A home heating system plays an important role in keeping the house habitable during the cold seasons, but it also consumes a sizable chunk of your household budget. 

According to the EPA, low-energy efficient home heating units use up a high amount of the home energy but installing an energy-efficiency heating system significantly minimizes your energy bills while ensuring your home remains warm and safe.

Why choose energy efficient systems?

Using energy-efficient heating systems has long-terms benefits that include:

•      Less operation cost

Although the initial installation cost may be higher, in the long-term, energy efficient heaters save money, with some models slashing costs by up to 70%.

•    High Performance

A good-sized energy-efficient heating system produces proper levels of heating ensuring your whole home receives the correct temperature.  This keeps your family safe from cold.

Tips for picking an energy-efficient heating unit

To choose the ideal energy-efficiency unit, you need to consider:

• The size of your home – Your home size should directly be related to the heating system size you use to install. Before installing a heating system, engage experts like the New Jersey HVAC professionals to advice and guide you in choosing the ideal option
• Fuel availability– Some regions don’t have some types of fuel, making it difficult and expensive to access. Choose one that has readily available fuel in your region to prevent added costs and inconvenience.
• Budget – Buying an energy efficient heating unit is a financial investment since it’s a long-term money saving venture. Don’t forget to factor in maintenance and operating cost.

Which are the best energy efficient heating units?

Here are the three most energy-efficient heating options: heat pump, furnace, and boilers. 

1. Heat pumps

Heat pumps work by capturing the heating and distributing it evenly in your home. During summer, the heat pump removes heat from your home and provides a cooling effect while during winter, it brings in temperature from the outdoor system warming your home. 

Heat pumps are powered by geothermal or electric and air source energy, making them eco-friendly. This means they don’t exhaust gases like carbon monoxide that harm the environment. 

• Air-Source Heat pumps

The Air-source heat pumps work by capturing the heat from the surrounding outside air equipment and then filtering it before directly distributing it into your home.

For the cooling process, the Air-source system uses the refrigerant heat-exchange properties to eradicate the indoor air around the evaporator/handler coil and then transfers it outside.  

In return, the eradicated heat gets captured by the refrigerant component and gets converted into clean heat that is brought back to your home, warming your indoor spaces. 

Additionally, these air-source heat pumps can extract heat even from cooler outdoor air, but their efficiency dramatically reduces for temperatures below 32 degrees, making them ideal for areas that do not have extreme weather. 

Examples of air-source systems include mini splits and standard split heat-pumps. 

•   Geothermal Heat Pumps

The geothermal heat pumps, also known as ground-source heat-pumps, work by using outside soil or bodies of water to capture and release heat to your home. 

The process uses a series of loop pipes buried below the ground surface to collect sun heat stored in water or earth and then release it into your indoor space. This means the heat pump refrigerant condenses the heat, providing your home with enough warmth during the cold months.

Furthermore, it works perfectly in the ground with constant temperature levels of 45-60 all year.

In summer, the geothermal heat pumps dump the collected heat from your home and distribute it using a loop to the refrigerant. The redistributed air gets condensed to a cool air which provides the right temperature to your indoor spaces.

This type of heat exchange occurs through the glycol/water mix, heat pump, and the loop system. 

2. Furnace

Over 50% of American homes use either electric, oil, or gas furnaces as their heating system. 

Furnace boasts a high level of energy efficiency that saves energy bills while providing cooling and heating services.  Types of furnaces include:

•   Gas Furnace

The gas furnace uses the plentiful natural gas supplied by local utility companies and flows through gas lines. This is available in the urban areas but may not be available in rural areas. 

Gas furnaces use two heat exchangers to produce heat and get it transferred to your home through the blower fan. Since natural gas has become cheaper in recent years, using a gas furnace is an affordable option.

•     Oil Furnace 

Oil furnaces works by burning fuel oil provided by the local suppliers to produce heat. However, if you opt to use an oil furnace, keep monitoring the oil levels to ensure it doesn’t run out without your knowledge.

Because oil prices are always fluctuating, maintaining an oil furnace can become quite expensive. 

•   Electric Furnace

The electric furnace uses the electricity to heat the unit coils to generate warmth, all this without burning fuel or producing carbon monoxide or exhaust gases.

This means keeping your home safe from any harmful fumes, but it’s more expensive to operate than a gas furnace, making it unfit for most homes. 

3. Boiler

Boilers, although not so famous, still provide an energy-efficient heating system. They work by producing hot water that circulates to your indoor space using radiators and pipes units.

Boilers use a combination of electricity and gas fuel sources to power the distribution pumps.

Conclusion 

Investing in these energy efficient heating systems ensures your home remains comfortable and warm for many years. However, to ensure peak performance of these units ensure you seal any cracks in your house, work on the ductwork to prevent heat loss, and invest in programmable thermostats.

With this combination, you are assured of comfort, safety, and minimal energy bills.  

Author: Purity Rita