If I were buying a "frugal" house I would look for... - Page 2

[gabbyraja]

The homeowners wouldn't fill the pool, so we kept looking. Good thing, because we found something else that's wonderful! The next door neighbors have horses, and it's literally 3 houses down from a petting farm!

It has gas hot water for heat. I don't rally know anything about this kind of heat... We had it in an apartment, and it was VERY good at heating, and we didn't get bloody noses all winter. But, heat was included there, so I don't know: is it very efficient? I KNOW it HAS to be more efficient than propane, but... I'm not sure if you can use a solar hot water heater(s) to bypass the gas and heat your house with it? THAT would be super cool! 

It's also situated correctly, has the overhang on the front porch (south side) and everything, for passive solar. So that's too cool. And it's only got a crawl, no basement. It's a 3'8", concrete, lighted crawl. And the garage is heated. We will convert it for grandma. It's also a ranch, so no stairs and we could live in it easily when we're old/if we're "less-abled."

Edited by gabbyraja - 3/4/12 at 6:49pm

[gabbyraja]

Oh, also, it has a fireplace (They have it boarded up and obviously haven't used it in a while). We wouldn't have cared if it didn't have one or did have one, but I LOVE fireplaces. Is there any way at all, even if it's only used a few times a year, to do anything to it (I've heard "insert" a lot, but don't really know what it is or what it costs), to make it so we could actually use it in a semi-efficient manner? I wouldn't expect to use it for efficient heat, just to make it not lose too much heat (when in use or not in use), not be too smokey into the house, and still have the fire visible and warm?

Thanks

[littlest birds]

Gabby, we just installed an insert into our old fireplace and use it for our primary heat as well--we lined and insulated our chimney at the same time to go with it. It was around $3,000.  http://www.chimneylinerinc.com/napoleon1101.php  This should link what we got. It is very simple and yes you can definitely watch the fire.  We are quite happy with it.  Previously our fireplace just sucked heat and we just used it for fun/entertainment.  It did not help keep us warm!

 I hope the house works out for you!

[nstewart]

Originally Posted by gabbyraja 

Oh, also, it has a fireplace (They have it boarded up and obviously haven't used it in a while). We wouldn't have cared if it didn't have one or did have one, but I LOVE fireplaces. Is there any way at all, even if it's only used a few times a year, to do anything to it (I've heard "insert" a lot, but don't really know what it is or what it costs), to make it so we could actually use it in a semi-efficient manner? I wouldn't expect to use it for efficient heat, just to make it not lose too much heat (when in use or not in use), not be too smokey into the house, and still have the fire visible and warm?

Thanks

My grandparents have an insert, with a fan and vents, the doors close super tight, so you get the beauty of a fireplace and the efficiency of a wood stove.  They heat their whole house in the winter, and a log burns forever.  It would be a very efficient way to heat if you can do the fan!