Green Options

Author’s note: the following article on home heating is the fourth in an eight-part series.

The previous article discussed the disadvantages of using forced air to heat your house. Another approach is, literally, to heat your house –- not the air cycling through it. Why would you want to do this?

Well, for one, when you heat the building itself, you can open all the doors and windows, let all the warm air escape, close everything back up, and, instantly, be warm again – without having to add more heat.

The Empty Fridge

Warm masses heat you like the sun does: by sending you radiant heat. As I explained in Heating Your Home: Heat 101, heating and cooling differ only in perspective. If you can get your head around that, then the Empty Refrigerator Effect explains why heating air is an inefficient way to heat a home.

Like it says in the fine print, refrigerators achieve their rated efficiencies only when they’re full. Every time you open the door, warm air enters. If the fridge is empty, the inside temperature may go up five or ten degrees.

Radiant heating is a popular option in green buildings. Many green buildings feature it because it is a more efficient, and more comfortable, method of heating. If a building doesn’t require air conditioning, it may be possible to eliminate ductwork altogether, or at least use a much smaller system that is sized for air conditioning. And even in buildings where air handling is still necessary, the systems that push the air around can be

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