Heat Does NOT Rise
The truth will save you hundreds of $$$ per year!
We have always been told that in life there are two things we can never avoid: paying taxes and death. It's now time to reveal a third. A myth as misunderstood as the lockness monster, aliens and the great pyramids. This is the fallacy of heat rising and how we can save hundreds of dollars in heating bills each year. To fully comprehend this concept, let's begin with a simple refrigeration system. How can it be that we can maintain areas in our fridge at temperatures well below freezing even during the summer months?
Try this simple test: put your hand behind a refrigerator and what do you feel? If you felt the warmth on the heating coils then you have began the journey of resolving this mystery. What actually happens is the refrigant's temperature is mechanically raised so that it can transfer energy to the cooler room and remove energy from the fridge itself. This transfer of energy does not go up or down, rather the heat energy is transfering from hot to cold 100% of the time.
The answer to why we believe heat rises lies within the physical properties of air and its density in those properties. As air absorbs energy its density decreases, it becomes lighter, and therefore is able to rise and pull the heat along with it. So when it comes to heating a building, it's not a transfer of heat energy from the first floor to the second. In fact, in most cases the heat is actually fighting with the rising air all along the way.
By utilizing one simple energy management strategy we are able to save valuable $$$ each year. Knowing that hot air wants to rise and will take the heat energy with it, and that heat energy always wants to transfer from hot to cold, by keeping the lower floor thermostat at a temperature higher than the upper floors will save us money. It does this by simply using the heat energy as efficiently as possible. I would recommend a 2 degrees farenheit difference between thermostat settings. For example, in a 2 story house, have the bottom floor set to 70 degrees and the upper level at 68.
They say the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. The same holds true for our energy usage. Small savings by the masses can result in astounding rewards for humanity. Take the bus, carpool, teleconference, webinars, remote office, recycle and reuse and in doing so, reward our children with the quality of life we have all enjoyed.