Compost Heating System

[River Song]

This is probably very "old-hat" but I was pretty impressed with the simplicity of it.


  Compost-Heating-System.pdf (Size: 1.17 MB / Downloads: 6)

I can't quite understand how the pipes get hot or whether the gas needs to be out in a genny or whatever.

[Scythe13]

That's pretty cool RS.

Basically, the heat is produced by the decomposition process. You know when you go out to your compost bin and open the lid, and it's warm? It's that breakdown process that creates the heat, which the piping absorbs.

It's kind of the same principle as geothermal heating, but a different system of producing heat. The transfer is near enough the same though. Get heat from one area, then transfer it to another.

Would be good to see how long it would last making heat for. The reason being, decomposition works best at certain heats, which is why compost and the alike, breaks down faster in certain climates. So, taking the heat out of the break-down system may well cause a larger drop in 'mulch' temperature, which could cause one of 3 effects.

1. The temperature is reduced so much that the decomposition slows to a snails pace and stops producing heat. In this instance you'd need a couple of piles and then cycle-extract heat from them one at a time (run each one, consecutively, for 24 hours as an example), thus allowing decomposition reignition and reheating to occur again.

2. The temperature is reduced to a 'static temperature' that balances the temp in the mound and the temperature being transfered.

3. No change in temperature. It might seem illogical, but the tubes would be at the bottom of the mulch, so the main body of composition would be higher up and in the core of the mound.

My thoughts on further development of this concept. Experiment with different placement of the heat wires. The idea would be to route them through the greatest concentration of heat, to get the maximum absorbtion and temp transfer.