Keeping warm in Tuscany

PART 134: It might be interesting to share how we pulled off living in Italy for part of the year. I will post some steps and what we are learning along the way.

We love every minute of it, and what was once a dream is our life!

We live in Tuscany in the Fall, then back again in the Spring, and in California for the rest of the time (in a previous blog, I explained why we live in Italy only part of the year).

Step 1: As we explore areas in Italy, we discover some gems worth sharing. Some are well-known tourist magnets, and others are lesser-known but always amazing.

This week, let's stay closer to home and explore our heating challenge in Tuscany.

Step 2: We bought a house in Tuscany—yay! We discovered the house last summer, made an offer, and finalized the sale in February 2024 when we returned to the area. The house had a heating system that included two wood pellet furnaces: one in the kitchen/living room downstairs and the other in the bedroom upstairs.

Before closing, we requested the seller remove the downstairs furnace to create more space.

Fast forward to February.

Step 3: "It's fuc—ing freezing" I exclaimed as we entered our newly purchased house. Being from Southern California, we weren't accustomed to such a drastic drop in temperature.

"Let's go buy some pellets," I suggested. Without wasting any time, we rushed to the grocery store to stock up on fuel for the furnace.

Step 4: Pellet heating

A pellet stove is a heating source similar to a wood-burning stove; however, instead of using wood for fuel, pellet stoves burn renewable biomass fuel called pellets, made from wood chips and sawdust.

Pellets are poured into a fuel hopper and are fed into the combustion chamber by an electric auger. This auger supplies pellets to the burn pot at a rate that maintains the temperature you set. As a result, the fire can burn intensely, modulate to a lower setting, or even go out and reignite automatically based on the current room temperature compared to the desired temperature. Due to the density of the pellets, pellet stoves produce minimal ash and are said to emit fewer greenhouse gases than other types of stoves.

Italy is a leading European consumer of wood pellets, using approximately 3 million metric tons per year, with domestic consumption accounting for 96 percent of this total.

Despite being considered a more environmentally friendly way to heat a home, pellet stoves have some drawbacks. They emit pollution in the form of fine dust and particles. While these stoves are cleaner than traditional wood stoves, the dust they emit is ultra-fine and can be easily inhaled, posing risks for vulnerable populations. In fact, pellet stoves are known to produce 15 times more particulate matter than oil heating systems and emit up to 1800 times more than gas heating sources. Infants and individuals with bronchitis, asthma, or other lung conditions are among the populations at the highest risk of exposure to these particles.

Step 5: Our experience with pellet heating

It took us a few days to figure out how to work the pellet furnace, but once we did, the bedrooms became toasty within just a few minutes. Over the next few days, we learned several important things about using a pellet furnace:

1. We need to vacuum out the debris every day (at least every other day) using a dedicated small shop vac.

2. We have to regularly bring large bags of pellets to the house. They can also be delivered, but we prefer to carry them from the car.

3. The quality of the pellets affects how much debris is left behind and, consequently, the air quality in our home. So it’s better to avoid the cheapest pellets.

4. When many people in the area are burning pellets, the air can feel thick and heavy.

5. One pellet heater is not sufficient to heat the downstairs, or the bathrooms, in our house.

Step 6: The rest of our house

After heating our bedrooms with our pellet furnace, we turned our attention to the bathrooms and the main room downstairs, all of which were really cold for two Californians. We thought that maybe turning the pellet heater up to full would heat all of the house, but that was incorrect.

We needed to find long-term solutions for keeping the entire house warm.

Step 7: Initial solutions

We had to think quickly since we were freezing the day we took possession of the house. First, we bought some electric blankets to warm up the bed at night and wrap ourselves in them while working at the desk, since we didn’t know how to work the pellet heater yet (it took us a few days to figure it out).

Next, we went to our local hardware store and purchased a space heater with a fan and another type that functioned like a radiator.

We plugged it all in. Then the electricity shut off. It kept shutting off repeatedly.

In a typical Italian household, the normal electricity usage is 3 kilowatts, which was what we were allotted when we took on the house. In Puglia, 3 kilowatts was always sufficient. However, this situation was different because there are no gas lines installed inside the house, so everything in the house is powered by electricity.

We asked our realtor, who is always ready to assist us, "Can we increase our electricity allotment to 6 kilowatts? What kind of documentation do we need to provide?" He replied, "No problem, I will take care of it."

The switch took about 10 days to take effect, so we had to be cautious and turn off everything except the lights when using a space heater.

Once we received our 6-kilowatt allotment, we could keep the kitchen and bedrooms warm, but not much else. The bathrooms felt like walk-in refrigerators.

Despite the challenges, we made the house livable while we worked on long-term solutions.

We realized that relying on space heaters for an extended period would make our electric bill unmanageable, and they are also inefficient heating options that waste energy.

Step 8: Heating alternatives and our solutions

We spoke with our contractor about our desire to heat the rest of the house and inquired about running a pipe from our current pellet stove to the other rooms. "I can do that," he replied, "but I have another solution that I want you to consider."

Our contractor is skilled in various areas, including building houses, plumbing, tiling, heating, and air conditioning. He invited us to a rental unit in Santa Fiora that he had created, where he showed us large flat stones mounted on the wall. "Feel them," he said. They were warm to the touch but not burning. "This is how I heat this place. It's a newer technology in Italy that consumes very little electricity. Instead of expanding your pellet system, I want you to consider this option."

It was an intriguing idea we are currently evaluating for the future.

We also found some other interesting heating alternatives. One option features radiant heat emanating from a metal surface mounted on the wall, while another is an electric fan heater that can also be mounted above a door or window. Both use more wattage than the stone slabs but not as much as the space heaters available at hardware stores. But we decided that these would not be the solution for us.

For the two bathrooms, we discovered that low-wattage electric towel racks provide enough heat for the entire room. One of the towel racks even has a small built-in extra heater for frigid days. Problem solved! The bathrooms are now toasty warm.

Our kitchen has a large fireplace, which is beautiful but allows all the heat to escape up the chimney. We sealed off the chimney and considered installing a pellet heater inside the fireplace. However, due to its height, it would require a custom design, which would get complicated.

I wanted to enjoy the cozy atmosphere of a fire without the hassle of maintenance. Gas logs weren't an option since we don't have gas lines. Instead, I discovered electric logs from Germany that create the illusion of flames and also produce heat. They feature a low-wattage setting that keeps the room comfortably warm while using little energy. We ordered the logs, plugged them in, and I absolutely love them.

Step 9: Where we are at now

Only a few days before we had to return to California, our heating system was in place. A pellet heater upstairs, combined with low wattage wall mounted units in the bathrooms, keep all the upstairs warm. The comfortable atmosphere of the electric hearth keeps the downstairs nice and warm also.

Now that we are spending Spring and Fall in Italy, the house will always be comfortably warm on chilly days.

More next time.

My new novel is on sale now for $2.99! "Onward: A Life on a Sailboat" is a tale that will draw the reader to the Amalfi coast, the deserts of Algeria, the south of France, and beyond. https://a.co/d/3hhJkxE

Amazon Italy- my book "Lei mi ha sedotto. Una storia d'amore con Roma": https://amzn.eu/d/13nuZCL.