New to the forum
 

Hello. At last I start using this account.

My gas heating furnace is toast (the service board has shorted and the igniter is burnt). I live in Southern California and am in the midst of a long-term, slow-as-the-money appears, renovation. We will go without the heat this winter (we have the fireplace). No problem. But if you were renovating a house on a raised foundation, crawl space underneath, and no attic, what might you do for a more ecological sound heating system? I was wondering about electric, powered by solar. Geothermal seems very expensive to do right.

james (California98Civic on ecomodder.com)

electric powered by solar is probably the most expensive method of heating you can do short of burning cash instead of wood in the fireplace.

Depending on your solar exposure why not insulate the crawlspace and add radiant heat under the floor. Add solar hot water heating and then pump that water through the tubing.

I'd love to do this - A Simple DIY Solar Space and Water Heating System

Unless gas is dirt cheap, electric heat can work, since you might be in a prime location
for using an ASHP (Mini-split inverter heat/cool system).

Check out the Geothermal - EcoRenovator area for ASHP & Mini-split installs.

In my case, using a Mini-split is saving us a lot of money on heating (and cooling).
Since we can't get gas, and fuel oil is priced like gasoline.

The idea of adding on solar PV to power the AC is a good one, but even without it,
my investment in ASHP hardware is netting us excellent savings, even at 21.6 cents/kWh.

Bottom line, running an Inverter mini-split is so cheap when you have reasonable
electric rates, the break-even point for a PV investment could be a loooong ways out..

Welcome to ER:)

Strider is right about solar->electric->heating being the most expensive (and least efficient) option. Iirc SoCal is known for its sunny weather and mild winters, so you could probably seal and insulate enough to not really need a furnace. The saved money could go into solar hot water and/or and air source heat pump.

I see no reason that an air source heat pump would not work perfectly for you, what's the coldest that you see there?

I've been to Socal and IMHO, it's idea for an ASHP..
Average Weather for Riverside, CA - Temperature and Precipitation
Especially during the summer..

Thanks for these replies. Does it make any difference for ASHP that my coastal micro-climate is much cooler and wetter than Riverside? (Think Bogart and misty trench-coat scenes from "The Big Sleep".)

My Sanyo units are doing pretty well with high humidity.
Check my humidity chart.. http://pauland.net/monthly.php

Since your lows aren't really all that low, you shouldn't have many defrost cycles (if any).

I'm not sure, but it might be easier (less watts) for an ASHP to suck the heat out of moist air,
verses very dry air. Hehe, if it works anything like a GSHP.. :p

This past summer, when we had mild, but very humid days,
our main Sanyo worked great as a whole-house Dehumidifier.
But sometimes made it a little too cold for me.. :cool:

The cooling is fantastic.. Plus, these things make very little noise..

It is natural for us to think that the remedy for the cold is heat... after all, thinking that way has gotten us all through the last eighty-thousand years. But, because it is more economical and more effective, insulation (and sealing) should be our first priority.




As a pay-as-you-go option, insulation beats buying heating technology, because there is more DIY involved (less $ you have you pay out), and the chunks of money involved are smaller.

As we say around here, seal, seal, seal and then insulate, insulate, insulate.

If you are very new to EcoRenovating, you may not know this, but it is possible, even in very cold climates to build a house that is so well insulated, that no heating system is required, they call such houses Passive Houses. In a climate such as yours, this would be relatively easy.




Learn all you can before you jump in. You are in good company.

Good luck!

-AC_Hacker

Welcome to the site James.

It definitely sounds like an ASHP would fit your bill quite well with the mild climate. Of course, sealing and insulating are always easier and cheaper to do first.