The heating system in your house is designed to keep you not only warm but also comfortable and safe when temperatures outside are too cold or too hot. There are many elements that make the heating systems of homes and it is crucial that you understand the different types of heating systems especially those that are trendy for the coming year. Thus, this article will discuss the types of heating systems that will still be trendy for 2018.
Central heating systems
As the name implies, central heating circulates warm air to the entire building from one point to several rooms. This type of heating system is usually combined with other systems to provide a good microclimate within a home or commercial structure. Under central heating, there are many sub-categories that belong to this group as follows:
- Furnaces: Most homes in North America use a central furnace to provide heat to the entire house. A furnace works by blowing warm air through the ducts that deliver them [air] to different rooms around the house. The warm air is exuded via the grills. Furnaces are not only powered by natural gas or oil but also by electricity. This particular heating system works by using a metal heat exchanger where cold air passes through before it is pushed out as warm air using fans. While old furnaces have this notorious reputation of wasting 30% of energy just to produce warm air, newer models of furnaces are energy-saving and have been installed with features that allow it to efficiently pump out hot air all throughout the house. In fact, the US Department of Energy has just finalized new furnace standards in 2016.
- Boilers: Boilers are dubbed as special water heaters. Having said this, the only function of a boiler is to deliver hot water through the entire plumbing system. Cold water is heated in the boiler before it passes through the radiators and then it is cooled down. Modern boilers often come with other gadgets to help control the temperature as well as the distribution of warm water. Critical to the boiler control and regulation include a thermostat, valves, and aquastats. Tubes can also be incorporated into floors where warm water is pumped through to provide radiant floor heating. This feature of modern boilers allows you to heat up your floors aside from your water thus allowing you to kill two birds with one stone.
- Heat pumps: Heat pumps are two-way air conditioners that work by moving heat from cool indoors to the warm environment outside. This process is reversed during the winter months where heat is a necessity inside the house to make living conditions comfortable. Heat pumps can either be air-source or ground-source and choosing the right one largely depends on your goals and the source of heat in your house. Ground-source is often great if geothermal heat is present nearby. If not, air-source is the best option. Since the electricity that is used in heat pump moves heat instead of generating it, this system has the tendency to use up more energy.
Direct heating systems
Direct heating systems, as the name implies, provide heat directly where it is needed. In most cases, they are stand-alone heating implements and they are used to provide heat in a specific area of the house. They are also often used to supplement the heat in homes and buildings, particularly the dead or cold areas. Below are the different types of direct heating systems that will be trendy next year.
- Gas space heaters: Gas space heaters are run by gas power. Space heaters come in different styles and designs, which include free-standing, wall-mounted and floor furnaces. Unlike central heating, they don’t come with extensive ductworks that run along the entire house. Thus, it only has a small heat output and can be used to warm a single room.
- Electric space heaters: Electric heaters are very cheap, and they are often operated by plugging them into a socket. It is effective in warming up a single room in your house. The caveat only is that it increases your electricity consumption by 1.5%. Although this may be the case, the cost of installing this type of space heater is very inexpensive and it is also easy to connect it to a thermostat to control this device remotely.
- Fireplaces: Fireplaces are the most traditional of all types of devices that provide direct heating. They can either be run by gas or wood. Although a fireplace can also add a great focal point to the entire house, it does not effectively provide a stable heat source as the fireplace generally loses more heat than what it provides. But you can add a tight-sealing glass door, or a chimney damper to make this particular direct heating system more efficient.
- Wood burning and pellet stoves: In the rural areas where homes are practically surrounded by wood, burning of wood as a good source of heating can provide a great deal of warm air where it is needed. The problem with this type of heating system is that it produces pollutants and greenhouse gases that can have immense environmental impacts. Although this may be the case, experts from the US Environmental Protection Agency drafted regulations to develop new models of wood burning stoves that can cut back pollution emission by more than half. But because many people are more aware of using products that produce pollutants, this type of direct heating system might not be popular regardless of the new innovation that has been made to make it less impactful to the environment.
Conclusion
There are different heating systems that you can opt for and install in your home but deciding which one to install depends on many factors such as personal preferences, number of rooms, budget, and many others. To be able to decide which type of heating system will provide your home the most comfort, hire the right contractor to assess your home and make the right recommendations. For more information about trendy heating systems, you can visit Presidential Heat and Air today.