Find out the best heating system for the house is a tough task. Whether you are changing into a new house or installing a new heating system or upgrade to a new heating system is an expensive investment. So, it's very important to select the best option for your house. To make your process easier, we have provided you an overview of the different types of heating systems available in the market that are the right fit for your home.
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To stay warm, you have to use the heating system. Pick out which type of system is better than others while consuming less energy is somewhat difficult. Some systems would be difficult than others to keep up with the variations in the temperature. You can see the variations in energy efficiency, level of comfort and cost depend on your system. Finally, the solution is up to you to pick the right house heating system. Before that, we have to let you about the different types of heating systems.
During the winter season and in areas where temperatures rarely dip below freezing, home heating is an important consideration for you. Energy efficiency is an important factor for those who want to reduce their house comfort expenses. A high-efficiency system will cost much less to operate than a lower-efficiency model. Moreover, high-efficiency systems cut ongoing expenses more, which reduces bills up to 70%. And, add up to more savings.
Factors to Consider while Choosing the Best Heating System for House
When you choose a new heating system, you have to consider many factors. In those, we have updated a few below, so have a look at them.
Energy Source or Fuel Type
Coming to the fuel type, natural gas is the most popular heating system's fuel. Most of the homeowners using LP gas or propane to heat their system, in areas where natural gas is not available. Electric pumps are a good choice for less cold climates. Although the fuel oil is uncommon, many people in the Northeast using it only.
Determine which fuels are available in your living area and know their costs, before deciding the fuel type. You know, a qualified heating contractor will operate with different fuels or any energy source. Moreover, its operating cost is also less for various fuels. You can estimate the operating cost depending upon the local gas or electric utility.
Distribution System – Hot Water or Forced Air
Nowadays, most residential heating systems use forced air or circulating the hot water to make their throughout house warm. Most of the homeowners in the United States, choose the forced air heating so it's more popular in many locations. In the forced air systems, the heat is distributed throughout the home via registers or ducts.
Hydronic or hot water systems heat the room through a boiler via copper or plastic piping, typically to baseboard radiators. To circulate the heat, some of the hot water systems use pipes enclosed in the floor slab which radiates the heat in the house evenly.
Both types have advantages as well as disadvantages. The main advantage of the forced air system is that its ducts can use be used for central air conditioning systems as well as to filter and humidify the air for ventilation circulation. When we come to disadvantages, in the forced air systems, the air coming from the heating registers will cool the room sometimes. Even when it is warmer than the room temperature, moving air feels cooler.
Moreover, there may be a chance of short bursts of hot air that causes uncomfortable temperature swings, particularly with oversized units. Ductwork will able to transmit furnace noise and circulate the dust and odors throughout the house. Although, they leak and losing heated air to basements that result in the rise in energy bills as much as 20 to 30%. So, make sure the ducts have been sealed properly to minimize the leakages in the forced air systems.
When we take hydronic systems, it has some advantages. It can use the same boiler and even temperatures to distribute the domestic hot water. Also, the cost of the hydronic air systems is higher than forced air systems. Additionally, these systems don't allow for air filtering, central air conditioning, or ventilation. It is more economical in an existing home to stay with the hydronic heat system and avoid the undertaking of major renovations.
So, when you are planning for a new house, you need to decide whether you want a central air conditioning system or not before going to consider the heating system type.
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Efficiency
The heating system's efficiency is one of the most considerable factors before purchasing the system. If you buy a higher efficiency system, then it will reduce the operating costs. Even, a small difference in energy costs will add more over the lifetime of the system.
The standard ratings for heating systems of residential are Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) and Heating Season Performance Factor (HSPF). AFUE used with natural gas, propane, or fuel oil systems and HSPF is used with electric heat pumps.
Both AFUE and HSPF are used for measuring of seasonal efficiency by taking daily normal operating losses and variations in the outdoor temperature into the account.
