Ethanol heaters

2) Less Green House emission:

An ethanol heater uses a sustainable bio fuel that burns very cleanly. The only CO2 that can be released is the gas which was absorbed by the plants as they grew. Also, when ethanol is burned its emissions are roughly similar to human breath - small amounts of water vapor and carbon dioxide, with no harmful or toxic substances, so ventilation is not necessary. These fireplaces can be made portable with small liquid fuel tanks to hold the alcohol.

3) No Chimney required.

As there is no need for a special ventilation system as required with oil, gas and wood this heater is great for apartments buildings and also great for the DIY renovator.

4) Sustainable fuel.

No need to worry about diminishing oil supplies or rising oil prices. Ethanol is a fuel made from plants that are easily grown and they often use the biomass that is left over after the main crop has been harvested.

5) Self sufficiency is possible.

It is possible to make your own biofuel but it does depend on your countries laws as this is alcohol and it is seen as a revenue raiser.

6) Price of wood rising while ethanol prices more competitive.

if you are like me and have a slow combustion fire you would have noticed the rising cost of wood, not only that it is becoming harder to get as well.

7) Possible new income stream for many farmers.

As the popularity of these heaters rise it would become a good investment for farmers to add a bio fuel manufacturing element to their business. We should not let monopolies get ahold of our energy streams again.

8) Easy installation.

You can install these heaters yourself and they can be shifted quite easily if needed. You save money because you don't need a trade.

At present I am having a hard time trying to find good stats on the running costs of ethanol heaters. If anyone has information on this please feel free to leave your comments or links. I have discovered through Digger's Australia that Bio-ethanol ohterwise known as Methylated Spirits is about $70- $80 per 20 litre container and I have done a quick cost comparison with running times etc. I have posted this information on my blog
Bio ethanol Heaters

Overall I think for most people it is still cheaper to run with gas but this is in part due to the supply chain of ethanol. As it really is an emerging trend in the way we heat our homes the cost is still quite high when compared to oil, gas and electricity. However with the rising cost of oil and the ever looming carbon tax that electricity suppliers will have to shortly face I can only foresee that ethanol will become the cheaper alternative in the long run.

I could however be wrong about that though as a rep from Diggers Australia told me the other day that CSR was actually putting up their price for ethanol and the Rep beilieves that there is no possibility of Bio ethanol becoming available at fuel stations or in bulk in the forseeable future.

Mark from Kadina Heating and Cooling who sells and installs combustion fires amongst other things informs me that he personally believes that his combustion wood heater is still the cheapest form of heating. He also points out that wood is a self replenishing fuel and that there are more and more farms which are planting wood plantations for this industry.

Ethanol is certainly a more efficient fuel as all of the heat remains in the room and does not escape via a flu or chimney.

People should note that even though Ethanol heaters require no special ventilation systems they are still producing some CO2 and there needs to be a source of some fresh air when these heaters are being used for any considerable length of time.