Heating Systems

How do you heat your home? It’s the right question to ask instead of asking, “do you actually heat your home?” If you live in the Northeastern part of the country, you know for a fact that it’s impossible to survive the winter season without a reliable heating system installed at home. And when it comes to the talk of heating systems, there are several sources of heating that millions of families rely on, including but not limited to oilheat, natural gas, propane, among others.

But in this article, we won’t be talking about those sources, and instead will focus on the various types of heating systems, particularly those that millions of households prefer to use.

Central Heat

1 - Furnace

It’s no secret that majority of North American homes use a central furnace to keep everyone warm inside. The furnace works by blowing heated air via a series of ducts, which in turn are responsible for delivering warm air to every space, area, or room in the house with the help of grills or air registers. This particular system can be powered using heating oil, natural gas, and electricity.

2 - Boiler

In the most literal sense, boilers are more like a specialized water heater. If a typical furnace carries the heat and distributes it via warm air it produces, boiler systems are the exact opposite because it distributes the heat via hot water. The hot water will give up heat once it passes the radiators or any similar mechanism installed in each house. The cooled water will return to the boiler to be reheated again. For the most part, boilers use heating oil or natural gas for them to work efficiently.

3 - Heat Pump

Heat pumps on the other hand are literally two-way air conditioners because they can be used during the summer and in the winter. In the summer months, the air conditioner will move heat from the cool indoors to the warm area outside. In the winter, the heat pump will simply reverse this process and scavenge heat from the cold outdoors using the home’s electrical system, in the process discharging that heat inside the house. Majority of heat pumps today use forced warm-air delivery systems to effectively and evenly distribute heated air.

Direct Heat

1 - Gas-Fired Space Heater

There are areas in the U.S. that love to use gas-fired direct heating equipment and it’s for good reason. There also are different types, including free standing varieties, wall-mounted ones, and even floor furnaces. But what makes all of them similar is that they don’t rely on ductwork. The downside though is that they produce less heat compared to the traditional heating system.

2 - Electric Space Heater

Also referred to as portable or plug-in electric heater, this type of direct heating system is very affordable to buy and needs no installation. The problem though is that it’s very pricey to use. In most instances, this space heater works by converting electric current from the wall outlet or socket directly into heat.

3 - Pellet and Wood-Burning Stoves

Perhaps the most common or traditional means of direct heating is by using wood or pellets in stoves or furnaces. Generally, the price of wood is lower compared to gas or oil, even electricity. However, the only way to get substantial savings is to cut your own wood. But of course, wood burning remains to be a controversial method because of the pollutants it produces.