www.TheDoItYourselfWorld.com

Have you seen the video on YouTube where the permaculture guys were using a compost pile to heat water for showers?

Once you get the rain water collection thing set up and a large enought water tank it might be something to consider.

I have also seen guy compost inside their green houses to extent their growing season.

You live in the forest... It would seem the you have a great resource in all of the potential compost.

There is a ton of heat in compost. I've seen the inside of piles forming ash. It can be so hot you wouldn't want to touch it. It would require a lot of materials, leaves and especially grass clippings. A black tank on the roof through the winter or something connected to the wood burner might be simpler?

Dave has a good point in that it takes a lot of compost to produce that much heat. I just do not have that much material right now. Maybe on a farm it would be perfect though.

In the YouTube video it looks like two people gathered a pile of leaf litter and material from the forest. The pile was maybe 6 x6 x 6 feet piled on top of a coiled hose. As water sat in the pile it was warmed... And as water passed through the hose it was warmed... So much so that cold water had to be mixed in to make it comfortable.

Hot water for the cost of a hose and free compost of the forest (gathered in an hour or three...for free)

Oh, well, I guess they had some time on their hands. That is pretty cool then. That really is free energy then. Would work too, I am sure. The compost heaps get very hot inside.