Archive for the ‘Home Improvement’ Category
Solutions for home heating and air conditioning
Electric radiant flooring
Widely regarded as the most energy efficient way to heat a home, electric radiant floor heating is a series of electrical wiring under the flooring. Radiant heat involves heating objects in the room instead of heating the air around them, and heated flooring provides an even dispersion of energy in a room even when the air temperature is lower. The consistent floor surface temperature translates into a third less energy usage compared with other heating systems. There are a lot fewer troublesome parts required for this heating method such as valves and filters. Traditional heating systems bring pollens and dust in from outdoors, and with floor vents a lot of dust gets blown around. This method of heating is quiet since you don’t have fans buzzing or radiators rattling as is the case with conventional heating systems. The material you use for flooring is very important, and you should pick either ceramics, porcelain or stone, but stay away from hardwoods that expand and contract.
Radiant heating systems
Environmentally sound, economical, and safer for people, radiant heating systems should be seriously considered by all homeowners. Technically, radiant heat is accomplished by a series of cables, or a series of panels and pipes, bringing heat directly to the walls, ceilings and floors of homes, which in turn heat other objects before heating the air. Contrast this heating system with old-fashioned forced air systems that push lots of hot air into a room, and as the air gets warmer the room heats up, but this leaves the floors cold even as you notice the heat on your upper body. Depending on your needs you may choose between liquid or electric radiant heating systems. Hot liquid systems pump hot oil or water through a series of pipes, while electric systems consist of a a series of cables which are heated when energized. Officially known as hydronic heating systems, hot liquid radiant systems are assembled using a network of tubes laid out over cement floor slabs, or can be installed in between plywood sheets. Hot air type radiant systems are obsolete (the Romans perfected them) and rarely used because air is inefficient as a medium and cannot hold large quantities of heat.
About radiant heating
Of the three possibilities of heat transfer, radiation, convection, and conduction, this article describes radiant heating, where people and objects are warmed by a separate heat source, and not by warm air currents. There are three sorts of radiant heating systems for the floors, ones that utilize hot air, ones that utilize electricity, and ones that utilize hot water, which are also known as hydronic systems. The Romans were the first to use hot air as a method of warming up a room, but this technology is obsolete nowadays since air is an inefficient way to transfer heat. One of the most in-demand heating technologies would be electric radiant floor heat, where you install a network of thin electric cables under flooring such as hardwood, laminated wood, tile, or stone. The most in-demand form of radiant heat generation is hydronics, which involves pumping hot water from a boiler through tubing loops installed under the floors. With the right hydronic system you can control the temperature in every room by adjusting how much hot water flows through the tubing loops under each room’s floor. The two basic installation methods for both hydronic and electric radiant heat flooring systems are “dry” installation, where the electric cables or water tubes are sandwiched between plywood sheets and installed beneath the floor, or “wet” installation, where the tubing/cable are embedded in slabs of concrete. While you can use just about any type of floor covering with radiant heat systems, the most effective flooring is ceramic tiles, while the least energy-efficient is carpeting laid over non-laminated solid wood.
The following are a few Internet sites that may be helpful in searching for information on the category of heating and cooling. If, for instance, you are interested in oil furnaces, then Maintaining An Oil Furnace will have plenty of valuable material. Could you also be curious about the best pellet stoves? If so, The Best Pellet Stoves will provide the advice you need.