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 [...]
Electric Thermal Storage (ETS) is a heat storage technology that can reduce home heating costs where time-of-use (TOU) or low, off-peak rates are offered. Where such rates are available, electricity is most expensive during the day-time hours when the demand for power is the highest. ETS shifts the home’s heating load from the higher-cost, on-peak [...]
Electric resistance heating is generally considered to be 100% efficient. That’s because almost all of the electricity put into a resistance heater comes out as heat.
The misconception that sometimes traps and confuses people is thinking that this is the entire story, and forgetting that making the electricity and getting it to the heater was not [...]
Electric resistance heat works by directly converting electric current into heat. Virtually all of the energy in the electricity ends up as usable heat, but this system is still pretty inefficient when you consider the inefficiency of electric generation and additional losses during transmission.
Electric resistance heat is usually the most expensive form of heat [...]
Electric furnaces come in a variety of configurations and are similar to the more common gas-forced air furnaces. Most electric furnaces are multi-flow units (meaning that the same unit can be positioned in a variety of ways: upflow, downflow, or horizontal).
Compared to electric baseboard heating systems, forced-air electric furnaces provide the advantage of a centralized [...]
Heating and cooling your home uses more energy and drains more energy dollars than any other system in your home. Typically, 44 percent of your utility bill goes for heating and cooling. What’s more, heating and cooling systems in the United States together emit over a half billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere [...]
Electric heating systems can be operative but not practical. Your inspector’s concern may have related to efficiency and cost of operation, rather than function.
Electric radiant heat was commonly installed in homes built from the mid-1950s through the early ’70s. In those days, the price of electricity was nominal, and few foresaw the major escalation of [...]
If you have a natural gas furnace, or any type of fuel-burning appliance, regular professional maintenance can literally save your life.
A properly functioning gas appliance produces harmless water vapor and carbon dioxide, which are vented out of the house. But if a heat exchanger is cracked, a flue pipe is plugged or if [...]
Gas fireplaces are all the rage. As little as fifteen sixteen years ago, gas fireplaces in the home were almost an oddity, but today, they are one of the most sought-after home features. In fact, since the mid-1990s, gas fireplace installations have been more popular than cord-wood fireplace installations, reports Don Johnson, director [...]
In USA, radiant heating only commands about 6 percent of the home heating market, but homeowners who have it rave about its comfort and efficiency, despite the fact that the up-front costs are usually higher than other systems. These homeowners are taking a long-range view, says Dave Yates, president of F.W. Behler plumbing and heating [...]
Although older forced-air and hot water boiler systems had efficiencies in the range of 56% to 70%, modern heating systems can achieve efficiencies as high as 97%, converting nearly all the fuel to useful heat for the home.
Conservation efforts and a new high-efficiency heating system can often cut your fuel bills [...]
Beware of Carbon Monoxide
If you have a natural gas furnace, or any type of fuel-burning appliance, regular professional maintenance can literally save your life.
A properly functioning gas appliance produces harmless water vapor and carbon dioxide, which are vented out of the house. But if a heat exchanger is cracked, a flue pipe is plugged or [...]
Alternative heating for your home can include more than adding a fireplace or two or some space heaters, you now can consider even more unique innovations such as radiant floor heating.Radiant floor heating is a wonderfully efficient heat-distribution system that takes advantage of the whole floor to heat the home, [...]
Routine Maintenance of your furnace will definitely save lot of money and botherations.
When was the last time you changed or cleaned your furnace filter? Failing to replace or clean the filter regularly can be costly!
Dust and dirt can work their way into the blower and coil assemblies, reducing the furnace’s operating efficiency and eventually [...]
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Here are some good tips for saving energy and avoiding high heating bills:
Before purchasing a furnace for your new home, check it’s A.F.U.E. rating, which stands for the Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency. Each furnace has this rating on it from the factory (figure A). The standard is about 80 [...]
When you cozy up next to a crackling fire on a cold winter day, you probably don’t realize that your fireplace is one of the most inefficient heat sources you can possibly use. It literally sends your energy dollars right up the chimney along with volumes of warm air.
A roaring fire can [...]
There are many ways to supplement your central heating system, but one of the most common is to use a fireplace to gain additional heat in your home.
Fireplaces are good as an extra heat source. Let’s say it runs on gas. If you have a power outage in the winter, you can get [...]
Types Of Heating System:
The majority of American homes are heated with a forced-air furnace, most commonly fueled by natural gas, but also by electricity, liquid propane or fuel oil.
How a Furnace Works
A furnace works by drawing air inside a heat exchanger, where it is warmed with a flame of natural gas, propane [...]
Out of all the energy spent in and around your home, the central heating system accounts for more than one-third of it. This means you’ll be spending a lot of time and money warming your home.
But before you can decide which system is best for your home, you’ll need to know the [...]
Efficient and properly leak proof ducting is the most important aspect in the installation of Heating,Ventilating and Air conditioning system in a house which actually saves lot of energy and reduces our electrical bills.
Many homeowners may feel that their money is flying right out of their windows, but it may actually be their [...]
If you are looking for heating equipment for your home, there are some facts you should know. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, nearly 56 percent of the average consumer energy bill goes directly to heating and cooling. Selecting the right heating equipment can save you money in long run.
One in [...]
Heating equipment is used to provide warmth during cold weather. Typically this equipment is used indoors but some types of heating equipment can also be used outdoors as well. Some of the common types of heating equipment are packaged heating units, boilers, individual space heaters and furnaces. Each type of heating [...]