Heating people, not air

One of my favorite online publications is called "Low-Tech Magazine".  I few weeks ago I thought they'd written an article just for me--it was called: Restoring the Old Way of Warming:  Heating People, not Places

This article, along with the follow-up called How to Keep Warm in a Cool House, cause us to re-think how we currently heat houses.  The focus of these articles is challenging the current practice of heating air to keep people warm.  The authors look at alteratives in "spot heating" or heating the occupants directly. Any wood-burner knows the best place to be is sit around the wood stove in the living room.  More old-tech in action!

It was a particularly timely article because we just installed radiant electric heaters in the garage we are building.  The idea being to heat the occupants and objects instead of the air because when you open the garage door, out goes all the warm air.  They seem to work just fine, but will it translate into any significant energy savings? Tough to tell. 

Wall mounted electric radiant heaters in the garage.

The other interesting application the authors point out is that radiant heating (where you heat objects, not the air) is a good in existing, lower performance leaky houses.  By using radiant or conductive you can keep the house's air temperature lower, but the occupants can stay comfortable.  This will reduce energy losses through leakage of hot air from the house. There are some interesting ways of doing this both old-tech and new ideas (heated office chairs!)

Anyway, a good read if you interested in re-thinking how we stay warm and comfortable in your houses in a time of rising energy costs, especially existing older housing:

Part 1: Restoring the Old Way of Warming:  Heating People, not Places
Part 2: Radiant & Conductive Heating Systems
Part 3: How to Keep Warm in a Cool House