Definition:
Underfloor heating is a form of central heating which utilizes heat conduction and radiant heat for indoor climate control, rather than forced air heating which relies on convection. Heat can be provided by circulating heated water or by electric cable, mesh, or film heaters.
Underfloor heating can be used with concrete and wooden floors, with all [...]
Central solar heating is the provision of central heating and hot water from solar energy by a system in which the water is heated centrally by arrays of solar thermal collectors (central solar heating plants - CSHPs) and distributed through district heating pipe networks (or ‘block heating’ systems in the case of smaller installations).
For block [...]
Winter is the time when home heating bills soar. But this issue should not be much of a burden on homeowners if they know how to find ways to cut the cost of their heating bill. Sure, there are simple ways you can save on energy consumption at home. The key is to make all [...]
In today’s increasingly energy conscious society, one must consider the energy efficiency of every product they purchase. Whether it’s your car’s gas mileage or how much electricity your refrigerator uses, we’ve all become more aware of our energy usage.
There are two main reasons for this, and they’re pretty obvious. One, inefficient energy use costs [...]
For some people, a fireplace might as well be a video of flaming logs. Their primary interest is the welcoming ambiance a fireplace’s blaze presents. If, however, you expect your fireplace to provide heat in exchange for your log-carrying, fire-building efforts, (or in the case of gas logs, in exchange for your gas bill), it’s [...]
For many people, the cold winters can be almost unbearable. If you home isn’t staying warm during cold weather periods it can be awful and uncomfortable. Increased energy costs make it prohibitive for people to merely turn up the heat, but the other alternative, to suffer through isn’t a better solution. There actually are other [...]
To understand how a high-efficiency furnace works, consider these basics. In principle, a forced-air furnace is a relatively simple device, somewhat like a gas oven that’s hooked up to a fan. Natural gas is piped to a burner inside a combustion chamber where the gas is mixed with air and ignited by a pilot light, [...]
The size of a furnace is critical to efficiency. A system that’s too large wastes energy warming up and cooling down as it continuously cycles off and on a furnace that is too small will fail to warm the house on really cold days. A properly-sized system is designed as closely as possible to the [...]
In-the-floor hydronic heating circulates heated water through coils of tubing that warm the floor to about 85 degrees F.
……………………………..
Manifold zone control, installed in the wall, regulates the temperatures of floors of various rooms.
Tubing is embedded in the flooring. A boiler may be heated by any number of different fuel sources. A pump circulates [...]
An upflow furnace draws cold air in through the bottom and sends heated air out the top. Upflow furnaces are often used in houses that have basements or that deliver heat through overhead ductwork.
Downflow or counterflow furnace draws cool, return air through the top and delivers heated air out the bottom. This type is [...]
This is going to be a hard winter for homeowners whether they use oil, natural gas or propane to heat their homes.
Pellet stoves have a lot of advantages over conventional wood stoves - once-a-day fuel loading, some operate with thermostats, many don’t require a chimney for installation and pellet fuel stores more conveniently than cord [...]
You don’t need a chimney with ventless gas fireplaces & electric fireplaces :
…………………………………….
On a cold day, a fire is the perfect focal point for quiet conversation, reading a good book or a little romance. In fact, when it comes right down to it, nothing quite matches the warmth and ambiance of flickering flames in a [...]
How does the cost of pellets compare to wood?:
On face value, pellets are more expensive at $130 to $200 per ton compared to firewood at from $100 to $175 per cord.
But comparing a ton to a cord is a bit like comparing a pound to an inch. One ton of pellets consists of 50 [...]
Pellet stoves utilize electronically controlled combustion, blowers, and highly effective heat exchangers to provide reliable, efficient, heating.
You pour the pellets into a holding bin or hopper, which is located either at the top or bottom.
Hoppers typically hold from 35 to 130 pounds of pellets; the larger the hopper, the longer a given stove will [...]
With skyrocketing oil prices, the cost of heating homes is jumping off the charts. The Department of Energy expects heating bills to be 27 percent higher this winter for people who heat with oil and 41 percent higher for those who heat with natural gas. In cold-winter climates, this number will be closer to 30 [...]
Most heating systems operate reliably for a long time if they are well-maintained. Before you call a furnace technician for a repair or roll up your sleeves to do the work yourself, call your utility or check their Web site–in many areas, the utility company will send a technician to your home to check minor [...]
