Home Heating and Cooling

 While the heating and cooling systems of our homes are typically out of view from our daily life, they are important to keep our homes comfortable and safe.

Here is our short guide on the basics of heating and cooling:

1. There are three major types of heating and cooling systems for your home. One of them is a gravity furnace system, the second type is a radiant heating system, and the third one is called a ducted, or "forced air" system.

2. The gravity furnace system transports hot air from a heater that is typically located on the ground floor or the basement of many homes. This mechanism uses large ducts and pipes to spread heat and cool air throughout the home. The heated air rises through the system, and as the air cools, it sinks, returning to the furnace to be heated, and start the cycle again. This is also called central heating/cooling. The gravity furnace can be operated through thermostat control.

3. The second kind of heating and system called the radiant heating system uses water, electricity, and hot steam. There is a central boiler system that heats the water and makes it move around the tubes and pipes located around your home, delivering the heat to the rooms through a "radiator." As the water cools, it returns to be heated. Often an air conditioner can be fitted in a window, to provide cooling for smaller areas of the home.

4. Another kind of radiant heating system is the electric radiant system. The electric radiant system is typically installed with electric resistance baseboards or has a system of cables and foils that are placed within the floors and ceilings, radiating heat throughout your home.

5. A third kind of heating and cooling system is called the ducted air system. This type of system is common in residential homes because it can deliver heated as well cooled air through the ducted air system.

6. A Geothermal or "heat pump" is a system that uses the heat in the ground to provide both heating and cooling to a house. A system of tubing goes into the ground in the yard. In the summer the ground is cooler than the air, so the heat pump cools your house by exchanging the warmer house temperature for the cooler ground temperature. In the winter, the ground is warmer than the cooler air temperature, so the systems extract that heat to warm the house.

Knowing how the heating and cooling systems work can help you make an informed choice about the kind of system you want to buy for your home. You will need to look into which kind of is system the most efficient, and cost-efficient for your home style. You will also need to find the right kind of heating and cooling system based on the climate conditions of the place you live.