Plenty of options exist when it comes to the best home heating system for your home. Choosing the right one depends on your preferences and fuel availability.
Heat Pumps
Heat pumps are often the best choice for heating in this climate because winters seldom reach much below freezing and summers require air conditioning.
Pros:
- Doesn’t require gas or LP.
- Has high energy efficiency.
- Emits no hazardous gases.
- Easy to switch from cooling to heating.
Cons:
- Doesn’t heat as efficiently at temperatures below freezing.
Gas Furnaces
Gas furnaces are the most common home heating system used in the U.S. When combined with an air conditioner, they’re called gas packs.
Pros:
- Natural gas is widely available and presently inexpensive
- Will provide comfortable heat regardless of outdoor temperature
Cons:
- Can emit harmful gases into your home’s air.
- Gas lines can leak.
Radiant Systems
Radiant heating systems use a network of pipes or tubing to circulate heated water through floors or walls to warm rooms. A boiler heats the water and a pump circulates it.
Pros:
- Provide even and steady heat that the objects and surfaces in a room can absorb.
- Residual heat lasts a long time after unit shuts off.
- Quiet.
- Doesn’t spread particulates, viruses, bacteria, or mold spores through the air.
Cons:
- Can be expensive to install a new system in existing homes.
Electric Heating
Electric furnaces and radiant baseboards are available, but not commonly used. Both types use resistance coils that use electricity to create heat in the same way that incandescent light bulbs do. An electric furnace blows the heated air through ducts, and baseboards radiate heat into the air.
Pros:
- Electricity is universally available.
- Clean, nonpolluting heat.
Cons:
- Heating costs significantly exceed those associated with for gas furnaces and heat pumps.
- Don’t include a central air conditioner.
Choosing the best home heating system for your home requires some forethought about fuel availability and your comfort preferences. Contact the pros at Jackson & Sons for help sorting through your options. We proudly provide HVAC services for Eastern North Carolina homeowners.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Eastern North Carolina (including Wayne, Johnston, Greene, Lenoir, Pitt and Duplin Counties) about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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