There are several home heating options to choose from. To help make your choice a little easier, compare the pros and cons of the following top home heating methods:
Radiant Heating
A radiant heat system warms up a room through electric coils in the floor. As these coils heat up, warmth spreads throughout the room.
Pros of radiant heat for the home
- More efficiency
- Radiant heat is the most efficient way to heat your home. Because it is allowing heat to evenly rise throughout a room, instead of trying to distribute it from a single point, less energy is required to maintain a room’s temperature.
- Allergy-friendly
- While you are using radiant heat, no allergen-filled air is being blown around the room, so your allergies won’t get aggravated.
- Interior design-friendly
- Since all of the components are in the floors and/or walls, radiant heat systems do not require any sort of fixture within the room to heat it up. This means that you don’t have to worry about working around any bulky radiators or vents when decorating a room heated by this method.
- Quiet operation
- Radiant heat systems don’t make a sound when they heat up a room.
Cons of radiant heat for the home
- Difficult to install
- Radiant heat systems require you to lift up your floors and/or open your walls for an installation. This is more difficult and more costly than installations for other methods to heat your home.
- Potentially slower heating
- Because radiant heat systems aren’t forcing warm air around the room, it takes them longer to fully heat a room.
Forced Air Heating
Forced air heat systems use a boiler, furnace or other heat source to generate heat. The heat source then uses a network of ductwork to blow warm air throughout a room.
Pros of forced air heat for the home
- Quickly heats a room
- Because it pushes air around, forced air systems can heat rooms quickly.
- Can be used for heating and cooling
- A forced air system doesn’t require the installation of any additional cooling system, because it can heat and cool a room on its own.
- Inexpensive
- Forced air systems are relatively inexpensive to install, so are great for budgets.
Cons of forced air heat for the home
- Easily lose efficiency
- As climate controlled air is forced through ductwork, it allows energy to escape; this forces your system to work harder. During the course of normal wear and tear, this condition is made worse.
- You have to work around vents
- You need to make sure that you don’t block the vents when using a forced air system to heat a room.
Radiator Heating
Radiators heat up a home by diffusing the warmth supplied to them by hot water (usually sent from a boiler or a furnace).
Pros of radiator heat for the home
- Extremely reliable
- Older radiators are made of sturdy cast iron, and can last indefinitely with little maintenance.
- Easy to replace
- Due to their abundance and low-cost, modern radiators are easily replaceable.
- Silent operation
- Radiators don’t make a sound while they heat up a room.
Cons of radiator heat for the home
- Take up a great deal of space
- Radiators are very large, with some being as long as a full-sized couch.
- Can be messy
- Cleaning a radiator can cause water spills throughout a room.
Which home heating option is best for you?
Radiant heat, forced air and radiator heat are all great ways to keep your home warm during the colder months. In order to learn more about which option will work best for your home, contact a home heating system expert.