Would you consider burning corn as an alternative way to heat your home?

Question

Corn does not produce a lot of soot. The soot that it does produce can be used as a fertilizer for you lawn or garden. There is no odor when you burn it. Currently, corn is about $3.00 per bushel and to heat a 2000 sq foot home you would only need a 1/2 bushel or less per day to keep your home warm. Corn can be grown almost anywhere. The most important reason for burning corn is that it is not a fossil fuel.

Answer 1

Is this serious?

Answer 2

I wouldn't.
1. Corn is a chemical dependent crop. It takes a lot of fertilizer, pesticide and herbicide to raise it. Because these products take fossil fuel to make and spread, you are still hooked to the fossil fuel chain.
2. Corn requires a lot of water, and ground water stores are being depleted everywhere.
3. While corn isn't a "fossil" fuel, all that really happening is the carbon cycle is shortened. Instead of storing the carbon for 400 million years before releasing it, it's stored for a year or less before releasing it.
4. Growing corn depletes the soil of trace minerals that are not replaced by fertilizers.
5. If you have a stove that only burns corn, you are dependent on a supply of corn. Price and availability may shift dramatically depending on weather and other variables.
6. Corn requires plowing, cultivation, harvesting and processing, all again linked to fossil fuels.

I'd consider a stove that burns wood chips or a regular wood stove. While #3 comment above still applies, at least the other negatives listed don't. Plus, humans and animals can eat corn, but they can't eat wood. Unless they are beavers.

But really save money AND energy, insulate first. You should have at least R-50 in your attic...that's about 15 inches of fiberglass. That will save money during the cooling season, too.

Answer 3

Depends on the form of the corn and where I lived. Currently I live in an apartment, and I can see no way of installing the proper equipment to burn the corn. Even if I had a little house of my own in the country, I would be leary of it for several reasons: it might be hard to get a steady supply of the right kind of corn for burning, it is kind of dangerous, and it makes the whole house smell like burnt popcorn (which I can't stand). However, I suppose one could find ways to work around all of that. I cannot imagine it being useful to at this present time to large populations or for people in cities. I am assuming you are refering to corn that has not been made into methanol (by rotting) or ethanol (by distillation), or otherwised processed (granulated, etc).

Answer 4

Absolutely, we live in a semi-rural area and stoves that heat with corn
pellets are in all the newspapers. It seems that this would be a great
renewable energy source. There would also be the incentive to keep
America green and plant more corn instead of planting Wal-Marts.

Answer 5

One winter, as an experiment, we burned coal to heat our home.

We spent a good portion of the following spring cleaning greasy soot off every single surface in the entire house: doors, walls, ceilings, curtains, lampshades, carpets, furniture...

I'd say stick with fuels that heat cleanly. Really, I would.

Answer 6

the use of corn for fuels has driven the price up drastically, they a rioting in some small countries because they can't pay the price for corn flower to make there staple foods.....strange how stuff works.

Answer 7

I suppose I'd need to do more research on potential costs and benefits... I assume this is a reference to ethanol.