The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1918-11-25
HOW TO SAVE COAL.
Method Is Recommended to Those Hav-
ing Hot Air Furnaces

With the wintry weather coming on,
the bureau of mines, department of the
interior, offers a novel scheme to house
holders using hot air furnaces to not only
obtain greater heat from their furnaces,
but also to save from 20 to 80 per cent of
their coal.
The bureau suggests that it is extreme
ly wasteful of coal and also comfort to
follow the almost universal plan in hot
air furnaces of having the cold air duct
connected with the outside Of ,the house
during severe weather 1t is of the opin-
ion that when the outside air is down to
nearly zero, it will be profitable to close
the cold air duet, shutting off the air
| from the outside and substituting anoth-
err air duct from the inside of the house
where the air has been somewhat heated.
| With most hot air layouts it is pos
sible, by a simple and inexpensive change,
TO effect saving of 20 to 30 per cent in
the coal required to heat the building in
severe weather, and the building can be
kept far more comfortable. In fact, it is
easy to change hot air house heating
from system markedly inferior to
steam or hot water apparatus to a sys-
| TEN that compares with them most ia
vorably in nearly all respects.
| The plan here recommended is merely
the addition Of an auxiliary cold air duct
| by which the air supply to the furnace
may be taken from inside the house, in
stead of from outdoors, during very cold
or windy weather.
There is, of course, nothing novel in
this proposal. Hot air furnaces have
been installed on this plan for many
years; and the only surprising feature is
that all furnaces are not installed in this
way, instead of an occasional one. The
saving in coal made possible by such an
arrangement is obvious when one consid-
ers the difference between heating air
| taken from outdoors, which may be at
zero temperature or below, and air taken
from inside the house entering the fur
mace at temperature averaging perhaps
go degrees +.
The saving in fuel is especially great,
of course, where hot air furnace is de-
signed and installed, as all hot air fur
naces should be, to deliver a large volume
of warm air instead of a small volume of
very highly heated air 1t 81, in fact, a
material advantage of the auxiliary cold
air inlet from inside the house that it
enables furnace to be installed which
will deliver warm air instead of hot air
thing which is difficult or impossible
when the entire air supply is taken from
outdoors.
One might suppose that all hot air fur
naces would be built according to the
plan here recommended; but for the ordi-
nary dwelling the heating apparatus
usually receives only such thought and
attention as the plumber or builder cares
to give it, 1t is question of putting in
equipment that win cost the least and
sell the best, rather than what will give
the best results in operation,
In these times, however, when economy
at every point is demanded as patriotic
duty it is surely the duty and the OPP
portunity of engineers to undertake lead
ershp in this reform. No argument
whatever is necessary to convince engi-
neers of the practical advantages of the
change here urged.
The bureau has issued on this subject
technical paper POS, How to Improve
the Hot Air Furnace" a copy of which
may be obtained BY addressing the Direc-
tor of the Bureau of Mines, Washington,
| a G.