Are you building a home and need to select what methods you will be using to heat it during the winter? You may be tempted to go with what you are familiar with, which is a forced air furnace. However, you may find that radiant heat will be the better choice. This form of heating provides heat that is going to be much more comfortable compared to forced air for the following reasons.
Individual Zones
Have you ever lived in a home where you fight over the thermostat? Some people feel too cold while others feel too hot, causing someone to feel uncomfortable with the temperature in your home. This is because forced air heating works on an all-or-nothing distribution system. The heat is either turned on and forcing air through every vent in your home, or it is shut off. Even if you close a vent going to a room, you are cutting the room off from the heat rather than lowering it a few degrees. This is not an ideal situation in a modern age when you have better options.
Radiant heat is installed in a way where you can have individual zones of your home with their own climate controls. This means that everyone will be able to control the exact temperature of their bedrooms when they sleep at night, and there will no longer be a fight over what temperature the thermostat is set at.
The individual zones also provide you with total control over your heating system's energy use, since you can shut down zones in rooms that nobody is using at different points during the day.
Heat That Rises
Another problem with a forced air heating system is how air is distributed from the duct work. The heat comes from a single source, and then immediately rises towards the ceiling. This leave part of the room colder than others, making the heating feel uneven and not very comfortable.
Since radiant heat rises from the floor, you are actually heating the entire room from top to bottom. You'll feel the heat with your feet walking across the warm floor when the heat is turned on, and your head will feel comfortable as well. You don't have to worry about sitting at your office desk and having cold feet because the heat can't reach where you are located in the room.
Speak to a local heating contractor about more advantages of radiant heat and to help you choose the best heating and air conditioning for your home.
Share