Overall Cost
You should take into account not only the initial cost but also consider the long-term cost of operating and maintaining cost when you comparing the costs of various systems. Your local utility will provide some comparative operating costs as well as the yellow and black energy guide label will help you to know the annual energy costs of the house heating system.
Types of Heating Systems
Furnaces, Boilers, and Heat Pumps are the most popular residential heating systems. So, here, we can know which is the best among these three types. Let's continue to read this topic.
Furnaces
New propane, gas, or oil forced-air furnaces have an efficiency of 96% and 78% AFUE. A basic model, a new furnace has an efficiency of 78 to 80% AFUE. It is high compared to the older one. It has been increased in the new heating furnaces because of a combination of better heat exchangers, internal vent dampers to reduce the off-cycle losses up to the flue or exhaust vent and electronic ignition. This new furnace is the most cost-effective option for milder climates.
High-efficiency propane or gas furnaces have 90 to 96% AFUE. To reclaim the heat which is lost in the form of water vapor, these units use a second heat exchanger. It can be done through the water vapor in the exhaust is diluted and the remaining usable heat is released and then the exhaust temperature is reduced to the set point where it can vent outdoor via a plastic pipe. This is cost-effective for the homes which are in cold climates or large homes with high heating requirements and for normal homes, this type is more expensive.
Boilers
Boilers are also compared with the efficiency of AFUEs like furnaces. All residential boilers must have at least 80% of AFUE. Many old units have an efficiency of 55% to 65% AFUEs only. When you buy a new boiler, you consider the factors including low electrical requirements, efficient controls, and the indirect water heating feature.
Boilers use electricity along with their primary fuel, mainly to power the circulating pump. So, check for a high-efficiency pump system, and before buying ask once your contractor regarding the electrical efficiency of the system.
Although, efficient controls will reduce losses during milder climates and off-cycle times. Its modulating aquastats feature to adjust the boiler water temperature depending upon outdoor temperature. Also, reduce the operating costs and improves comfort level.
As these systems don't heat and store water at the same time, a new space heater boiler may provide effective water heating. Simply replace your current storage water heater with a well-insulated indirect tank that connects to a water heating coil inside the boiler when building a new boiler.
Electric Heat Pumps
Heat pumps work as an air conditioner by using the same refrigerant cycle. But, during the cooling season, they reverse the cycle and deliver the heat in the house. These systems are much more efficient than other electric heat systems and operating costs are less compared to the gas furnaces.
Look for high seasonal efficiency (HSPF) when you want to select a new heat pump. The minimum HSPF for current air source heat pumps is 7.6 and high-efficiency models have HSPF of 9 or higher. The higher HSPF best electric heating units will reduce your heating energy costs.
Geothermal and ground source heat pumps are more efficient, as they absorb heat from the ground or water pumped from below ground. The geothermal heat pump's efficiency is calculated as the Coefficient of Performance (COP). New systems have 2.5 to 4.0 COP ratings. COP 3.0 is equivalent to 10 HSPF. Moreover, these are more expensive than air-source heat pumps.
Nowadays, new heat pumps, called ductless or mini-split are available in the market. It comes with no existing duct system and an ideal retrofit option. Like other heat pumps, this type can be provided both air conditioning and heating but without installing a duct system.
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Conclusion:
Whatever heating system you install, it is essential to choose the proper size to get the comfort and efficient operation. Too large systems require much energy to produce the amount of heat you need and invest more amount than you need. If the unit is too small, then your home can't be heating evenly.
Moreover, the system runs constantly to heat the whole home which will increase energy bills. Moreover, it's no matter what type of heating system you install in your house, you should keep up with the correct maintenance to increase the efficiency as well as the lifetime of the system.
About the Author
Haritha
Haritha is a Content Writer at PartsAPS. She has a great understanding of today's marketing strategies that yield strong results and always happy to create valuable content & share her thoughts.
She was good at writing content for E-Commerce websites related to Restaurant Equipment Parts, Appliance Parts, Food Service Parts, HVAC Parts, etc.
You can see some her contributions at PartsXP.com, PartsFPS.com, PartsIPS.com
