Have Some Fun This Winter - Heat Your Home With Vodka

In addition to cleaning glasses and killing weeds, vodka can apparently also be used to heat your entire home.

Larry Weingarten, a general contractor and water heater expert from Salinas, California, did just that. Prior to 2000, Weingarten had lived in an energy-efficient home where he utilized solar water heating and insulation. However, when he began building his new home on a 131 acre property, he decided to take energy efficiency to the next level: to construct and maintain a home that was truly cost effective with no electric bills and minimal heating costs.

Though Weingarten's home may not seem much more than a wood-shingled rural cabin, he has managed to save money by building a three story house aimed at functionality. He never has to paint his house because he has installed HardiShake shingles to the sides of his dwelling instead of the roof - saving him an estimated $14,000.00 - $18,000 every ten years. His deck is made from a combination of reclaimed wood and plastic which does not splinter or crack, and the banisters in the stairways are composed of steel pipes.

However, Weingarten has saved the most money through his inventive power and heating systems. Because he uses solar panels on the roof and a propane stove in the kitchen, he has no electric bills. His one utility expense is the meager $43 he spends on propane and gas in order to power his water heater, stove, refrigerator, clothes dryer; and in order to pay for the gasoline used to power his backup generator when there is not enough sunshine (not uncommon in Northern California). He also admits to using a wood-burning stove in the winter to supplement his heating system. Other than the relatively minor expenses mentioned above, the solar-generated heat and wood he uses for his stove costs him nothing.

To heat his house, Weingarten uses a combination of solar energy with radiant heating and gravity circulation. A freezeproof mixture of vodka and water is circulated in the basement through solar panels on the roof, as Weingarten claims the distilled beverage is more efficient and energy efficient than regular anti-freeze. With 8 inch thick walls and insulated panels, the heat stays in his home.

While the average person should not attempt to power and heat his home using the above methods, Weingarten's dedicated (although far-fetched) efforts at conserving energy is to be admired.