In selecting a heating system, the first decision you should make is exactly what kind of heat distribution system you would like. The most typical option is forced-air, baseboard hot-water, radiant-floor, baseboard electric, and individual space heaters.
Forced-air heating, in which air is heated in a furnace or electric and distributed at home utilizing a blower and network of sheet-metal ducts, is easily the most everyday sort of heat. It's the benefit of allowing heat distribution system (ductwork) also to supply for ac and outdoors delivery.
Furnaces could be gas-fired (most typical), propane-fired, oil-fired, or electric. Some homeowners dislike forced-air heating, saying that it gets dry the environment or results in temperature stratification in their homes, however these are often the signs of other issues, like a leaky building envelope. An adequately designed and installed forced-air heating system in a well-insulated house should be very satisfactory.
Baseboard hot-water heating (known as hydronic heating) is quieter than forced-air heating; it takes less energy to maneuver heat in the boiler, where it's heated, at home; also it allows relatively simple zoning. Most boilers are gas-fired, propane-fired, or oilfired.
Radiators are installed across the baseboards in each room, and warm water is circulated through copper pipes towards the radiators. Hydronic heat distribution systems are usually more expensive to set up than forced-air systems.
Radiant-floor heating is an extremely comfortable type of heat distribution, and it is very common in green homes.With this particular system, specialized tubing is generally embedded in a poured concrete floor, and warm water is circulated with the tubing to warm the ground slab.
For several reasons, radiant-floor heating is generally not the best option; it is a great heating option for any poorly designed house. If your home is as much as the power performance standards one should expect having a green home, radiant-floor heating is really a bad fit. For that radiant-floor system to supply enough heat to feel warm underfoot, it will likely be cranking out more heat compared to well-insulated house may use, and thus it'll likely cause overheating.
A radiant-floor heating system also offers an extremely long lag time between when heat comes towards the floor slab so when the slab begins radiating heat to warm the area. When there is a substantial element of passive solar heating in the home, radiant-floor heating will frequently cause overheating, since you can't switch off the slab once the sun arrives.
Finally, radiant-floor heat distribution systems are costly, often USD 8,000 or more for any moderate-size house. Just because a superinsulated house requires hardly any heat, it might be tough to justify to buy a expensive heat distribution system. If you spend a lot of cash to produce a super-efficient building envelope, it seems sensible to profit from that investment by installing a more economical heating system.
With R-25 walls, R-40 ceiling, triple-glazed, low-e windows, tight construction, and passive solar design, you should be in a position to heat the home and acquire high amounts of comfort using just one or two through-the-wall-vented, high-efficiency gas space heaters costing USD 1,000 to USD 1,500 apiece, and skip heat distribution system altogether. Or you might put in a little fan-coil (heating unit) in the ventilation system so that the ventilation system can give you the little bit of heat needed.
Our website is not responsible for the information contained by this article. Articleinput.com is a free articles resource thus practically any visitor can submit an article. However if you notice any copyrighted material, please contact us and we will remove the article(s) in discussion right away.
Note: This article was sent to us by: Terry Ward at 04182011
1. Configuring your new green home
All articles are property of their respective authors. Please read our Privacy Policy!
© 2009 ArticleInput.com.
Partners: Damenmode