by Ying Yang

Created on: September 12, 2010

As winter sets in, the temperatures might go down but most people’s power bills will sky rocket as more heating is needed. Traditional heat pumps and radiators are not very energy efficient and therefore can waste a lot of electricity and money. Luckily, there are many different environmentally-friendly alternatives.

These alternatives range from simple and affordable, do-it-yourself changes to more costly green heating systems. Since the topic at hand is environmentally friendly ways to heat your home, let’s start by looking at the greener heating solutions:

Pellet Stoves.

These stoves work like traditional wood stoves, but are more energy efficient and emit far less carbon dioxide. Plus, the pellets are made from materials like sawdust and switchgrass, which would otherwise be considered useless waste. This is much better than burning logs of wood because cutting down trees to fuel fires is simply not sustainable. Therefore, pellet stoves are a very environmentally-friendly choice. Pellet stoves are relatively affordable, but the cost and hassle of buying pellets may be a drawback. Overall, this solution is well suited for smaller homes that don't require too much heating.    

Geothermal heat pumps.

These are next generation heat pumps that extract heat from the ground and compress it to a comfortable indoor temperature. Traditional heat pumps draw heat from the outdoor air, which is generally pretty cold in winter. How a geothermal system works is that large tubes of liquid (usually water and anti-freeze) are buried underground in your backyard. This water is at the same temperature as the ground, which is fairly warm and constant compared to the outdoor air. The water passes through a compressor which extracts the heat and raises it to the required indoor temperature. A geothermal heating system is more energy efficient because there is much more existing heat extracted from the ground than from outdoor air. It’s also great because it can be used as a cooling air conditioner in the summer. Installing a geothermal heating system can be pretty expensive, but the energy savings means it could be paid back within a few years. Plus, having such a system installed will add great value to your home.  

Solar heating.

Harnessing the sun’s energy to heat your home is the ultimate in energy efficiency. It is a reliable, renewable energy source, non-polluting, and solar panels can be used to generate electricity as well as

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