What are the Different Types of Home Heating Systems?

There are many types of home heating systems that you can choose from. Your choice will depend on a number of factors, including the price of different types of fuel in your area, the age of your home, and your budget. If you have an existing heating system in your home that needs replaced, you may find that it is substantially cheaper to stick with the type of heat that your home originally used.

Forced air is a popular choice in home heating. In forced air home heating systems, the furnace pulls air into the furnace through ductwork. The air is heated inside the furnace, and then returned into the home through additional ductwork. The heat is directed into the various rooms by heating registers. It is possible to have more heat in one room than another by opening and shutting heating registers throughout the house.

Forced air home heating systems can run off of gas heat or electricity. They are widely used, which means that finding someone to work on one, either for installation or repairs, is relatively simple. Homes that are heated with forced air home heating systems do require ductwork, which is often lacking in an older home.

A wood stove can be an economical way to heat a home. Wood stoves have improved tremendously over recent years, and today many people find that they are an economical way to heat their homes. Newer wood stoves are equipped with blowers that circulate warmed air throughout the home. A wood stove is not the best home heating system for a large home, but for a smaller home or as an auxiliary heat source, it can be a good choice.

Geothermal heat pumps are an energy efficient way to heat your home. Geothermal heating uses the natural occurring heat below the surface of the earth to heat the home. With a geothermal home heating system water is pumped through coils below the earth’s surface.

The water from a geothermal unit is heated naturally, because of heat below the surface of the earth. This warmed water returns to the geothermal unit, where the heat is extracted and pumped into the home. The initial cost of a geothermal unit is high, but they are extremely energy efficient. This makes a geothermal unit less expensive to run on a monthly basis.