Heating house without furnace

Since the GRM board is all knowing.

I need to heat my house. I have no furnace or AC. We live right on the water so normally really temperate and it has been not really been a concern.

1700 sqf of which we live in 1200sqf of so. House is very old, for California, and no real way to run ducting without ripping up the whole house. I do have decent insulation in the walls and roof and new windows. But we have tile or wood floors plus plaster walls everywhere the cold just seeps in.

Its getting COLD this year, well for my wife anyway, its floating around 50 during the day and about 38-42 at night inside. I grew up without heat or AC so no big deal for me but its killing her.

Is there some sort of off the shelf electric or natural gas heater that I can get that will heat 1200sqf, preferably on the cheap. I can live without super high efficiency as its only going to be a month or too until it heats up again.

Man, I like the cold but 38-42 at night is like camping. I could do it if need be but that would be in a pinch. Hell, I wish I could do without AC in the summer, that's my necessity.

Anywho, hopefully someone with knowledge or actual help will chime in.

when it's 20 out a pair of infrared quartz heaters keep our 1570 square feet at 55 degrees, when it's 40 out they can keep it at 65. one is a sunheat brand and one is a edenpure. they are my backup to my wood furnace all winter, but when it's in the 40's and 50's in the spring and fall they are my only source of heat.

What about a gas fireplace? Most of the coastal resorts I've stayed at in California have some form of one - they're wonderful.

This worked surprisingly well for me. If Michigan had sun for more than 20 hours a winter I'd build a much bigger one and heat my house during the day for free.
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/trying-to-harness-the-sun/44432/page1/

woodburner oughta take the edge off and then some maybe

The place we just moved out of was a small-ish cabin with a couple of electric baseboard heaters and a pretty small woodburning stove.

That stove alone would heat the whole house to temperatures that even my wife (who grew up in South Florida) found a bit excessive. All that on a single cord of wood per winter, and it does get cold up here.

So, a correctly sized woodburning stove should easily heat 1200 sq ft.

If you've got the dough for the increased electric bill, consider electric radiators.

http://www.heater-home.com/category/radiator.aspx

fasted58 wrote: woodburner oughta take the edge off and then some maybe

I looked into a woodburner when I lived in CA. Its not as easy as you think. It either has to be a catalyzing unit or a non-vented unit... They're tougher on wood stoves out there than they are on cars.

I ended up getting two 1500-watt IR radiant heaters when I was in CA. I put one above the couch and one above the bed. It heats surfaces instead of the air. That was particularly appropriate because we had a loft that was very uninsulated and very breezy. There was no way to heat the air. If you feel confident that your insulation is pretty good, then I would go with a couple of the electric radiators in rooms that need help. We keep our PA house pretty cold (thermostat set to 60 at night) and then switch on one of those radiators in the bedroom at night. That radiator plus a wee little 6" fan keeps the air mixed up just enough to make it effective.

IR heaters are the most efficient electric heaters of the bunch I do believe. Electric blankets do wonders at night especially with a blanket on top.

I like the idea of geothermal heating/cooling, all you pay for is the initial cost and the electric for a fan and a water pump.

curtis73 wrote:

fasted58 wrote: woodburner oughta take the edge off and then some maybe

I looked into a woodburner when I lived in CA. Its not as easy as you think. It either has to be a catalyzing unit or a non-vented unit... They're tougher on wood stoves out there than they are on cars.

ugh, never factored in the 'Cali factor'. Thought wood burner would be common sense... but I'm an east coaster

Pellet stove. Lower emissions than a wood stove by far and the ease of running it off a thermostat. I heat a 1700sf (upstairs) raised ranch in ct with one. I have electric baseboard as a main source, but ct electric rates are second only to Cali's. I do need more insulation in the attic.

Anyway back to pellet stoves, as they use a fan to blow the heat around they can be somewhat noisy. If you have natural gas I would skip the stove idea and so a high end has fireplace with circulating fans. When I was in South Carolina we had one that would bake our 2100sf colonial style right out.

Mini-split heat pumps are designed for what you are talking about. No ducting, super efficient and easy to install. I put one in my last house and loved it. It was 1100sf. I also have one in my shop that does an outstanding job of keeping it warm and cool. When the heat pump in this house craps out it's probably getting a 4 zone multi-split. The inverter unites are getting seer ratings in the 20s.

Something like this.

http://www.minisplitshop.com/store/home.php

Another thing you might consider. Cheap, easy and works surprisingly well.

You can pick one of these up at Lows for less than $200. They are perfect for knocking the chill off in the evenings and don't look like they belong in a warehouse. Mine doubles as a small table by my reading chair in the bedroom all year.

Ive been eyeballing the window mount pellet stoves for the shop. They might be perfect for your situation.

http://www.ruralking.com/hardware/cooling-heating/heating/wood-heaters/us-stove-company-pellet-stove-window-unit-2400.html

friedgreencorrado wrote: If you've got the dough for the increased electric bill, consider electric radiators. http://www.heater-home.com/category/radiator.aspx

This is what I do for extra umpff. My wife suggested a wood burning hardware the other day. Said her dad used it in Seattle.

I'm interested in one of these http://www.motherearthnews.com/do-it-yourself/diy-small-space-heaters-zmaz86jfzglo.aspx it's a much more efficient wood stove.

In reply to logdog:

I like that. What a great idea. Now I just need to find a place to put it.

logdog wrote: Ive been eyeballing the window mount pellet stoves for the shop. They might be perfect for your situation. http://www.ruralking.com/hardware/cooling-heating/heating/wood-heaters/us-stove-company-pellet-stove-window-unit-2400.html

Search hearth.com on these. I believe a few fires have been attributed to them. Either pot design or hard to install correctly.

Cheapest way out is electric baseboards. Best long term solution is the mini split heat pumps. Even here in New England they have become a favorite for additions, basements remodels, basically anywhere expanding the existing heating system becomes too difficult or expensive. Another stop gap solution would be those small electric room heaters. You would be surprised how much heat those $30 electric heaters/fans kick out. Basically a hair dryer in a box. My kids use one to heat up their 8X12 uninsulated clubhouse. They can sleep out there even in the middle of the winter.

Electric space heaters will be the least expensive to buy, but in general the cost to operate is highest. However, for a small and well insulated house that's not as big an issue. You can move them around the house so you're only heating the space you're occupying at a particular time.

The cheapest electric milkhouse heater you can find will work just as well as the fancy ones with the wood cabinets - they all generate the same amount of heat, you're just paying extra for the package. Northern Tool has them on sale right now for $12.99. http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_1017213_1017213

Friction.

I like the gas logs idea. We use ours for occasional ambience and emergency heat. It's quite effective, and $80 to $160. gets us through an average winter. Of course, it's going to involve some installation.

Electric space heaters are fine, I even have one of the oil-filled radiator types, but only 1500 watts, I think, and it's not going to heat a house. You'll need at least one in every inhabited room.

As with any heat source, do be careful about the condition of cords and clearance to combustibles. It's better to be cold than to be on fire.

slefain wrote: Friction.

Winner!

Forgot to add that I am in California. Pellet stove would be great but I don't think I can get one installed under 4K due to the regs out here.

Electric definitely seems to be the very best way for me to go. I can eat the 50-100$ increase in electric for a long time over other more traditional methods.

So is there one type that is more efficient then others in terms of generating BTU's 1500 watts is 1500 watts.