5 Unusual Ways of Heating Your Home
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5 Unusual Ways of Heating Your Home
Winter is approaching. If your home leaves you shivering when the skies turn grey, it might be worth investigating your heating options.
Note: We really don't recommend many of the following options, but in a pinch they can take the chill off the air.
You're much better off preparing for the winter by getting one of our heating specialists to visit your home and give you a quote on a new heating system. Don't say we didn't warn you!
Here are 5 highly unusual ways to heat your home:
1. Household Appliances
Put those household appliances you've already invested in to good use. During my time as a Sustainability Assessor I met a lady who was very comfortable using her gas oven as a space heater.
Efficient? No.
Safe? Absolutely not!
There are some other household appliances you can use to heat your home:
- Laptop - Anyone who's actually attempted to sit one of these red-hot embers on their laps will know that they have the capacity to give you third degree burns. And then some. So why not put it to good use in Winter. Prop your trusty lappy on your thighs, fire up a processor-intensive program - Photoshop, 3D Studio Max, or, in the case of my old workhorse, MS Word - and enjoy the lap-centric warmth. You can even warm your hands over the keyboard...
- Hair Dryer - like a small-scale electric fan heater, a hair-dryer can be used to heat yourself up during winter. If it can burn a careless guy's scalp it's bound to be good enough to warm your digits on a frigid morning. Definitely not the best way to heat a large space though.
- Iron - Again, not the best method to heat a large open space, but if you direct the iron towards yourself and sit close enough (not too close - we don't want any face-scalds), it will radiate some heat your way. Just don't leave it on when you leave the house!
- Clothes Dryer - If winter's really getting to you, stick some soggy clothes in the clothes dryer and turn up the heat. The increase in humidity will make you think you've escaped to the tropics. Close your eyes, settle back with a cocktail (it's never too early) and you could easily imagine you're in Bali, The Bahamas, or somewhere (anywhere) other than your steamy laundry, alone.
2. Terracotta Pot
Failing the household appliance trick, here's an idea for a super cheap way to heat a small space. MacGyver-esqe, it combines tea-light candles, terra-cotta pots and a metal tray. Check out this video to learn how to heat a small room for cents a day with only a minor fire hazard:
3. The Sun
Our trusty friend the sun is, of course, a terrific heater. Admittedly, it's not the most unusual way to heat a home, but let's face it, a lot of houses aren't designed to take full advantage of our omnipresent radiator. You may have to take matters into your own hands. There is a simple sun-powered heater you can make yourself and use to heat your home (or a room in it at least), check out the instructions here. IMHO, this soft-drink can creation does fit the bill as an unusual way of heating the house.
4. Paint Can Heater
5. Throw a Party
Our bodies output a heap of heat. If you get enough bodies in a small space it'll quickly heat up. In fact, in my wild university days we had so many people in a small room it set off the heat-sensitive fire alarm. So lay out a dance floor, but on some MJ and dance the winter away. If you have concrete or brick walls, they'll absorb some of the warmth. Sure you'll have to host daily dance parties to keep up the warmth, but you could be doing worse things with your life, right? Just be careful of fire alarms, because waiting outside for the fire brigade on a cold winter's night is not much fun.
Or You Could Install an Actual Heater
While this is all fun and games, none of the above methods are the most effective or long-term solutions to you heating woes. Simply fill out the details of your job on Service Central and in no time, heating specialists will contact you to arrange a quote.Our tip? Get onto it now, before winter really hits hard and you and your family are huddled around a flaming paint can. Just saying...
About the Author
Brodie Norris runs Lunchbox Architect, which features one architecturally designed home each weekday. We regularly feature houses that are oriented to use the sun for heating, like this house that's bathed in natural light.
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