9
votes
Accepted
Heating water with compost
Consider using a flow through core of some sort. For example:
Wrap several layers of chicken wire around about 4 to 8 feet of 24" diameter cardboard concrete forms from the hardware store (Depending ...
- 862
8
votes
Which is more energy efficient? Heating ten 1L water separately or one 10L water directly
Unless she's actually using the 1-2 litres of tea each time, there's more savings from simply boiling less water. We bought a small electric kettle with a flat bottom and glass walls to encourage ...
- 3,875
8
votes
Accepted
How much energy would it cost to stabilize 2 tons of water at 70 degrees?
The stabilisation energy rate will be exactly exactly equal to the rate at which energy is lost.
Assuming the tank is closed, so there are no evaporative losses, there are two other ways energy is ...
- 14.7k
6
votes
How does one calculate the wattage of a biomass fired water heater
Water has a heat capacity of 4.1814 J/g which means that 1 gram of water requires 4.1814 Joules of heat to increase 1°C. The definition of Watt is Joules / second so the formula you need is:
heat ...
- 14.5k
6
votes
Should I worry about the minimum mark on our kettle?
I agree with Fred in that it seems logical that a minimum amount of water would be required to help prevent overheating by the element. It's likely though that the manufacturer has specified a fairly ...
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6
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Should I worry about the minimum mark on our kettle?
In older kettles with an exposed heating element it does matter. If the element is not covered with water it will overheat and burn out.
With newer kettles without an exposed heating element you may ...
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5
votes
Which is more energy efficient? Heating ten 1L water separately or one 10L water directly
The heat loss will be proportional to the surface area. If you boil ten litres, one litre at a time (rather than all ten litres at once), there's typically a lot more surface area, so the heat loss ...
- 14.7k
5
votes
Accepted
Temperature for hot water cylinder
Yes, higher thermostat temperatures mean more electricity consumption. Also your thermostat manual is right, bacteria growth is a valid concern.
The ideal conditions for the Legionella bacteria to ...
- 14.5k
4
votes
How can I decarbonise my domestic heating, given severe physical constraints?
The glib answer is to use less energy.
The best way of doing that is fixing the fabric of the house - massively increasing insulation, massively decreasing air permeability (and as a result fitting ...
- 141
4
votes
Should I worry about the minimum mark on our kettle?
There's another reason for minimum water levels: when the steam is used to trip the temperature sensor, a certain minimum amount of steam (or rate of steam delivery) is required. This will depend on ...
- 2,116
3
votes
Accepted
How can I conserve energy and water in my bathroom?
Others have already suggested low flow fixtures and reducing water usage, but here are a few other ideas, from least to most expensive:
Turn down your water heater. The U.S. Department of Energy ...
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3
votes
Heating water with compost
For everyone to know, the process was developed by and is now known by the name of Jean Pain Composting process. The man used the technique to heat water for house heating and hot water needs.
[...]...
- 1,407
3
votes
Which is more energy efficient? Heating ten 1L water separately or one 10L water directly
A. It's energy efficient to boil exactly that amount of water which is actually needed for tea preparation.
To heat more water means some water is not used and heat will be wasted into the air.
B. ...
- 491
3
votes
Feeding hotwater into modern appliances
I am not aware of any modern washing machines (at least in the UK) that still have a hot water feed. One reason is that modern machines don't actually use that much water, so even if you had it ...
- 387
3
votes
Accepted
Are there different types of water-source heat pump?
They can be the same thing; the terms have overlapping meanings.
A seawater heat pump is a specific type of water-source heat pump that uses seawater. Water-source heat pumps can also use fresh ...
- 3,690
3
votes
Accepted
Good alternatives to a fuel oil heating system in an apartment block
TL, DR Solar thermal with a gas burner for peak demand. Possibly improved isolation.
First, you need exact data on how much heat you need, and when, during the year and during each day.
This should ...
- 2,836
3
votes
Reuse waste heat from air conditioning
The problem of heating water from waste heat from air conditioning is that the water needs to be heated to at least 60 degrees Celsius to prevent Legionella bacterium from growing. On the other hand, ...
- 4,776
2
votes
Shall I boil water with a water boiler (cooker) or with a pot?
Put the broccoli in a microwave safe bowl with a few tablespoons of water, cover the bowl with a microwave safe top (ideally maybe a glass lid, but if plastic, don't let it touch the food!).
Then ...
- 21
2
votes
Good alternatives to a fuel oil heating system in an apartment block
You could definitely switch to an efficient gas boiler system with proper controls to run "cleaner" and more efficiently. Depending on gas/oil prices in your area, this may or may not be economically ...
- 123
2
votes
Does a solar thermal hot water system make sense for my home?
With today's prices, it's cheaper to install PV panels and generate electricity, then just use a standard electric water heater.
This has the advantage that it actually works better in the winter ...
- 31
2
votes
Running boiler intake along chimney for preheating
I'm glad you found that the extra information about the problems of cooling down your chimney pipe. That is the first point I was going to make in this answer (and I'll make it anyway). You do not ...
- 1,603
2
votes
How much more efficient is boiling water with a lid?
TL;DR: power saving with a lid comes from the fact that you can use a lower power-mode on
your cookstove. Energy used to bring the water to the boiling point is roughly the same with or without the ...
- 270
2
votes
Accepted
Most energy-efficient way to keep my pipes from freezing without tearing up walls/floor?
Leave the faucet open at a trickle. From Consumer Reports:
Let the cold water drip from a faucet served by exposed pipes. Running water through the pipe—even at a trickle—helps prevent pipes from ...
- 11.8k
2
votes
How much coil do I need to heat a given length of pipe (as a function of x,y,z)?
I've used them. I've never been happy with them. If you do use them you need to follow these rules:
If you wrap them you must have the wraps evenly spaced. You can't have 3 turns per foot at one ...
- 7,207
2
votes
Which energy sources will replace fossil fuels for heating homes in cold climates?
There's an interesting summary of the situation in the UK here.
In short, the most widespread option is likely to be heat pumps, despite some significant disadvantages, such as cost, and that fact ...
- 387
2
votes
Which energy sources will replace fossil fuels for heating homes in cold climates?
In terms of efficiently using sun's energy. Let's not forget passive solar.
With no mechanical parts to break, a sufficiently heavy or phase change thermal mass can go a long way when the house is ...
- 21
1
vote
When/where is it feasible to use a solar cooker to boil water?
Just a matter of money; you can boil all the water you want with enough focusing solar collectors . There is an installation ( maybe more) in AZ (?) that melts metal with this method. Reliable,good ,...
- 550
1
vote
How can I conserve energy and water in my bathroom?
To save water get a low flow shower head and when using the sink use the lowest flow rate of water. If possible, spend less time in the shower.
To use less water in the laundry, consider using the ...
- 3,517
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible