How to build a compost heating system

Do you need an extra source of heat for your home during the winter? How does a free heating system that comes with rich soil for your garden sound? :)

Create a heating system while composting!

This method is known as “Jean Pain Composting” or “Jean Pain Method” as it was invented by a French farmer named Jean Pain in the 1970’s. He developed this system using compost materials such as saplings, branches, and underbrush to generate all his energy needs! He was able to produce hot water and heating using the temperature from the compost, plus power an electric generator, his cooking equipment, and his truck by distilling methane from it.

Though some expressed doubts as to the quantity of methane Pain was able to get, his system has proven to be an effective way to create heat for the cold seasons.

It is built with woodchips and sawdust, together with other compost materials and animal manure insulated with hay bales. As it starts to decompose, it will also produce heat which you can use through a hydroponic setup.

This system usually lasts up to 18 months before the entire compost pile breaks down. You can then use the compost to enrich your garden soil and to keep your free heating system going, build another one!

This compost heating system is definitely a great idea if you want hot water to use during the winter or if you need to heat your greenhouse or home!

Just some things to keep in mind: Setting it up as near as possible to where you need the heat to be is important so as not to lose the desired temperature. However, a mound of compost can also catch fire so be sure not to build it too close to your home. The maximum height allowed for a compost pile is usually 8 ft., but of course, you will have to limit your compost pile height depending on the amount of space you have in your yard!

Want to learn how to build it? Follow the step-by-step tutorial below!

Materials:

• Hay Bales
• Fallen Trees and Branches
• Sawdust
• Animal Manure
• 15′ of Perforated 4″ Tubing
• 1/2″ Plastic Pipe (to be connected to a water source)
• Cinder Blocks

Tools:

• Woodchipper
• Measuring Tape
• Shovel
• Temperature Sensor (Hobo Data Logger)

Click on any image to start the lightbox display. Use your Esc key to close the lightbox.

Steps:

Stake out a circle approximately 12 feet in diameter. Purchase hay bales from a local farm, collect fallen trees and branches and rent a chipper. A load of sawdust can usually be procured from a local sawmill: they will often deliver for a nominal fee.

Lay about 15′ of perforated 4″ tubing at the bottom of the mound, with each end protruding out of the perimeter.

Create a “backstop” of hay bales to catch the woodchips as they are thrown from the chipper into the mound. Chip a layer of woodchips approximately 1′ high into the mound on top of the aeration pipe.

Coil 1/2″ plastic pipe at the bottom of the mound and hold it down temporarily with cinder blocks. Run the end of the pipe outside of the ring of hay bales, to be connected to your water source.

Chip wood into the pile, intermittently stopping to throw shovelfuls of sawdust in.

The high carbon content of both materials creates a lot of heat when decomposing.

Once you get started, this project should take 1-2 days of labor. Keep looping in the water pipe and building up the hay perimeter as you add woodchips and sawdust.

Throw in some manure – any animal will work – if you have any.

In the diagram shown here, we hooked up a Pain mound to a greenhouse. We buried the water lines so that we would not lose additional heat to the outdoor air.

If possible, consider including a series of temperature sensors with your water pipes, so that you can track the BTU output along the way. Our mound produced more than 6 million BTUs over a period of 12 months, including a freezing New England winter.

Thanks to katrinaspade for this great project!

Here’s a quick video…