Natural Gas and Global Warming?

Question

Most homes are now heated by Natural Gas. It is also used to heat boiler systems that are forced air heating. And to heat our water tanks. I know they are concerned about Electricity usage, but what about natural gas?

If they are, what are there alternatives for heating homes in the winter. Everything I think of gives off CO2 when burned.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_gas

Like in the Middle Ages they burned either: Wood, Coal or peat. And all those things give out CO2. Is there anything available that doesn't produce CO2 when burned?

And isn't it better that a big plant processes the resource, since it would be easier for them to use pollution controls than every home that needs to be heated in the winter.

(Yes I know about Solar generated heating coils, I did a paper on that in eigth grade english. I'm still amazed it hasn't been used more.)

G.T. I don't believe GW is man made, but I do think we are experiencing some kind of climate change.

Pobept K - So you're saying we can heat our homes with Nuclear Power? Some people do have electric baseboard heaters, but as my family discovered they are very inefficient. So my dad went back to a Boiler System, where a furnace heats water and sends it to radiators throughout the house. This new system he's using is a lot better than the old system we had when I was younger. I just can't remember the name of the system he's using.

Pao - I'm looking for people's ideas for alternatives to natural gas, and how long they think it would take to set something like that up. Since people do need to stay warm in the winter.

Answer 1

At present, natural gas is a better alternative than electricity in most parts of the US. Coal is used to generate more than half of the electricity in the US. About 40% of the energy in the coal is converted to electricity and after transmission losses only 90% of that (36%) reaches the consumer. In comparison, a high efficiency gas furnace can deliver 90% of the available energy as heat. Natural gas produces less CO2 per MJ than coal. There are even better options. It is -25C where I am now. A heat pump could heat the air from -25 C to +5 C at very low cost with minimal CO2 emissions. A gas or electric system is still needed to top up the temperature to a more comfortable 15-20 C, but only 1/3 of the heating comes from gas or electricity. Another very good and feasible method of heating is to use biomass. There are several successful projects in northern Europe based on willow plantations.
http://www.ruse-europe.org/IMG/pdf/Nowa_Deba_EN.pdf
http://www.goodgovernance.coop/live/images/cme_resources/Users/Nick/Farmar-Energi.pdf
In rural areas agricultural residues are also readily available and have a similar heat content to low grade coal (15 - 17 MJ/kg).

Answer 2

I use a dual fuel system that functions as a heat pump when the outdoor temperature is above 40ºF and below that, a 90% efficient natural gas furnace starts up. A heat pump is just an air conditioner that runs forwards or backwards. In the summer it moves heat from inside to outside. In the winter it moves heat from outside to inside. When the temps outside are below 40ºF, there is not enough heat to move inside and it does not work, so that is when the natural gas kicks in.

I also have a wood burning fireplace that has steel tubes for a grate with a blower. I have installed a return air duct in the same room to help distribute heat throughout the house. As Ben O points out, geothermal helps because the ground temps stay about 59ºF, so there is always heat available.

There is also totally electric furnaces that have an electric burner much like an oven that could be fed electricity by a nuclear power plant as could the much more efficient geothermal heat pump.

Answer 3

You should really do some more research, but the evidence for global warming has been dismissed as a hoax. Someone made it up! I'm not just saying that, and im definitely not a republican. The Earth goes through periods of heating and cooling, in fact people used to think we were having a global cooling crisis! How does plunging temperatures and record snowfall indicate the earth is heating up? BUT i do think natural gas is a good investment. it is relatively cheap (without the governments senseless taxes upon it) Oil is NOT. the price of oil is going up, up, up...and the value of the dollar is going downnnnnnnn. There is no way we can keep up. Its going to be too expensive to handle, not too mention is fueling wars. coal i think would also be good..but ill tell you what is a really good investment..GOLD additionally, the majority of people don't take measures to cut their carbon footprint. They just don't care about the earth enough to change their lifestyle. :(

Answer 4

Natural gas heating is cheap (in areas where it's available) and the CO2 produced per unit of heat is quite low compared to electric space heaters.

Burning wood for heat is fairly carbon neutral as trees get their carbon from the atmosphere and it goes back into the atmosphere when the tree decomposes. It's also cost effective and some enthusiasts use it to heat water as well. The disadvantages are it produces smoke (particle pollution) and it's not as convenient as you can't just turn the heat on and adjust the termostat.

Other technology available is electric heat pumps (which typically produce about 2.5 kW of heating for every 1kW of electricity consumed. These can be made better performing still by using a geothermal heat exchanger.

Answer 5

You're right.

The solutions are to insulate homes and factories better, and to warm and cool them with electricity from alternative power plants; nuclear, solar, and wind. We'll need them all.

It will take years to do all that, which is why we need to start now. But we'll get a fringe benefit by reducing our dependence on imported oil.

By the way, natural gas is the least damaging fossil fuel, because it has more hydrogen in it per carbon. It's basically methane, CH4. So, while we move away from fossil fuels, it's at least somewhat better to use it instead of something like coal, which is almost all carbon.

But you're right, we need to get away from it, too, when we can.

RICK - The US oil production peaked in the 70s at less than 4 billion barrels/year. No oil man thinks we could even get back to near 4, it's just not there anymore. We're now less than 3. We could cover Alaska with wells (and our coasts), it still wouldn't make much difference. We use 7.

We can't drill our way out of this. Don't worry, we'll drill everything we can when we get desperate. And, with our inaction, we will get desperate.

Answer 6

Didn't you ask = "If they are, what are there alternatives for heating homes in the winter. Everything I think of gives off CO2 when burned."?

After the years of Environmentalists Controls over politics = Not allowing drilling, offshore drilling, north slope drilling and any new refineries - we are now at the mercies of the merciless (foreign oil), for our heating, transportation (trucking) and automobiles.
You can thank the Enviro Whackos for the accelerating fuel prices. Don't blame it on conservatives that have been trying to open up the 'north slope' for about 20 years.
We will all be wearing 'long johns' and riding bikes soon enough.
To answer your question = invest in long johns & bikes.

Answer 7

Just think of how much co2 we could stop using if we started to build nuclear power plants.

Homes would be all electric getting rid of oil burners, gas water heaters, and gas furnaces.

Just think how eco friendly this would be!

Answer 8

Yes you must have a fire somewhere to produce heat even if your house is all electric. Only thing I can think of that wouldn't be a classic fire is Nuclear energy or hydroelectric,wind. But even they are an after effect of the Sun.

Answer 9

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Answer 10

rub your hands to produce heat. natural gas contributes to global warming as well. (can't understand your question, r you asking or saying a fact?)