Comment Woolpower ? (Score 1) 250
Wear wool, turn off heating... yeah I know you mentioned wanting heat but think of the free cooling for your electronics that you'd get at the same time... and why is your south facing rooftop not plastered with solar panels already ? I live in an apartment complex (in Europe) and I basically have not been using ambient heat radiators for a year and a half and did not even have to put on the woollen jammies yet. I am guessing your question is more of the rhetorical kind to enlighten fellow slashdotters. On a side note the multiple times I've been in china and in rural areas wool was the solution indoors with room temperatures nearing waters freezing point by a few degrees. People need to get out of their comfort zone. A lot can be done by installing multi layer gold coated thermo glazing in your windows. Wall isolation etc. Look at experimental, zero and even plus energy housing all over Europe. The biggest hurdle against independance is legislation brought on by the energy lobby to curtail initiatives and you see that happening all over the world. Be creative but most of all fight idiotic legislation such as area laws that demand red clay rooftop tiling because you need to fit in with the rest of the "useful idiots" and other laws that curtail freedom and innovative ideas that would keep you from implementing power saving ideas.