, electric mixers are installed for this, in self-made biogas plants, these are usually mechanical devices - from the simplest stick to mechanical mixers that “work” by hand.

There are two types of bacteria involved in the formation of gas from manure: mesophilic and thermophilic. Mesophilic are active at temperatures from +30°C to +40°C, thermophilic - at +42°C to +53°C. Thermophilic bacteria work more efficiently. Under ideal conditions, gas production from 1 liter of usable area can reach 4-4.5 liters of gas. But maintaining a temperature of 50 ° C in the installation is very difficult and costly, although the costs justify themselves.

A little about designs

The simplest biogas plant is a barrel with a lid and a stirrer. The lid has an outlet for connecting a hose through which gas enters the tank. You won’t get much gas from such a volume, but for one or two gas-burners it's enough.

More serious volumes can be obtained from an underground or above-ground bunker. If we are talking about an underground bunker, then it is made of reinforced concrete. The walls are separated from the ground with a layer of thermal insulation, the container itself can be divided into several compartments, in which processing will take place with a time shift. Since mesophilic cultures usually work under such conditions, the whole process takes from 12 to 30 days (thermophilic cultures are processed in 3 days), therefore a time shift is desirable.

Manure enters through the loading hopper, on the opposite side they make an unloading hatch, from where processed raw materials are taken. The bunker is not completely filled with biomixture - about 15-20% of the space remains free - gas accumulates here. To drain it, a tube is built into the lid, the second end of which is lowered into a water seal - a container partially filled with water. In this way, the gas is dried - already purified is collected in the upper part, it is discharged using another tube and can already be choked to the consumer.

Anyone can use alternative energy sources. It is more difficult for apartment owners to implement this, but in a private house you can at least implement all the ideas. There are even real examples of that. People fully provide for their needs and considerable economy.