Research from The National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association (NEADA)—an organization representing state-run low income energy assistance programs—predicts that the national average cost to heat a home with oil this winter will be $2,593, up from $1,962 last winter.¹ A typical household fuel delivery that cost $500 last winter will climb to at least $850 this winter—an increase of nearly 60% in just one year.

Already, the number of households assisted with fuel costs by the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is at its highest levels since 1992.² Fifty-eight million households have already received assistance in 2008. And “an estimated 15.6 million households owed almost $5 billion of March 31, 2008, an increase of almost $640 million or 9.5% over the comparable period in 2007.  The average amount owed is $318 up from $303 in 2007.  Approximately 14.8% of all households are at least 30 days behind in the utility bill payments up from 13.5% last year.”³

Mark Wolfe, Executive Director of NEADA, said that the “rising energy prices and a slowing economy are the primary reasons for the growing number of households receiving assistance, especially for those households using delivered fuel: heating oil, propane and kerosene. Prices for these fuels have reached record levels and place a severe burden on low income families. Combined with increasing prices for gasoline and now food, many low income families are at risk of falling even further into poverty.”

So we approach the edge of this winter’s precipice. Too many households risk falling over the edge. In just a few months, fuel assistance programs will be more necessary than ever, and their funders deserve credit for helping families survive. But fuel assistance programs are not a solution, they are a stay of execution. The problem is the fuel. It’s running out.

The last time this country was faced with such an oil crisis was in 1973 when OAPEC (OPEC plus Egypt and Syria) announced that they would no longer send oil to any nations that had supported Israel in its conflict with Syria and Egypt. America’s supply was artificially restricted and we suffered the very real consequences. Today, however, all producing oil fields around the world are running at full-steam. The world’s demand for oil has surpassed the world’s shrinking supply.

In order to survive this winter and the winters to come, our society will need to tap a new cheap, clean energy source. One that is ready now. We must finally—on an individual level—take advantage of the power of the sun.

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, “All the energy stored in Earth’s reserves of coal, oil, and natural gas is matched by the energy from just 20 days of sunshine. Outside Earth’s atmosphere, the sun’s energy contains about 1,300 watts per square meter. About one-third of this light is reflected back into space, and some is absorbed by the atmosphere (in part causing winds to blow).”

“By the time it reaches Earth’s surface, the energy in sunlight has fallen to about 1,000 watts per square meter at noon on a cloudless day. Averaged over the entire surface of the planet, 24 hours per day for a year, each square meter collects the approximate energy equivalent of almost a barrel of oil each year, or 4.2 kilowatt-hours of energy every day.”

Here are some interesting numbers:

• There are 510,065,600,000,000 (510 trillion) square meters on the Earth’s surface.
• One square meter collects the energy roughly contained in one barrel of oil in 24 hours.
• The Earth’s surface receives the energy of 510 trillion barrels of oil every day.
• Current world production of oil is at 87,340,000,000 (87.34 million) barrels per day.
• The energy we get from oil represents just 0.0001% of the energy sent down to us by the sun.

We can begin to take advantage of this clean, renewable, endless energy source right now. The media laments the high-cost and relatively low efficiency of current photovoltaic (electricity-producing) solar panels, and that tends to scare people away from solar power in general. However, there are many ways—other than photovoltaic panels—to make use of the sun’s power—especially when it comes to heating your home.

Below is a cursory overview of presently available options that homeowners can put to use today. For a more in-depth explanation, see Greg Pahl’s Natural Home Heating: The Complete Guide to Renewable Energy Options.

Solar Hot Air Systems
An active solar hot-air system uses air as the medium for collecting and distributing solar heat for your home. Although there can be variations, the main components of this type of system are collectors, a rock-filled storage bin, fans, ductwork, and controls. In a hot-air system, a fan draws air from your home through ducts to a series of channels in the space behind the dark absorber surface of the collectors, where the air is heated. The hot air then circulates into a storage bin, where it heats the rocks, which act as a heat sink. When the controls sense that the house needs heat, the warm air from the bin is blown to the living space through a ductwork system.

Solar Room System
Not everyone wants (or is able) to invest in a large active solar space-heating system. If you’re looking to limit your investment, a solar room heater offers a less expensive alternative that still involves the use of renewable energy. A solar room-heating system, as its name implies, is not intended to heat your entire home, and generally does not include any provision for heat storage.The basis for this system is a wall heater (often a group of them). A wall heater is a roughly three-by-sixfoot solar collector attached to the exterior surface of a south-facing wall. The collector consists of a sealed frame (often made of wood) that contains a black metal heat-absorber plate behind two layers of glass.The sun shines through the glass, heats up the absorber, which warms the air inside the frame. The hot air rises and enters the house through an opening cut through the wall at the top of the collector. If a group of wall heaters is used, the air is often circulated through the collectors with the assistance of a thermostatically controlled fan that draws cooler air from the room into the bottom of the collectors through a second hole in the wall. When the sun is not shining, the thermostat turns off the fan, and dampers seal the openings in the wall to limit heat loss.

Direct Solar Hot Water
In a direct solar hot-water system (also called an open-loop system), the water that will be used for domestic purposes (washing dishes, bathing, etc.) is circulated directly through the solar collectors to the storage tank. The tank, which is typically a hot-water heater, also acts as the backup heater. Sometimes there are two tanks: the first tank is the solar storage tank, the second one is a standard hot-water heater. When you use hot water, cold water from the main water-supply line in your house enters the bottom of the storage tank to replace the hot water drawn off from the top.

(A direct solar hot water system.)

Indirect Solar Hot Water
Indirect solar hot-water systems, also known as closed-loop or antifreeze systems, use an antifreeze solution (a glycol-and-water mixture is the most common) or a phase-change liquid (such as methyl alcohol) to keep the collectors and exterior piping from freezing. The antifreeze or phase-change fluid transports the heat from the collectors to the heat storage tank, where a heat exchanger transfers the heat to the water in the storage tank.

In most indirect systems, a small photovoltaic module can be used to operate the circulating pump, creating a self-powered, self-controlled system. This type of installation runs when the weather is sunny and automatically shuts itself off when the sky is dark or cloudy.Whether powered by a photovoltaic module or some other source, indirect systems are the preferred option for extremely cold climates.

Each of the systems above will help homeowners cope with the costs of the cold. We are on our way to moving to a completely solar society. The homeowners who recognize the opportunity and make the shift now will save thousands of dollars year after year.

For more about installing your own solar heating system this summer, see the links below:

• Find Solar (find a solar professional in your area)
• How Solar Energy Works
• Natural Home Heating: The Complete Guide to Renewable Energy Options, by Greg Pahl
• Going Solar: Understanding and Using the Warmth in Sunlight by Tomm Stanley
• The Solar House: Passive Heating and Cooling by Daniel Chiras
• The Passive Solar House, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Complete Guide to Heating and Cooling Your Home by James Kachadorian
• The Solar Electric House: Energy for the Environmentally Responsive, Energy-Independent Home by Steven J. Strong

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