A HOME DESIGN AND IMPROVEMENT FEATURE _____________ Heating your home: Consider the options With , fali and winter approaching, are you wondering about your heating system and whether you sbould upgrade your furnace or invest in a new 1 high-efflciencyunt? Did your heating bis leave you speechless last winter? Do your bomework and compare the different types of heating systems and their costs, to make infornied decisionsabout upgrading your system or perhaps even switching te a different type. There are many different types of heating systerns used te heat homes teday. Hot water heating (hydronic) systems have been in use for some tirne, while electrie baseboard beaters and heat pumps are more recent devel opments. Forced-air furnaces are aiso widely used, fired eitber by gas or ol. Electrie furnaces and radiant heating are aise used. HOT WATER (HYDRONIC) Hot water systerns have boilers that are generally fired by oil or gas te heat water. The water is pushed via pressure tbrougb pie to radiators or convectors locatýýed throughout the bouse. Some people prefer this type of system because it provides more even heating. The radiators or convectors retain the beat. However, since the system uses hot water, it takes a littie longer te raise tbe bouse temperature than it does with a forced-air systemn. Burners on hot water boilers cen be upgraded te more modemn and efficient ones, or boilers can b. replaced altogether by newer units, fired by eéther gas or oul. If your system is on its last legs, you may want te replace tbe entire systemn witb a forced-air furnace, but this can be costly because ductwork and registers must be installed and eisting rads or convecters must- be remnoved. Aise keep in mnd that central air conditioning, humidifying and dehumidifing units cannot be booked up te the distribution network of ahot water system as tbey can with a forced-air heating systern. FORCED-AIR HEATJNG Forced-air furnaces aise work fr-omf a central source, eiicept they use forced air and ducts te, distribute beat tbrougb various outiets, called registers, throughout the bouse. Fuel (gas or oil) is burned in tbe heat exchanger. Today's modemn furnaces bave a blower'tLdraw air back te the furnace thrb h tbe return air ductwork and blow the air througb the furnace and out the supply air ductwork. Prier te tbe forced-air systems, eider furnaces worked on gravity. T'hey relied on warmn air generated in the heat excbanger te rise througb the ductwork in the bouse. Cooler, beayier air fell down the return ductwork. However, modern forced-air systems repsend quickly wben more beat is desired and allow more flexidbility in terms of adding on te, the distribution system (new registers, humidifiers and central air conditioning). ifyo decide te replace your foroed.jair fumnace, you may want te consider baving centrai air conditioning installed at tbe same time as your new furnace. Check witb suppliers te see wbat's available. ELECTRIC EBAT In some home, electric baseboard beaters supplement the work of a boiler or furnace; other bornes are beated entirely by baseboard units or forced-air wall units. Some people prefer this type of electric heating because it provides individua control (thermostats) for each room. It is aise very cdean. Some electric beaters may even consist of floor inserts. Similar te baseboard beaters, tbey are located directly in the floor. Again, these are controlled by individual thermostats. Electric radiant beat is another way of beating with electricity. Usuaily located in ceilings, radiant heating systems consist of wires that radiate beat. You may aise have an electric furnace; these units work on the same pninciple as gas or oul forced-air furnaces, but don't require burners or beat exchangrsbecause -ne combus- tion tkspace. The drawback te using electricity for heating is the cost; it is generally more expensive. However, some consumersprefier the convenience and cleanliness of the aystem. H[EAT PUMPS Heat pumps are another beating option. Used as a suppleinental beating systern, tbey are generally net considered strong, enough te beat an entire bouse. The' work by taicing beat from t be outside and bringing it inte the bouse at a warmer temperature. Ini the summer, tbey transfer beat from the bouse te the outdoors. Air-source and ground-source pumpa are the two most common types of beat pumps. Air-source pumps draw heat from the air (in winter) and tend te lie more widely used in Canada. Ground-source beat pumpa (sometimes called earth energy systema) pull beat eut of the ground or groundwater. Bivalent systems have corne on the market more recently and are a combination of an air-to-air beat pump and a smal propane-burning furnace. This type of unit cen replace a furnace. The main advantage te using a beat pump, of course, is cost. You cen save substantially on beating costs if you use a pump in conjunction with your system. H[IGH EFFCIENCY If you're tbinking of replacing your beating unit, check eut teday's bigh-efflciency units. Compact and easy-te-care-for, these units can increase your beating efficiency and bave a seasonal efflciency in* the mid-to-high 90 per cent range. This article is prouided by local recltors and the Ontario Real Est ate Association (OREA). 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