Household heating systems

    Although different types of fuels are available to heat our homes, most of us use natural gas. Heating and cooling our homes uses more energy and drains more energy dollars than any other system. Typically, 43% of our utility bill (счет за коммунальные услуги) goes for heating and cooling. What is more, heating and cooling systems, in the United States for example, together emit 150 million tons of СO² into the atmosphere each year, adding to the global climate change. They also generate 12% of the nation’s SO² and 4% of nitrogen oxides (окиси азота), the chief ingredients of acid (кислотные) rains.

    No matter what kind of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system we have in our houses, we can save money and increase our comfort by properly maintaining and upgrading heating equipment. But an energy-efficient furnace alone will not have as great an impact on our energy bills as using the whole-house approach. By combining proper equipment maintenance and upgrades with appropriate insulation, air sealing, and thermostat settings, we can cut our energy use for heating and cooling, and reduce environmental emissions, from 20% to 50%.

SUPPLEMENTARY READING

GREAT ENGINEERS OF THE PAST

    Michael Faraday, (1791-1867) was an English chemist and physicist who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. Although he received little formal education, he was one of the most influential scientists in history. The SI * unit of capacitance, the farad, is named after him. Faraday established that magnetism could affect rays of light and that there was a relationship between the two phenomena. His invention of electromagnetic rotary devices formed the foundations of electric motor technology and it was due to him that electricity started to be used in technology.

    Nicholas Carnot, (1796-1832) was a French physicist and military engineer. He gave the first successful theoretical foundation of heat engines. He is often described as the “Father of Thermodynamics”.

    James Joule, (1818-1889) was an English physicist and brewer. He studied the nature of heat and discovered its relationship to mechanical work. This led to the theory of conservation of energy and to the development of the first law of thermodynamics. The SI derived unit of energy, the joule, is named after him. Joule worked with Lord Kelvin to develop the absolute scale of temperature, made observations on magnetostriction (магнитострикция – изменение размеров и формы тела при его намагничивании), and found the relationship between the current through a resistance and the heat dissipated, now called Joule’s law.

    William Rankine (1820-1872), a Scottish engineer and physicist, contributed to the science of thermodynamics. In his youth he got interested in botany, music and number theory, and in his later years, in mathematics and engineering.

    William Carrier (1876-1950) is known as the man who invented air conditioning. He was born on a farm near New York, and liked to repair clocks, sewing machines, and other household devices. After graduating from University as a mechanical engineer, he went to work for the Buffalo Forge Company, which manufactured heaters, blowers and air exhaust systems. His first invention was a device for keeping a printing plant in Brooklyn, New York, cool and the humidity low, in order to keep its paper at a constant temperature and dryness. After World War I, Carrier, with six colleagues, founded their own company manufacturing air conditioning equipment. In 1930, he started Toyo Carrier in Japan. Japan is now the largest market for air conditioning in the world.

* SI – International System of Units – Международная система Единиц, СИ

ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES

    Mankind uses enormous quantities of heat, light and motive power. All this demands a lot of energy. The necessary energy is mainly provided by burning our fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide released in this way has a long-term effect on climate. In order to reduce emissions of CO² we have to use more efficient energy systems or to turn to renewable sources of primary energy which do not produce CO².

    Most of the countries are looking for alternative cost-effective and long-lasting heating and cooling systems. One of the ways is geothermal heating systems. Geothermal literally translates as “earth heat”, meaning that such a system uses the earth’s massive supply of heat for its purposes. Such systems work as ground-source heat pumps that transport a constant supply of heat energy derived from the ground in order to then circulate the heat throughout a building or home living area. This type of heating system is extremely energy efficient, comes with a very low cost and is also very environmentally friendly as pollution is kept to a minimum.

    Other alternatives are becoming popular, that is heating by corn, wood and pellets. Such alternatives support local industries due to the fact that both wood and corn can be locally grown and produced as well as being significantly more affordable than either oil or natural gas.

    In some countries, first priority is given to peat and biomass energy. There are companies which specialise in creating new and renewable energy resources by establishing fuelwood and energy forest plantations. Today, energy plantations are proving to be the most reliable and economical source of renewable biomass fuel.

    Some authorities advocate that natural gas can be replaced by biogas. Biodegradable outputs from industry, agriculture and households can be used for biofuel production.