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Featured Articles from Home Heating Heaters
Heat Pump Gas Heat Or Resistance Heat What Does It All Mean To Me?
There are several different types of heaters that you can use to supply heating and air conditioning to your home or business. There is the gas heat and electric cooling, electric resistance heat and electric cooling, and there is electric heating and cooling also known as a heat pump. Each has its advantages and there are many opinions as to which is the best, efficient and most cost effective to use.
The gas heat unit produces heat through the burning of natural gas or propane. The heat produced is forced into a baffled chamber called a heat exchanger. When the exchanger reaches the right temperature the blower turns on forcing the heat into the room through floor or ceiling registers attached to duct work. Depending on what part of the country you live in the use of gas for heating is typically the most economic way to heat a home or business. The heat produced by gas or propane tends to be warmer and dryer.
If you want to see your electric meter spin out of control, try living through a winter using resistance heat. Resistance heat is all electric, it is like a space heater on steroids. Inside the heater in front of the fan section there will be a set of coiled wires stretched between two posts these are called passes and depending on the amount of kilowatts or KW these strips put out will depend on how many passes and how many stages there might be.
Heat pumps are the answer to the resistance heater. Heat pumps cost less to run then resistance heat does and they tend to produce a more even temperature rise in the space which is supposed to lead to better comfort. The same compressor that you would normally use to cool your home is used to heat it as well. Through a reversing valve and a couple of check valves the refrigerant that normally removes the heat from the space actually brings the heat in to the space.
Each of these methods does have its merits. If you do not have access to gas or propane you can have resistance heat or a heat pump installed. Gas heat is thought to be to hot and dry by some, blasting down on the occupants of the space. Resistance heat, well it is just to expensive to use so I would stay a way. Heat pumps are nice for areas with out gas or propane. They tend to require some resistance heat because when running in heat their out door coils tend to frost up and require thawing to operate correctly. Defrost is provided by putting the unit back into cooling forcing the hot gas back through the outdoor coil causing the coil to defrost. Meanwhile the resistance heat has to be brought on to temper the cold air coming into the space.
Whether you are a new home owner or long time owner you can find this tip and many others to help you do your own home maintenance and repairs. At least when you hire some one you will have good information about what they are supposed to be doing. http://www.homemaintenanceworld.com
Do You Have Cold Feet? You Can Fix Your Cold Feet With Your Own Warm Radiant Floor Heat System
So - How Do I Get My Own Radiant Floor Heat System?
You probably found this article by searching for "radiant heat" or some other similar search term.
As you're continuing to research this topic, you may also want to look up terms like: "radiant floor heat" "radiant floor heating" "hydronic heat" and "radiant heating."
Those are popular terms in the "radiant heat" niche.
It's probably safe to say - this isn't the first piece of information you found. Certainly, it won't be the last. That's okay - you're in the process of finding out as much as you can about radiant floor heating and how you can benefit from a hydronic heat system.
You're finding there's a lot of information available out there - really, an overwhelming amount - and it's hard to take it all in. And while you're researching and reading, you're finding conflicting opinions and approaches that make it even more confusing.
I can't help that, but don't worry - there are reasons for the discrepancies. Most of it stems from variations on radiant design approaches. Like a lot of other professions - radiant designers get used to doing things a certain way and using certain equipment. As technology evolves, they tend to stick with what they know - and gradually there is a divergence in how hydronic heat is approached.
A competent radiant designer will be able to explain the approach they are using and adapt their approach to your preferences. Regardless of the radiant design techniques employed - having helped thousands of customers I've noticed a trend in the purchasing process over the years. And that's what this article is focused on - an overview of the 6 basic steps taken by the purchaser when buying a radiant heating system.
Step 1:
Gain a basic understanding of radiant heating - determine if this is a project you can do yourself or what level of installation assistance you may need.
Step 2:
Identify possible suppliers - assess their qualifications and match them up to your expectations.
Step 3:
With the help of your supplier analyze your requirements - determine your project needs and address any initial concerns:
Step 4:
Specify and Design your radiant system. At this point, your supplier should be able to provide you with a system quote and offer any possible options. This will help you with any project budget considerations.
Step 5:
Select your supplier - Make your purchase - schedule your shipment.
Step 6:
Inspect your system upon arrival - Install your new radiant system. Your supplier should be able to offer some kind of technical support as needed.
Steve Haldi is a Radiant System Designer and Consultant
For a more in depth look at the steps outlined above and help with your own radiant heating system, please check out: Buying Your Own Radiant Floor Heat System
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