15 cent/day home heating

[Emg03063]

http://www.whydontyoutrythis.com/2013/11/how-to-easily-heat-your-home-using-flower-pots-and-tea-lights.html

I haven't tried this yet, or vetted the theory--just saw it and thought I'd share.

[odput]

If I understand it correctly, all this does is keep the heat from the flame of the candle from going directly to the ceiling.  The candle doesn't produce any more heat than it does if it were just lit and out in the open.

The thermal mass of the flower pots will seem to amplify the effect, and also keep the heat closer to the floor, limiting the heat loss through the ceiling, but in the end, the same amount of heat is produced as would be if you just lit the candle.

Interesting idea though

[gecko10x]

I also thought it was interesting.

The BTUs/lb of wax is quite high, but apparently you lose quite a bit due to incomplete combustion. So, just for a little comparison... in theory you could make candles for about $1.5/lb, and paraffin is about 18,000 BTU/lb (assuming you could get all of it), so for $5, you'd get about 60,000 BTUs. Wood pellets are about 7050 BTUs/lb, but $5 gets you 40lbs, which would be 282,000 BTUs. Of course a pellet stove costs to install, plus you can't move it around your house...

[odput]

If you use the method described in the article, all the soot would collect on the underside of the first flower pot, so it addresses that issue pretty well - just have to clean it up every now and then

[Emg03063]

I can't find tea candles around here for less than ~10x what the subject claims to have paid, but,I,thought the idea was interesting nonetheless.