Quote:
Originally Posted by aardvarcus
Why not just design the house to use such little energy that supplemental heating is very minimal? 
I utilize what you are suggesting when I need to work on my car in the winter, make sure it is nice and warm before pulling into the garage for the free heating.
What we really need is an exhaust heated oven to cook our dinner on our drive home. Simple heat exchanger... Or how about a engine coolant heated crock pot.
My issue with the phase change material is that they tend to loose their effectiveness over time.
Toyota had the vacuum insulated canister to store heated coolant to preheat the engine for the next trip, it would be cool to see that idea on steroids.
It frustrates me in the winter to see industrial cooling towers running expelling waste heat from industrial process water, and then to see the same plants burning natural gas to heat water for building heat. Not even trying... |
I used to cook on the manifold when traveling....... There are vacuum insulated containers for cooking........ called of all things "thermal cookers"..... Isn't all cooking "thermal".... Kind of an absurd term. But it's like a thermos..... you heat it to cooking temp, and it holds that temp within a few degrees for hours, cooking your food. Ideal in an RV or sailboat. I use Sous Vide extensively in cooking, most often at a mere 130F for meat. A super insulated container would be perfect for this........... Heat a piece of chuck steak to 130, and hold it for 48 hours, and it is as tender as rib eye... or more, and a perfect pink medium rare all the way through, requiring just a minute or two of searing on the outside to make a perfect steak such as you cannot possibly do on a grill... it tenderizes while never exceeding a medium rare state, rich pink and juicy. Many things can be cooked to perfection this way.
Precision temp control is the challenge... With 180F coolant, how do you regulate temp at 130F in your water bath? The food is sealed in a food saver or zip lock, submerged in closely regulated water. Veggies can be cooked to the perfect crispness / softness, eggs to a perfect custard yoke.......... an awesome tool if you haven't tried it yet!
H.W.