Steam radiant heating system.

Think of the old "radiator" unit and you basically get the picture. This system uses either one or two pipes radiator units and heats water by electricity, gas, oil or propane. In the one pipe system, the water and steam travel in one pipe but at opposite direction. In the two-pipe system, steam flows in one pipe while the water returns in the other pipe. This system is efficient and can quickly heat up a room. Old bulky radiators can be replaced with new smaller ones. However, a radiator, no matter how new or small, is still unsightly. The placement of furniture and other decors in a room could also be hindered by such. The air conditioning unit would still need a separate set of ducts.

Geothermal Heating. The geothermal heat pump is the newest way to heat and cool a structure. Heat is taken from one source (the earth) and placed into another (structure). Using the technology of ground loop geothermal system, heat is taken from the earth by the use of ground loop pipe. The system is the most expensive to install but in the long run, it is the most cost effective as it would save you an average of 50% from your heating and cooling bills.

Building a passive solar home is also an option. Passive solar homes are heated (and cooled) directly by the sun. Solar powering a house can either be active or passive. Active solar homes use mechanical equipment like fans and pumps to move and circulate the air inside the house. In passive solar homes, the house is constructed to naturally move air and heat to cool or warm up your house. If you want this type of heating and cooling, then you need to either build a new house or renovate and redesign your house.

You should take into consideration the type of heating system you want in your house. Study the systems presented. Ask professional help if you can't decide what heating system is best for your house. Think of the cooling system that you would install the same time you consider your heating system. Be sure to consider all options including future maintenance expenses including your monthly utility bill. Weigh the advantages and disadvantages of your preferred heating system against the other methods of heating presented to you. Once you have chosen the system that you think is right for you, get some quotes from 2 to 3 contractors.

Different Methods For Heating Buildings
The Summer Palace of Peter the Great in St. Petersburg, one of the first buildings to incorporate the modern-type hydrologic central heating

Some buildings in the Roman Empire used central heating systems, conducting air heated by furnaces through empty spaces under the floors and out of pipes in the walls—a system known as a hypocaust.^[1]

In the early medieval Alpine upland, a simpler central heating system where heat travelled through underfloor channels from the furnace room replaced the Roman hypocaust at some places. In Reichenau Abbey a network of interconnected underfloor channels heated the 300 m² large assembly room of the monks during the winter months. The degree of efficiency of the system has been calculated at 90%.^[2]

In the 13th century, the Cistercian monks revived central heating in Christian Europe using river diversions combined with indoor wood-fired furnaces. The well-preserved Royal Monastery of Our Lady of the Wheel (founded 1202) on the Ebro River in the Aragon region of Spain provides an excellent example of such an application.

The Roman hypocaust continued to be used on a smaller scale during late Antiquity and by the Umayyad caliphate, while later Muslim builder employed a simpler system of underfloor pipes.^[3]

By about 1700 Russian engineers had started designing hydrologically based systems for central heating. The Summer Palace (1710–1714) of Peter the Great in Saint Petersburg provides the best extant example. Slightly later, in 1716, came the first use of water in Sweden to distribute heat in buildings. Martin Triewald, a Swedish engineer, used this method for a greenhouse at Newcastle upon Tyne. Jean Simon Bonnemain (1743–1830), a French architect,^[4] introduced the technique to industry on a cooperative, at Château du Pêcq, near Paris.

Angier March Perkins developed and installed some of the earliest steam-heating systems in the 1830s. The first was installed in the home of Governor of the Bank of England John Horley Palmer so that he could grow grapes in England's cold climate.^[5]

Franz San Galli, a Polish-born Russian businessman living in St. Petersburg, invented the radiator between 1855–1857, which was a major step in the final shaping of modern central heating.^[6][7]

Water heating

Common components of a central heating system using water-circulation include:

• Gas supply lines (sometimes including a propane tank), oil tank and supply lines or district heating supply lines
• Boiler (or a heat exchanger for district heating): heats water in a closed-water system
• Pump: circulates the water in the closed system
• Radiators: wall-mounted panels through which the heated water passes in order to release heat into rooms

Engineers in the United Kingdom and in other parts of Europe commonly combine the needs of room heating with hot-water heating and storage. These systems occur less commonly in the USA. In this case, the heated water in a sealed system flows through a heat exchanger in a hot-water tank or hot-water cylinder where it heats water from the normal water supply before that water gets fed to hot-water outlets in the house. These outlets may service hot-water taps or appliances such as washing machines or dishwashers.

Sealed water-circulating system

A sealed system provides a form of central heating in which the water used for heating usually circulates independently of the building's normal water supply. An expansion tank contains compressed gas, separated from the sealed-system water by a diaphragm. This allows for normal variations of pressure in the system. A safety valve allows water to escape from the system when pressure becomes too high, and a valve can open to replenish water from the normal water supply if the pressure drops too low. Sealed systems offer an alternative to open-vent systems, in which steam can escape from the system, and gets replaced from the building's water supply via a feed and central storage system.

Electric and gas-fired heaters

Electric heating or resistance heating converts electricity directly to heat. Electric heat is often more expensive than heat produced by combustion appliances like natural gas, propane, and oil. Electric resistance heat can be provided by baseboard heaters, space heaters, radiant heaters, furnaces, wall heaters, or thermal storage systems.

Electric heaters are usually part of a fan coil which is part of a central air conditioner. They circulate heat by blowing air across the heating element which is supplied to the furnace through return air ducts. Blowers in electric furnaces move air over one to five resistance coils or elements which are usually rated at five kilowatts. The heating elements activate one at a time to avoid overloading the electrical system. Overheating is prevented by a safety switch called a limit controller or limit switch. This limit controller may shut the furnace off if the blower fails or if something is blocking the air flow. The heated air is then sent back through the home through supply ducts.In larger commercial applications, central heating is provided through an air handler which incorporates similar components as a furnace but on a larger scale.

Date: 2014-12-22; view: 1350