As we wake up to frosty roofs and plumes of steam from the natural gas plant, I feel it’s the right time to talk about heating. How we heat, cool, and light our 132 million buildings in this country is critical to how we live sustainably, because these three operational aspects often demand the most energy in our built environment.

ZeNETH’s goal to achieve a high degree of energy efficiency, thereby lowering its electricity consumption, is critical to our project’s research. We have the opportunity to determine what the most efficient heating option will be given our small living space. Therefore, we will be setting up a heating experiment to measure the utility of a heat pump compared to a radiant heating panel. Thanks to our sponsor Trane, we are installing a Mitsubishi ductless heat pump which, despite being their smallest unit, is likely going to provide more heating capacity than we require. Heat pumps are great for most houses residential, and are often the most efficient heating option available. Perhaps it will be just right in the tiny house, or perhaps we’ll inspire some engineers to produce a tiny house friendly heat pump unit.

 

Additionally, Trane’s heat pump runs on 240 volt while all other electrical systems present in the house will be on 110 volt. Our alternate heating strategy is to utilize an electric radiant heating panel by local Bellingham company and project sponsor, Heating Green. Their Cove Heater will run on 110 and will be more discreet, albeit less powerful than Trane’s heat pump. All of this talk about voltage is important because we intend to install a Tesla Powerwall that will only support 110 volt, therefore if we can have a fully functional house on 110 volt then our house could feasibly operate on battery storage. Exciting, huh?

 

It must be mentioned that regardless of how we heat our buildings, the warmth of a space relies mostly on how well-sealed the building’s envelope was designed. If the windows are thin, the heat will escape. If the walls are poorly insulated, the heat will escape. If you don’t shut the door the heat will escape! (Sorry, mom.) So whether it be the hyper efficient heat pump from Trane, or the humble but mighty Cove Heater from Heating Green, we will be nice and cozy in our tiny house this winter.