Heating a 250 to 300m³ house during winter
In Gauteng, a reasonably well-insulated house will consume about 10 000kWh of energy to maintain temperatures in the order of 19 to 22 degrees Celsius in the house during a four-month winter period. In other provinces, this consumption will vary according to geographical location and winter climate there.
If one were sourcing this power from Eskom, it would entail them burning four tons of coal and consuming 200 000 litres of water in the production process for this amount of energy. That is not good for the environment or water conservation in a county short of water. In addition, there are additional loadshedding periods experienced in winter, because of homeowners using electricity to heat their homes.
What are the alternative options to heat your home and what will they cost?
HEATING SYSTEM TYPICAL RUNNING COST OVER FOUR-MONTH WINTER
Flued gas fire R99 000
Electrical heaters R33 000
Flue-less gas fire/heater R30 000
Open wood fire R28 000
Air conditioners used as heater R15 000
Closed combustion wood stove R4 000
Looking at these running costs, one can understand the huge decline in sales of flued gas fires and, conversely, the amazing growth in sales of closed combustion wood stoves over the last decade in South Africa.
Wood-stove economics are hard to beat. The cost of installing one of these stoves in your home will be paid back over about two years of low heating costs, and you then have low-cost heating thereafter. Wood stoves are designed to be highly efficient. Units with a good internal insulating layer and a large glass, burn wood at very high temperatures and are capable of moving heat as an infrared-light wave across open-plan rooms, quickly raising the useful temperature of this living space. The high heat maximum output of these units generally allows them to be the primary heat source for most rooms in your home. Controls on the air inlets to the fires enable the consumer to determine the heat output of the unit to that required to maintain room temperature, which is very user friendly.
Where clients want the convenience of heat at the ‘click of a switch’, flue-less gas fires/heaters are the items to go for. They start producing heat within a few seconds of lighting and are wonderful at heating lounges, family rooms or similar, rather than being a primary heat source for the whole house.