Heating Efficiency

Eenie, Meenie, Minie, Mo, Catch a Boiler by the Toe! Time to replace your old, worn out, energy-inefficient heating system? Now, some words of advice to help you make an informed decision on what’s best for your family and your budget! Reduced to its most fundamental level, a heating system has three component parts: • The heating plant – your furnace, boiler or heat pump; • The distribution system – your ducts or pipes; • The control system – namely, your thermostat. And now, for the good stuff, as in…two types of heating systems we often recommend when “only new will do.” Gas furnaces & boilers Gas furnace technology has progressed by leaps and bounds during the past decade. Heating efficiencies have jumped from about 65% to as high as 95%. Gas furnaces are also called “forced air” heating systems, where air is heated and then supplied through your duct work or baseboard units. If your home is equipped with radiators, then you’ll want a gas boiler which heats water instead of air. Plus, with a gas boiler, you can eliminate one home comfort appliance with a combined gas boiler and water heater system. Electric heat pumps An electric heat pump produces 2-3x more heat per kWh than an electric furnace. There are two main types of heat pump: air-to-air, and ground source (also known as “geothermal”). Air-to-air heat pumps work fine in warmer climates, but once the outside temperature falls below 35.5°F, they rapidly lose efficiency. In colder climates, georthermal systems work better since heat is extracted from deep within the ground where the temperature remains constant all year long. Air-to-air or geothermal, you can heat and cool your home with a heat pump system. That’s right: central air and central heat, all within a single, highly efficient system. So….. Is a new heating system in your family’s future? Then allow the experts at Aux Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, and Electrical to recommend what’s best for you