Heating Systems Vary By Design And Application
Practically every occupied dwelling has one of several types of heating systems installed, unless of course the ambient temperature never drops low enough to feel cold. The type of building, the climate, availability and cost of heating resources will all work at determining the heating systems that will be used in any particular area. The units can be developed to provide heat to a single area of the dwelling or to provide heat to an entire building with separate controls available for individual spaces.
Heat can be provided by hot water heating, electric radiant heat, forced air or gravity heating systems. Hoe the home is built and insulated will also play a role in determining the types of heating systems that might work best for a particular building. In most homes, a central heating system provides heat to the entire home with a thermostat controlling the temperature of the entire house.
In the late 1960's and early 1970's, electric radiant heat became popular in areas to which there was no service for natural gas. Although furnaces were available that operated on liquid propane, oil and coal many homeowners did not want the heated air being blown around the house stirring up dust and other allergens and electric baseboard heating systems became very popular.
Forced Air Provides Instant Heat
In forced air heating systems, a central unit heats the air by various methods, and once the heated air reaches a certain temperature a fan turns on to push the air through seal duct work, heating the rooms in the house. Another set of duct work is usually installed with vents usually near the floor, that moves the cooler air in the room back to the furnace. As the air moves through the home it also carries many allergens that can cause allergic outbreaks in some people.
Gravity heating systems, typical in early applications of coal furnaces, use the theory that hot air rises and as the fire burns in the coal furnace, the warmer air rises through duct work in the house with similar cold air returns used in the same fashion as with forced air heating systems. When coal was used it was usual to see a fine coating of coal dust on walls as well as being concentrated around the heating vent in the rooms.
Radiant heat, whether electric or hot water, offers even and quiet heat with no air being blown around the house by either a fan or through gravity. While this type of heat is considered much cleaner, it can take a lot longer to heat the room than by using forced air heating systems.
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