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.

What Makes Oil Heat Remarkable?

You probably have been using oil for heating for years now or maybe you’re used to natural gas, electricity, or some other heating alternative and wants to switch to oil. But whatever the case is, the fact that you’re here means you are very much interested in learning more about heating oil; and the good news is that this post will be talking about oil heat, more particularly the reason why it remains as the most popular way to heat and warm up people’s homes.

First off, it is important that you be reminded that oil back in the day is very different to heating oil of today. This is because several decades back, oil used for heating was notoriously very dirty and filthy. But today, it has become biodegradable and is even 95% cleaner. So, if you’ve been using oil to heat your home, you’re actually helping the environment’s cause because it comes with very minimal to zero emissions.

Next, unlike most other heating resources, specifically natural gas and propane, oil heat is very safe. The only way for oil to be ignited is when there’s an equipment capable of doing it like a sophisticated burning system in your furnace. The fact is if you attempt to drop a match into the oil, it won’t spark, ignite, or cause fire. The same can never be said with regards to natural gas. Furthermore, oil heat will never explode and when there’s a leak, inhaling the fumes it produces is not fatal. Again, the same cannot be said with regards to natural gas. In fact, there have been so many cases of homes exploding due to a natural gas leak. In the event of a system breakdown or malfunction, your oil-fired heating equipment will show signs of trouble such as smoke, soot, or odor. Yes, there will be a release of carbon monoxide, but you won’t be seriously affected by it since the signs will give you enough reason to go out and respond. On the other hand, gas-fired heating equipment does not have the same luxury.

Another remarkable thing about heat produced using oil is the fact that it is efficient and sustainable. Unlike about two decades ago, oil supplies in the U.S. today have become very stable to a point that the reserves can now meet the demand from the entire country. Also, because there are more than 30 oil producing countries all over the world, there really is no such thing as being reliant or dependent on a single or couple of countries for oil supplies in case we run out. But being the third largest oil producing country in the world, it’ll take many decades even a century before we even think about running out of it.

Finally, oil heat is energy-efficient, and this probably is the foremost reason why homeowners have been sticking to it for so many decades now. With heating oil, you get almost 20% more efficient burning compared to natural gas. And with the emergence of new equipment, owning and operating an oil-fired system today means saving hundreds of dollars of heating costs every year.

The Basics of a Typical Oil-Fired Heating System

If you’re reading this article, there’s a good chance that you’re seriously contemplating on installing an oil-fired heating system in your newly constructed home. Well, there’s no blaming you for that because a lot of homeowners also use some kind of heating system that uses oil and rely on Allentown oil delivery services to buy the precious commodity; and the primary reason is because this type of heating source is considered as the most reliable of all, even though it isn’t the newest or the most sophisticated.

Generally speaking, oil fired-heating systems distribute heat inside the living space in three unique ways. These are warm air through vents, hot water via baseboards, and stream by way of radiators. Whatever the type you intend to install in your home, keep in mind that they each have their distinctive set of advantages and benefits.

The thermostat that’s included in the installation of the heating system will be responsible for sensing room temperature; this capability will be used to figure out if the temperature has actually fallen below your desired temperature setting. And when that happens, the same thermostat will be sending a signal to the heating system, in the process telling it to provide more heat to warm up the living space.

The moment the oil burner is engaged, heating oil will begin its travel, starting from the tank to the burner via a pump, where it will then be converted into a fine mist combined with air. This mixture of fuel oil and air will be the ideal substance to be injected into the burner. At this point, it will be ignited in the combustion chamber and the heating begins.

Keep in mind that the heating system will work in a different way, depending primarily on the type of system you opt to install at home - whether it is water-based or warm air. For water-based systems, there are basically two major types, namely hot water systems and steam systems. Water will be heated using two primary types of boilers; a steel version and a traditional cast iron type. Once water is heated, it will then be dispersed throughout the living space.

As for a hot water system, the heated water will be circulated via radiators and/or baseboards. For a steam system, the water will turn into stream first, rises through the pipes and then to the radiators. In the warm air system type, the furnace will be heating the air. Meanwhile, a blower sends that heated air up through the ducts and out of the vents situated in the walls or underneath the flooring. The air will then be drawn back to the furnace via a return duct, and after this, the entire cycle repeats itself. The emissions or byproduct of the combustion of fuel and air will finally exit the system through a flue pipe, which by the way is connected to the chimney.

So, that is how your typical oil-fired heating system works, and by this time, you already have a clearer understanding to make that crucial decision for your new home.