Home Heating Systems: Advantages and Disadvantages

While heating might not feel like a major concern in sunny Orlando, you still need a heating system that keeps you cozy affordably during cooler weather. Some home heating systems do that better that others.

Fuel-burning furnaces

These furnaces burn natural gas, oil or propane to produce heat and warm air that’s distributed throughout the house by a system of air ducts. The upfront purchase price is relatively low compared to other home heating systems. Because they’re most efficient in cold weather, though, they’re not always the best for Florida.

Heat pumps

These systems don’t create heat, but rather move it from outdoors into your home when in heating mode. In cooling mode, they take heat out of your home just like an air conditioner. In fact, they manage humidity even more effectively than standard central air conditioners. Heat pumps are most efficient in mild weather, so they’re an ideal choice in our climate. For even greater efficiency, consider a ground source (geothermal) heat pump.

Radiant systems

The most common of these systems use a boiler to produce hot water or steam for metal radiators in each room. In another version, radiant flooring, hot water is pumped through tubes in the floor. These systems heat people and objects, rather than the air, helping you feel warmer. They don’t stir up air contaminants the way ducted, forced-air systems do, making them helpful for people with allergies or asthma. On the down side, they heat the house more slowly than ducted systems.

Electric resistance systems

In this category, you’ll find furnaces, baseboard heaters, and space heaters that produce heat from electricity. They’re the least energy efficient, most expensive way to heat. Systems that get hot to the touch, such as space heaters, pose a safety threat. These are only practical if you rarely need heating. If you use your heating regularly in winter, but prefer an electric system, a heat pump is more practical. For more pro guidance on choosing from among the many home heating systems available, get in touch with us at Rinaldi’s Energy Solutions anywhere around Orlando. Our goal is to help educate our customers in Orlando, Florida and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Credit/Copyright Attribution: “prawny/Pixabay”

Schedule Your Evaluation

Contact our expert team to start saving on your energy bills.

CALL US

(407) 275-0705

Error: Contact form not found.