Alright, heating. Didn’t think I’d care much, moving to Spain. Sun, tapas, little house in the hills… didn’t exactly picture myself shivering. But yeah, winters here? Not “snowstorm” cold, but cold enough to make you hate tile floors at 6 a.m.
Alicante’s not freezing or anything. Nights drop to, what, 4 or 5 degrees in January? Days around 15°C. Fine if you’re outside moving around. Inside? Different story. I’m not trying to live in a fridge.
So, heating. I went down the usual rabbit hole—Googling, forums, watching some guy on YouTube talk about “efficient radiant solutions” like I’m building a luxury spa. Anyway, here’s where my head’s at.
First off—insulation. Obvious, right? No point pumping heat into a house that leaks warmth like a busted kettle. Thick stone walls, double-glazed windows, heavy curtains. Basically, wrap the place up like it’s wearing a winter coat. Rugs, too. Bare tiles in winter? No thanks.
But, even with all that… you still need heat. No getting around it. And wood stoves? Kind of love the idea. Crackling fire, cup of tea, pretending I’m living in some rustic novel. Plus, wood’s easy to find out here. Fallen branches, scrap wood, whatever. I’d go for one of those high-efficiency ones—secondary combustion or something? Burns the smoke, gives more heat, uses less wood. Sounds smart. And you can cook on top. Soup, coffee, maybe some dodgy toast if you don’t mind waiting.
Pellet stoves… eh. Cool idea. Super efficient. But they need power—not loads, but enough to run the feeder and fan. And if I’m running everything off solar, do I really wanna burn battery life just to keep warm? Probably not.
Solar heating sounds great, though. Big south-facing windows, let the sun do its thing. Passive heating, basically—no gadgets, just warmth soaking into the walls and floors. But that only works when the sun’s out. Cloudy week? Back to square one.
Could add an active system—solar panels heating water, run it through pipes under the floor. Fancy. Probably pricey. And again… what about when it’s cloudy? Feels like it’d need a backup.
Propane heaters? Meh. Handy for emergencies, I guess. I’m not planning to rely on one, but if a freak cold snap hits and my batteries are crying for mercy… might be nice to have tucked in a corner. Just in case.
Heat pumps… I want to love them. Efficient, does heating and cooling. But they suck power. Even a little one pulls like 5kW. That’s half my solar array, gone—just for heat. Maybe if I get a tiny one, just for the bedroom? Flip it on for an hour, take the edge off. That could work. Maybe.
Or, you know, just do what people have done forever. Thick socks. Hot water bottles. Cook dinner late so the stove warms up the house. Wear a jumper instead of trying to turn the house into a sauna. Low-tech, low-stress.
So yeah. No clear plan yet. Probably a mix—wood stove for everyday heat, solar when the weather plays nice, maybe a heat pump if I’m feeling fancy. Propane backup for “oh crap” moments. Bit of this, bit of that, see what works.
If you’ve already figured this out, tell me what you did. I’m just here drowning in tabs and wondering how people kept warm before radiators were a thing.