Heat a 1250 s/f home with only fish tanks?

[WLP74]

Is this possible? Anyone done this beyond the fishroom level? Furnace is busted and winter is coming. Suffered a $500 bill one month this past winter running a space heater in the main living space. Looking for alternatives.

Some details: Drafty, but plastic sealed windows at the moment and there is a large 10x25 ft living area with a cathedral ceiling to contend with (normal ceilings elsewhere). Crawlspace throughout (if this matters). Location is SE Michigan. About 80% of the 1250 s/f home has been reinsulated. 1930s wood frame style.

Anyone have a formula/calculators? No luck with Google there beyond furnace btu calculators.

 

[predatorkeeper87]

are you saying you want to heat the home with fish tanks....?

 

[WLP74]

are you saying you want to heat the home with fish tanks....?

That's right.

 

[predatorkeeper87]

That's right.

with just aquarium heaters? The heat dissipation between the water and the air is going to be astronomical, not to mention you'd have to turn the heaters so high up that any live stock wouldn't last very long in the tank. Not feasible. My electric bill per month with 4 tanks, 3 of which are heated, is around 120 bucks. I can't even imagine what the cost would be if I had more heaters and a higher temp.

 

[Ilawis]

Cheapest way to heat the space is with reverse cycle Aircon aka heat pump you will save the costs of installing it in no time
Also if you can't afford double glazing or curtains then you can always tape clear plastic tight over the windows leaving half a inch between the glass and the plastic
Also stop all drafts
If they come through the floor boards use insulation installed underneath or carpet or staple paper under the floor to the joists to stop the air flow

 

[WLP74]

with just aquarium heaters? The heat dissipation between the water and the air is going to be astronomical, not to mention you'd have to turn the heaters so high up that any live stock wouldn't last very long in the tank. Not feasible. My electric bill per month with 4 tanks, 3 of which are heated, is around 120 bucks. I can't even imagine what the cost would be if I had more heaters and a higher temp.

Same consideration if tops of tanks were covered with the dissipation of water and air?

 

[predatorkeeper87]

Same consideration if tops of tanks were covered with the dissipation of water and air?

no but the glass is going to keep 99.9% of the heat in the water and not in the surrounding air. Water will be damn warm, your rooms not so much.

 

[WLP74]

Cheapest way to heat the space is with reverse cycle Aircon aka heat pump you will save the costs of installing it in no time

Just looked the Aircon thing up....so looks to be a separate unit you are recommending, us that correct? And a no on the fish tank heating potential?

 

[Binge]

While I would not use it to heat a home. It can help a bit. My furnace went out 2 years ago I had a small mobile heat unit that could handle the common areas of my home and got my daughters small heaters for thier rooms. My bedroom however was in my basement and is also where all of my tanks were located.

I dunno if it was the lack of airflow down there that made it effective but I did not need a heater in my room the 300+ gallons of 70+ degree water kept the room comfy enough if you had socks and pajama pants on. And if your hands got cold you could lay em against the glass... man did that feel good lol.

While my bill was much cheaper than the unit that died it was almost double the airflo I put in to replace it.

 

[skjl47]

hello; With enough tanks (water volume) being held at around 80degrees F then yes it should be possible. Do not have any idea how much water needed as it will be part of a balance.

Likely depend on If you could make the house very tight so the loss from the walls, floor and ceiling was slight. From the brief description of the house you gave this could be a big job and cost more than fixing a furnace.

Have you looked in the attic? In my house, built in the70's, there was only a few inches of blown in cellulose. I added another four inches which helped but could use a bit more. Ceiling loss is usually the highest. You may have to open all the walls to check and likely add insulation.

Insulation can be added under a floor between the joists. Quite a job in a crawl space.

One thing I have been doing is to seal openings that "chimney" air up thru a floor or ceiling. Holes where wires or pipes pass thru can be sealed. Light fixtures in ceilings may have holes that can be sealed.

Say you did seal and have enough warm water to heat a house, then likely need to have a few dehumidifiers running to keep down the dampness and mold.

Good thought experiment but very likely not practical in such an old house.