Different Types of Home Heating Units for your Home

The world of home heating units can seem vast, and your quest to isolate the ideal home heating solution ridden with potholes and obstacles. What’s the trick to arriving at your desired destination? You need a roadmap to the latest home comfort solutions…

Find Your Path to Comfort and Savings with these Home Heating Options:

• Furnaces & Boilers
  Furnace and boiler efficiency has increased tremendously in recent years, with some of the most energy efficient models pulling off 90-95% heating efficiency. Using ductwork to distribute warmed air (furnace) or steam-powered radiators, baseboard heaters, and radiant heating components to distribute warmth (boilers), these options commonly run on fossil fuels such as natural gas, propane, and fuel oil, but producing significantly less pollution than models just 10 years old.

• Air Source Heat Pumps
  Grabbing heat from the air outside or inside your home (depending on the season) and distributing it via ductwork to maintain temperature, heat pumps offer both heating and cooling capacity. Rather than converting heat from fuel, an air source heat pump’s ability to simply move heat delivers 1.5 to 3 times more heat energy to your home than the electrical energy consumed, reducing electricity costs by about 50% compared to resistance heating options (furnaces, baseboard heaters). Like all ducted systems, they can warm and cool rooms quickly, but have their drawbacks. Rising heat, poor insulation, and leaks and holes in the home can rob performance and efficiency, as can leaky, poorly located, poorly insulated ducts. Air movement can also create hot/cold zones, stirring up dust and allergens. Look to this system for its multifunctional advantages and economical price tag.

• Geothermal Heat Pump
  Instead using air to exchange heat, geothermal systems utilize components buried deep in the earth to harness/exchange thermal energy in the ground or nearby water. Like air source heat pumps, conditioned air is then distributed through the home via ductwork. Consistent ground temperatures offer more reliable heat exchange, with electricity use 25-50% lower than conventional heat pump systems – up to 72% lower than electric resistance heating – making geothermal the cleanest, most energy efficient heating option on the market. Humidity control in these systems is also superior. Compatible with new and retrofit installations, lot size and conditions play a role in installation possibility and cost, which is higher than conventional systems.

• Radiant Floor Heating
  In radiant floor heating systems, heat produced by electricity, water, or air is distributed throughout the home via under-floor tubing. In direct contact with floor surfaces, heat is directly transferred up and throughout your home, infusing you and the objects in your home with warmth. Eliminating heat loss to provide far more efficiency than forced-air options, radiant floor heating provides a quiet, consistent, allergy-friendly heating solution. They aren’t without drawbacks, however. The flipside of this consistent warmth comes in the form of longer times to reach optimal temperature. Installation cost is also higher than forced air systems – even more so in retrofits – however they can save considerable money over the long term in higher efficiency.

Hit a fork in the road? H&H Heating & Air Conditioning can help you find the ideal path to comfort. Contact us today.

This blog was originally posted at https://www.delcohvac.com/different-types-of-home-heating-units-for-your-home/

The Benefits of Ground Source Heat Pumps

Electrically powered ground source heat pumps, also referred to as geothermal systems, tap into the stored solar energy of the earth. System components, buried deep in the ground to take advantage of the earth’s constant temperature, transfer energy to provide heating, cooling, and occasionally hot water to homes and commercial buildings.
Ground source heat pumps offer many benefits – and some of them may surprise you:

• High efficiency, low cost operation.
  A well-known benefit of geothermal is its efficiency – it’s off-the-charts. Providing a whopping 4 units of energy for every 1 unit of electrical energy, it stomps the competition. The most efficient gas furnace, with an efficiency rating of 96%, can’t get anywhere near the 400% efficiency rating ground source heat pumps deliver. This makes geothermal systems a welcome addition to the grid, as their low electricity requirements reduces peak grid demand, helping reduce both weather-driven brownouts and the need for additional electric plants.
  
• Green & clean.
  Because of their stellar efficiency and the fact that they, unlike other comfort systems, do not emit carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases, geothermal systems are recognized by both the EPA and U.S. Department of Energy as the most environmentally friendly way to heat and cool your home or business. Additionally, they do not emit carbon monoxide, as they do not operate via combustion, offering the opportunity for enhanced indoor air quality.
  
• Long life, low maintenance.
  Compared to the typical furnace, which is capable of lasting 10-15 years with regular HVAC maintenance, geothermal systems usually last 15 years or more, with their ground-based components, or ‘ground loops,’ holding an incomparable 50 year warranty. Housed under the cover of your home or business where they are protected from rain, snow, ice, and vandalism, they suffer far less wear and tear, enjoying added reliability compared to traditional heating and cooling systems.
  
• Quiet operation.
  Unlike air conditioners and heat pumps which require a noisy outdoor unit, the hum of a geothermal system is much like the operation of a refrigerator. That means no more family get-togethers, time by the pool, or gardening interrupted by the noisy clamor of outdoor components.
  
• Increasing affordability.
  Ground source heat pumps, increasing in popularity as home and business owners seek to reduce their energy bills and carbon footprints, are becoming more and more affordable to install, with the average installation only slightly higher than typical HVAC fare. Installation typically pays for itself in two to 10 years – depending on utility rates, the efficiency of your home, and how much energy you use for heating and cooling. Add to this a longer system lifespan and energy savings in the 40-60% range, and you’re talking some serious savings.
  
• Available incentives.
  Because of the green benefits of geothermal operation, federal, state, local governments, and even some power providers offer rebates and incentives toward the purchase of select high efficiency systems.

Looking for a heating and cooling system that’s a little more down to earth? Uncover the benefits of ground source heat pumps. Contact H&H Heating & Air Conditioning, your local HVAC Company today.

This blog was originally posted at https://www.delcohvac.com/the-benefits-of-ground-source-heat-pumps/