Solar Heating in Minnesota?

It Gets Cold Here…!!!!

Land of the Vikings…..

..and Ice Fishing

I live in a typical suburban neighborhood in a cold…..a very cold climate.  Our heating season is usually 8 months long.  We currently have a forced air natural gas furnace.

For a long time I have been interested in an alternate heating source for my home.  We do not have a fireplace, so wood is out of the question.

I recently learned about alternative heating sources that use solar energy to generate heat….not electricity.  These systems are commonly called Solar Furnaces.  They are simply solar panels that collect heat.  They use a fan and duct work to push warm air into your home.

We have decided to go forward and have a solar furnace installed on our home.  It is my hope that we will get supplemental heat pushed into our home during the winter heating season.

I have realistic expectations that the Solar Furnace will not replace the need for our forced air natural gas furnace.  My expectation is that we will be able to push enough heat into our home from the Solar Furnace that the gas unit will not have to start-up until late in the evening.

I’ll chronicle the installation of the Solar Furnace and its use.

Natural gas prices are at their all time lowest now, but who knows what will happen to the cost of natural gas in the future.

Any extra heat we can get is a bonus for this family from Minnesota.