Radiant heat from the sun or from a radiant heater travels in a straight line to warm cooler objects-roofs, walls, people-rather than the air. Those objects absorb the heat and may re-radiate it to other cooler surfaces. Though air temperature may be chilly, you can still feel warm with radiant heating.
……………………………..
Source:http://www.hometips.com/hyhw/comfort/38comf.html
Electric-resistance radiant floor heating works like a toaster. When electric current travels through electric wiring, it generates heat. With this type of heating system, special floor-heating cables or woven mats, foils, or panels with built-in wires are installed on, in, or under the subfloor. Then they’re hooked up to an electrical circuit and a control [...]
Hydronic radiators deliver heat through convection and radiation. Water is heated in a boiler and distributed by pipes to convectors. Air circulates from floor through heated fins of convectors. Warmed air rises by convection. At same time, convectors radiate heat directly into the room.
…………………………………………
Source:http://www.hometips.com/hyhw/comfort/45hydronic.html
One word describes radiant floor heating: friendly. When you step out of the shower or climb out of bed, radiant floor heating offers your bare feet a toasty welcome. It warms you silently, invisibly, and relatively economically.
Unlike forced-air heating, radiant floor heating doesn’t stir up dust or allergens and it cuts down on heat loss [...]
A forced-air heating system draws room air through ductwork and a filter into a furnace, where the air is heated. The warmed air is then blown back to rooms through ductwork. With older “gravity” furnaces, the heated air is delivered by natural convection, not by a blower.
……………………………………
Most furnaces are gas-fired, but other fuels include oil, [...]
Sky-high energy bills, diminishing resources and a healthy concern for our environment have brought a great deal of attention to the topic of home energy efficiency in recent years. Homeowners everywhere are struggling to spend less, use less and pollute less without giving up the warmth and comfort we’ve grown to cherish.
Almost 35 million homes [...]
Many people who opt for radiant-floor heating do so because they don’t like forced-air heat. There is a common perception that forced-air heating systems dry out air and generate dust. “Nothing could be farther from the truth with a properly installed forced-air system,†says Betsy Pettit, AIA, of Building Science Corporation in Westford, Massachusetts. Forced-air [...]
Older radiant floor systems used either copper or steel tubing embedded in the concrete floors. Unless the builder coated the tubing with a protective compound, a chemical reaction between the metal and the concrete often led to corrosion of the tubing, and to eventual leaks. Major manufacturers of hydronic radiant floor systems now use cross-linked [...]
Although ceramic tile is the most common floor covering for radiant floor heating, almost any floor covering can be used. However, some perform better than others. Common floor coverings like vinyl and linoleum sheet goods, carpeting, wood or bare concrete is often specified. However, it is wise to always remember that anything that can insulate [...]
There are three types of radiant heat: radiant air floors (air is the heat-carrying medium); electric radiant heat floors; and hot water (hydronic) radiant heat. All three types can be further subdivided by the type of installation: those that make use of the large thermal mass of a concrete slab floor or lightweight concrete over [...]
Radiant Floor Heat has its advantages:
Homeowners can save money by purchasing and maintaining an energy-efficient heating and cooling system.Most people who own radiant floor heating feel that the most important advantages are comfort and quiet operation. Radiant floor systems allow even heating throughout the whole floor, not just in localized spots as with wood stoves, [...]
Types of Radiant Floor Heating:
There are three types of radiant floor heat: radiant air floors (air is the heat carrying medium); electric radiant floors; and hot water (hydronic) radiant floors. All three types can be further subdivided by the type of installation: those that make use of the large thermal mass of a concrete slab [...]
It has been pointed out that radiant-floor heating systems may not be the best choice for extremely well-insulated, passive solar homes. So when do they make sense?
• In houses and small commercial buildings with conventional levels of insulation and standard insulated-glass windows—especially those in climates with minimal cooling loads—where the extra comfort of radiant [...]
Radiant-floor heating offers a number of significant benefits:
Comfort. By far, the biggest selling point for radiant-floor heating is comfort. The large radiant surface means that most of the heat will be delivered by radiation—heating occupants directly—rather than by convection (the primary mechanism of heat delivery from conventional hydronic baseboard “radiatorsâ€). Warmer surfaces in a living [...]