Can You Use a Car Heater to Heat Your Home?

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    Car Heat Heater
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the feasibility of using a car heater to heat a home, particularly in the context of a new homeowner exploring heating options for winter. Participants consider the practicality and implications of integrating a car heater into a residential heating system.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Technical explanation, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant proposes using a wood burner with a wetback to circulate hot water through a car heater to heat bedrooms, suggesting it could be more effective than traditional radiators.
  • Another participant questions the practicality of using a car heater, highlighting concerns about its reliance on an engine, fuel supply, and exhaust issues that are not typical in home heating systems.
  • There is a discussion about the efficiency of using a 12VDC fan compared to a 110VAC fan, with one participant suggesting that the former may not offer advantages unless powered by battery or solar systems.
  • Participants note the importance of local bylaws and regulations that may affect the feasibility of such a heating system.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the practicality and efficiency of using a car heater for home heating, with no consensus reached on the proposed method's viability.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include potential local regulations affecting modifications to heating systems and the assumptions about efficiency and practicality of using automotive components in a residential setting.

hammo
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car heater to heat house??

Hi everyone. So i had a brain wave and thought id put it out there for help or advice. I have just moved into a new house and thought id start looking into heating for the upcomming winter. I thought about buying a new 19 kilowatt wood burner to heat the living area of the house and to heat the downstairs bedrooms i thought about using a wetback on the wood burner to circulate hot water through a copper pipe to the bedrooms and to pump the hot water through a car heater in each room so the 12 volt fan would blow hot air into the rooms and thus work better than a normal hot water radiator...So what do you think?/?
 
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Welcome to PF, Hammo.
There is one important thing that you didn't specify. Did you buy the house, or just rent it? That will determine the limits of what you may do.
 


yes we now own the house so anything is possable?
 


Not necessarily anything. That depends upon where you live. You also have to consider the bylaws of your particular area. Those can range from none to very strict.
As for the plan itself, you seem to be making it more complicated than necessary. Why would you use a car heater, which relies upon the running of the engine to be functional, in a household system? That would bring in the whole problem of fuel supply and exhaust evacuation that is not normal in a home environment.
If you were referring strictly to the air circulation problem, there is no advantage to a 12VDC fan over a 110VAC one unless you are running strictly upon battery and/or solar power. If you run it through a converter from the mains, you will be losing efficiency.
 

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