When it comes to home heating, American homeowners usually choose one of a couple popular options. The home heating system you will come across most often in the U.S. is one with a furnace, a centralized air circulation system, and a network of ducts and vents to distribute the heated air throughout the house. But apart from the furnace-based heating system, there are other home heating options available too. Before you decide to invest in a home heating system, it is always best to weigh your options and make an informed decision. This lets you choose what is best for your needs and for your pocket.
Once you have chosen the type of home heating system that is best for you, hire a professional HVAC contractor to get it installed. In St. Louis and the surrounding areas, call us at 314-993-1110 for reliable HVAC installation services.
Know Your Home Heating Options Before You Invest in One
To help you decide better, here are some of the common home heating options and their benefits.
Furnaces
These are the most popular kind of home heating options. Furnaces run mostly on natural gas or electricity. Electric furnaces are relatively cleaner technology compared to gas furnaces. However, with improvements in technology and energy efficiency, gas furnaces are becoming even more efficient than ever. Some very old heating systems also have oil furnaces, but they are rare.
Furnaces are most preferred because of their ease of use and simplicity. The upfront installation costs are lower, and maintenance is easy. They also have high efficiency, which reduces their operating costs. Furnaces can also easily integrate with air conditioning systems. All these factors make furnaces an affordable and user-friendly home heating option.
Heat Pumps
After furnaces, heat pumps are also a popular home heating option in the U.S. These are mostly used in moderate climates where the temperature does not dip too low during the winter or soar too high in summer. The heat pump can move heat from the outdoors into your home or remove heat from your home and reject it to the outdoors. So simply by reversing the direction of heat flow, the heat pump can warm or cool your home as required. There are air source and ground source heat pumps, classified based on where they take the heat from or reject heat to.
Though air source heat pumps are more common, ground source or geothermal heat pumps are slowly gaining popularity. Geothermal heat pumps are clean energy sources, are energy efficient, and can be used in cold climates too. The upfront cost of installing a heat pump can be quite high, though, and maintenance can be more costly too.
Boilers
Boilers are another popular heating option after furnaces. Similar to how the furnace heats air and circulates it in the house, the boiler heats water to produce steam, which exchanges its heat with the circulating air to heat your home. The hot water or steam from the boiler can also be used for other purposes throughout the house.
Radiant Heating
Radiant heating systems are a home heating option in which radiant heating panels are installed underneath the floor, behind the walls, or above the ceiling of your house. These heating panels use electricity as the primary source of energy, and the heating is known to be quite comfortable. But, the installation and repairs can be pretty expensive, which is a major downside of this home heating option.
Hybrid Heating Systems
When any two or more of these home heating options are combined, you get a hybrid heating system. But most commonly, it refers to combining a heat pump and a furnace. In regions where an air source heat pump cannot deliver enough heat when the temperatures dip, the furnace compensates for it to make sure your home is heated throughout the winter.
Consult an Experienced HVAC Professional in St. Louis to Learn About Your Heating Options
If you can’t figure out which home heating option would be best for you, ask an HVAC expert near you. In St. Louis, Galmiche & Sons has been in the HVAC installation and maintenance business since 1950, and we have all the answers you need to help you determine the most efficient and cost effective heating option for your home. Get in touch with our heating and air conditioning experts today.
