How to implement alternative heating of a private house without gas?

Many experts agree with the opinion that the best option for heating a country cottage is the use of gas fuel. Unfortunately, it is far from always possible to obtain the necessary permits, connect to the main line, and organize a regular supply of cylinders. How to equip autonomous heating at home without gas? Attention should be paid to technologies that were widely used earlier, as well as to the most modern methods.

Short review

So, heating a house without gas is equipped in several ways:

• Firewood is the simplest, cheapest and most effective method. For the countryside and the private sector, it is extremely economical, since there are no problems with finding fuel. It must be remembered that a fairly large area is needed to store firewood. Both a classic stove and a solid fuel boiler act as a heat generator.
• Electricity. The main advantages are high efficiency, durability, ease of restoration and great reliability. Minus — high operating costs, the price of electricity in Russia varies from region to region, heating a large building can be associated with huge capital investments.
• Innovative technologies. Application of natural renewable sources of thermal energy. A typical example is a heat pump, whose operation is based on the fact that stable positive temperatures are always maintained in the deep layers of the soil. Other similar methods are solar energy batteries, geothermal sources, wind generators. In Russia, this approach is still considered non-standard and not very common, but in Europe more and more people choose it.

Now let’s look at these options in more detail.

Classic stove heating

Alternative stove heating of a private house without gas is in demand for fairly simple reasons: there is no dependence on a stable power supply, there is no need to organize regular delivery of liquid fuel, lay a branch from the main gas pipeline. There is no problem for rural residents to buy firewood sufficient for the entire winter season (an alternative is to purchase coal), there is enough space in the yard to arrange a woodpile. In its traditional form, the stove makes it possible to work not only for heating the house, but also for cooking.

The operation of the stove is safe and simple, it is necessary to periodically clean the chimney and ash pan (when using firewood — once a month, coal — once a season). However, coal grades significantly correct this interval. Anthracite is a hard, high calorie grade with very little soot. Chicken charcoal is the complete opposite.

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Of course, the oven has a lot of disadvantages:

• Firewood burning involves the regular addition of fuel, the laying of a new batch is made every 4-5 hours. Coal increases this interval by 2 times;
• Regular cleaning of the ash pan;
• Fire hazard;
• Larger dimensions than a boiler of similar power.

Solid fuel boiler

The heater, whose body is made of special steel or cast iron, can use the following types of fuel:

• Coal;
• Peat;
• Wood;
• Special briquettes obtained during the processing of natural wood.

The operating cost of the unit is low, due to the low cost of fuel. Calculations show that a kilowatt of energy produced by such a boiler is about 4 times cheaper than the gas method, and 17 times cheaper than the electric one. The second significant advantage is independence from additional energy sources, there is no need to connect the device to a network or mains, the design simplicity facilitates maintenance.

Among the minuses, one can note the need to manually load fuel, clean the ash collection tank and the chimney, and control the tightness of the closed door to eliminate the risk of fire from a spark that has fallen out.

Liquid fuel units

Diesel fuel, kerosene, some types of oils, fuel oil — all these compounds are widely used when connecting liquid fuel models. Unfortunately, their price is quite high, and therefore you should not hope for cheap operation. The second significant disadvantage is the need to equip a separate boiler room, in which the main unit will be installed, and an area for storing fuel reserves is equipped.
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However, there are also advantages to this choice. The efficiency is at a high level, the intervals between fuel loads are very long, which simplifies the operational process.

Electricity

From a technical point of view, this option is ideal. The absence of combustion products, the highest level of safety, huge efficiency, durability, the presence of automation. Nevertheless, you have to pay for such convenience, the price of operating electrical engineering is many times higher than analogues. The second unpleasant feature is that the device is hardly suitable for rural areas, where there are regular power outages, the network is worn out, and the voltage is not stable.

Alternative technologies

The following methods are considered the most common:

• The heat pump lifts the heat hidden in the deep layers of the soil. The efficiency of the equipment is easy to express in numbers — a kilowatt of power expended turns into 5-6 kilowatts of useful power;
• solar heat accumulators. A huge plus is complete environmental safety, a disadvantage is dependence on weather conditions, in regions with a large number of cloudy days, the efficiency of work is rather doubtful.

Some calculations

Let’s try to mathematically determine which autonomous method can be considered the most efficient and justified:

• Gas. When powered from the main, the price of Gcal of heat will be about 700 rubles. Food from cylinders significantly increases the amount. Firstly, this is due to a completely different composition of the fuel mixture, and secondly, significant transportation costs.
• Liquid fuel. Diesel is becoming more expensive year by year, at the current cost, the price of Gcal is approaching 4,000 rubles. Not the most economical option.
• Coal. Buying anthracite for home heating is not necessary, the price of this brand is too high. Practice shows that for your own needs it is best to use the DKO or WPC brand — the cost of Gcal in this case will be quite reasonable 1400 rubles. Approximately the same values ​​can be obtained when carrying out calculations regarding heating with peat or briquettes obtained during wood processing.
• Electricity. The price varies significantly depending on the region, but the average value is about 2,000 thousand per Gcal.

Do not forget to read the material about the most economical heating in the house!

Thus, in terms of economy, gas remains the best choice. However, in the absence of such an opportunity, do not lose heart. The purchase of a modern solid fuel boiler or the choice of an electrical analogue with electronic control will help solve the problem of supplying heat to the house, without causing huge financial expenses.