In-Floor Heat Pumping Alternative

With all the conservation and efficiency involved in living off-grid, the Stirling engine seemed like a natural for pumping the hot water through my garage floor.  I first noticed Stirling engines in an off-grid catalog ad about a woodstove fan that required no electricity.  The principle of the engine is to warm one cylinder or side of the engine and cool the other causing gases trapped in the cylinders to expand and contract, moving the piston back and forth and creating work.   I plan to heat the water for the in-floor heat with a woodburning stove, so the heat to operate the Stirling water pump will be a freebie.  If I can find or build one of these engines with enough horsepower, maybe I'll couple it to a generator, too, to get the most out of the free work.  I don't know enough about Stirling engine theory to explain it well, but click on the pictures below for more info.

Cost:  There's no way to calculate the cost on this experiment yet.  However, as usual, if or when I get something like this set up, I'll update this page to include all involved costs and let you know how much work it was to install...including the effectiveness of the unit and any woes I encounter.

Displacer-Type Stirling Engine

Two-Piston Stirling Engine

Click on the pictures for detailed explanations of these two common Stirling engine types

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