Actually, I would welcome the opinion of anyone, not just experts, who have useful facts on the contraption demonstrated by this guy (obviously a Brit) who claims to heat his office for 8 pence (about 11-14 cents American) per days with tea lights from Ikea. Here is the YouTube - YouTube in which he explains his alleged invention.
I have been telling people that this man has not really discovered anything other than the fact that four candle flames add an appreciable amount of heat to a small room.
No matter how you slice it, burning a tea light produces only so much energy. He may well “heat” his tiny office with them, if you consider:
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Europeans seem to have a different definition than North Americans of what a “heated” room is. And the British winter is mild ideed. I was just there in December.
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His office is an attic room with sloping walls, which means he has less volume to heat than with other rooms of comparable floor space.
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He is in an attic, so all the heat in the house tends to rise to his office.
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He has a couple of computers in that room that give off heat. So do light bulbs and his body heat.
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It is a tiny room and four tea lights burning give off as much heat as a small hot-air register.
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There seems to be some huge chimney structure in his room. Does it carry heated air and smoke from fireplaces below? If so, that mass of bricks would get warm and keep their heat.
No doubt hot air just pours out of the hole in the top flower pot, but that is just because the heat is concentrated. He would get as much heat just lighting four candles without the flower pots.
What do you think? Is this guy as fulla crap as I think?