How to Build a Compost Heat Exchange System

Composting is the practice of collecting biodegradable waste from the home or farm, and allowing it to decompose in a compost bin. The resulting compost is excellent for gardening or farming, and reduces the amount of waste going to landfills. The decomposition process creates heat, which can be harnessed and serve a further environmental purpose by reducing or eliminating the need for gas heat.

Instructions

• 1

  Build or buy a compost bin. Compost bins, usually out of recycled plastic, are commercially available at home improvement stores. A simple compost bin can be constructed using wire fencing wrapped in a vertical cylinder.

• 2

  Put organic materials into your compost bin, with a good mixture of nitrogen-rich and carbon-rich substances. (See "How to Compost," under Related eHows.)

• 3

  Hook a 1.5 inch flexible pipe to the cold water hookup. Run the line outside to the compost pile, burying it in a trench as necessary.

• 4

  Coil the pipe over and over through the middle of the compost heap. Lay as much pipe as possible--about 100 feet of pipe will provide a reservoir of about nine gallons.

• 5

  Run the pipe back into the house and connect to the hot water hookup. Turn the cold water on and fill the pipe that runs through the compost.

• 6

  Allow the water to sit for awhile in the pipe in the middle of the compost heap, where temperatures can reach 150 degrees F.

• 7

  Turn the hot water on. Once your reservoir of hot water has been depleted, which depends on the length of the pipe, you must wait for new water to be heated before using it again.