Monday, October 25, 2010

Radiant Heating - How Hydronic Heating Methods Are More Efficient Than a Furnace and Electric Heat

With all of the hectic day to day stress that a home owner experiences finding a reliable company which can service multiple major systems of a home is invaluable. Home owners may think that it is unusual for a plumbing service company to also handle heating and cooling systems and equipment. In all reality air and water are almost identical in the way each behaves, as both are fluids. With each utility having similar properties, it is no surprise an HVAC company will very often handle plumbing and plumbing repair service requests.
In many homes throughout the country, usually found in northern climates, hydronic heating, one of the most efficient methods, is used to heat the home during cooler weather. Hydronic heating is the use of hot water being circulated through a series of pipes and allowing the heat to dissipate into the living quarters. Most commonly this is seen as units resembling base board heaters and even radiators.
Much like the radiator in a vehicle, there are metal fins lining the interior of the metal housing in baseboard heating fixtures. The fins provide a greater amount of surface area for the heat from the hot water to be shed instead of simply relying on a basic pipe. In addition to this, it is also possible to run a series of tubes under the floor, inside the walls or within the ceiling. Running tubes of circulating hot water through the floor or ceiling is one type of radiant heat. There can also be electric radiant heat systems, but are not always as energy efficient as hydronic heating.
Unlike forced heat, which is the most common heating method found throughout the country, the rooms are warmed from the top down. If the home owner were able to walk on the ceiling, this would be a very efficient and comfortable way to heat the home. Radiant heat, when installed in the floor, heats the rooms from the floor up. Because heat rises, all of the heat and energy from the radiant heat is felt at the bottom half of the room, which is where home owners spend all of their time.
Irregardless of the placement of the piping or radiators, all hydronic heating systems need a boiler, normally kept in the basement, which heat the water. Boilers can either be fueled by natural gas, propane, oil or electricity, with oil and gas being the most common. With just one utility such as heating requiring water, oil, pipes or gas, it can easily be understood why an HVAC company would also need to be versatile by being knowledgeable and experienced with plumbing.
For additional information on the topic of heating and cooling visit Northern Air Plumbing & Heating.
Article independently authored by Daniel Elliott. The content herein may or may not reflect the views and opinions of Northern Air Plumbing & Heating. Click for search engine optimization and search engine marketing or visit WebDrafter.com's Blog.

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