08/07/2024
Heat Your House with Light Bulbs in the Winter
When it is a fairly cold, I use about fifteen ~60 watt incandescent lightbulbs, a heating pad for my desk chair, and a heating pad for my feet. When winter temperature drops to 10F below zero I use about twenty-two incandescent bulbs for 1400 watts, an electric space heater for 1500 watts, a heating pad on my desk chair for 50 watts, and a heating pad for my feet at 50 watts. I added light bulb socket Y adapters so I can put 2 light bulbs in some of the ceiling light sockets and table lamp light sockets. It is a chilly 50F in some areas of the house when it gets really cold, but I work and hang in the warm zones. I get my net electricity from solar panels that I rent at a nearby solar farm [that is also a vegetable farm] [via SunShare].
When it's not winter, I switch out all the incandescent bulbs and back to led lights.
Incidentally, nearly 100% of the energy used by an incandescent lightbulb is eventually turned into heat when used in an enclosed space. Even the visible light energy from a light bulb in an enclosed space is converted into heat (IR) as it bounces around a room.
Conversely, my house heater that ran on fracked natural gas was only 80% efficient because a lot of the heat goes up the flue. Plus, a lot of the gas heater's heat was lost via the metal forced air ducts under the floor.
There are heaps of ways to buy solar energy credits, rent solar panels or install solar panels so you can use light bulbs to help cool this sweet but inflamed planet. Find your solar energy via Sunshare, SolarSlice, CarbonFund, Colorado Solar and Storage Association, and Xcel's Solar Rewards, and other community solar gardens.
Then, every light bulb you use to add heat to your home rather than using the gas heater will help keep the Earth a little cooler.
The solar electricity I get from the solar farm is the same price as fossil fuel generated electricity.
For a cool planet, Stele Ely XOEarth.org/Solar-Ovens
