With the rising cost of energy, and the push towards high efficiency building and mechanical systems, we are always looking at innovative technology.  Often times, new products and systems may not be ideal in their infancy, but they are indicators of trends in the marketplace, and give a glimpse of the types of things that will become commonplace in the near future.  We came across this heating system by the Steffes corporation that uses a type of heat sink to store electrically produced heat during off-peak demand hours, and then releases that heat to the home over the next 24 hour period.  This takes advantage of the lower electricity rates charged by many utility companies at night. Although this system may not be ideal for every scenario, we like the concept and think we will see more of it in the future.  Here is a link http://www.steffes.com/off-peak-heating/forced-air-furnaces.html

Honda also has a very interesting heating system which uses a cogeneration concept to produce electricity and heat from a single fuel source.  It is called a Climate Energy Micro-CHP system, which has been used in Japan for the last several years. It is a combination of a conventional furnace, and single cylinder internal combustion engine.  There is a substantial (30%) savings in heating and electrical usage in homes with this type of unit.  Here is sime more information on this unique concept: HONDA

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