[Pixie]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('patience', ' ') We once had a water heater tank in a woodstove plumbed up to auto circulate, and we turned off the electric heater as long as we had a fire. Now that outfit is out of business. I'll look for that.

[nationwide]

If you're looking into getting a water-heater adapter for your woodstove, you can deal directly with the manufacturer at this site:

http://www.hilkoil.com

They've been in business since the last energy crisis (a few decades), and they warranty their products for life!

[patience]

Thanks, Pixie and Nationwide! I'll check into those. FWIW, the one we had was steel lined with teflon, a rectangular tank about 2" thick x 6" high x 16" long, bolted to the inside of the firebox. A 3/4" pipe led into and another out of the stove. A caveat was, the thing thermosiphoned thru the water heater (hot water rises) to circulate. No pump. This necessitated that the water heater be relocated close by, and mounted higher than the stove tank. NOT easy to accomplish, but it worked like a charm. There was some replumbing to the water heater, to achieve the in and out. A tee was added to the bottom drain and one to the top "in" line.

There is the possibility of reverse thermosiphon, if the fire is out, so a check valve is added to the bottom line. I think I could easily fab this up in the shop-many people could. I'd have to research the check valve to find one that would open easily enough. Maybe get it from these mfrs.

The loop of pipe would need to be firmly attached to the stove inside, lest a big hunk of oak damage the connections. Our old one was sealed with furnace cement where the pipes went in and out of the stove.

If you can achieve the location of the water heater relative to the stove, this is practical. Two warnings: put in a new pop-off (pressure relief valve) and pipe the outlet OUTSIDE, because it WILL blow off if you over fire the stove, and be careful about the water temp, especially with kids, as the water can be SCALDING hot!!!!

Our experience was pretty much all positive, FWIW. I'll try to do this again. In combination with a solar preheater, for warm weather use you can get hot water all year for essentially nothing.

[dooberheim]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('FoolYap', '
')I would love to be able to get our thermostats set lower when we're there (68 on 1st floor, 65 on second), and even lower at night when we're sleeping (we switch off the 1st floor, 65 on 2nd where the bedrooms are), but my wife's at her tolerance levels as-is, so I compromise.
--Steve

[nate33]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pixie', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('nate33', 'D')on't worry too much about saving electricity in the winter. Incandescent bulbs, dirty refrigerator coils, etc. don't really hurt you much because the energy that is "wasted" is technically just heat energy which will ultimately reduce the energy required to heat your home. The same goes for your hot water heater and hot water pipes.

In winter, the only thing that really matters is the insulation separating the living areas of your home from the unheated exterior. Everything else is just details.

Obviously, the summer is a different story.

[Pixie]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('nate33', 'I') question your tracking methods.

This is a simple matter of physics. Any "wasted" electricity is wasted as heat. Any "wasted" energy in your hot water heating system is wasted as heat. As long as the heat is wasted inside your house, then it is collected in your house and will reduce your home heating cost.

.

[Chesire]

Thermostat at 75

Brand new hummer and aston martin V 12 in the drive. Fuck the chindians and the taxpayers . I want to exacerbate the problem not prolong it .

[alokin]

We're not American and for me the savings are very good, but it's like coming down from a VERY energy guzzeling lifestyle to something more moderate.
If you need heating in winter - do you really need cooling in summer? (We're living in subtropical climate and use sometimes fans but not more than half an hour or so).
As we lived in Europe we setted our heating always at 16 degrees C at night and 18°C during the day and we turned off while we were away. It is said that 1°C lower temperature saves round 6% heating energy.
In Europe we didn't have a car, we used public transport bike and car sharing - maybe it's a good idea to begin a car sharing, however in Australia we have got a car, due to the structure of the city and the bad public transport. It's a rusty thing with holes and not efficient at all, but I try not to use it (as well that I'm afraid of a breakdown)
We've got a solar water heater which we use for the washing machine as well. We never had a clothes dryer (for what??). We don't have lots of technical appliances but we don't leave them in stand buy.
We don't leave lights burning, only one or two lights at once.
But we do make our own bread and that's really energy guzzeling - we have in mind building a solar oven.
We certainly do have green energy.