A complete guide to designing and living with one of the oldest, and yet one of the newest, heating devices. A masonry heater's design, placement in the home, and luxurious radiant heat redefines the hearth for the modern era, turning it into a piece of the sun right inside the home. The book discusses different masonry heater designs, including variations extant in Europe, and explains the growth of their popularity in the US beginning in the 1970s. Masonry heaters offer a unique comfort that is superior to that from convection heat from forced-air systems, and more personal than that offered by "radiant" floors. Professional contractors will find this a useful tool to consult,. Home-owners considering a new method of home heating will find all they need to know about masonry heaters and their durability, quality, serviceability, and health-supporting features as a viable investment in self-sufficiency and freedom from fossil fuels.

About the Author

Ken Matesz first learned about masonry heaters in the early 1980s, built his first one in the early 1990s, and opened the Masonry Heater Store after the turn of the new century. Matesz's first solo heater project in 1994, a Finnish-style heater in his own home, gave his family heating energy independence. Now with this new book, he hopes to show many others how they can achieve the same freedom and a better standard of living using this simple but elegant way of heating. He lives in Ohio.

Reviews

When I travel in the Northern states of the U.S.--particularly New England, where most people depend on heating with oil--I fear for these millions of folks for whom depleting, climate-changing fossil fuels are all that stand between winter comfort on one hand, and death by freezing on the other."Masonry Heaters" explores one of the most promising alternatives, and its message needs to get out far and wide, and fast.--Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow, Post Carbon Institute and Author of "The Party's Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies"