There are several different methods of heating the home, and those thinking of installing new heating systems or those looking at buying new homes and want to carefully factor in the types of home heating systems that their new home will have, may want to bear the various different options in mind.

The first heating method to consider is the traditional furnace, which brings air from the house into a duct system and then transports it to a place where it can be heated up before then being transported back to the living areas as heated air. More modern furnaces make use of blowers in order to facilitate the re-circling of heated air, and the furnace itself can be fueled by oil, gas, electricity and even wood or coal. The re-circulated air itself is subsequently taken through a filter system that prevents the house from being polluted with dust and other harmful waste and air-borne particles. With respect to gas and oil furnaces, they often have single pilot lights which serves to warm heating exchange units. These units subsequently warm the air prior to its re-circulation through the house. There is also a flue in these furnaces, and this is where exhaust gases are expelled to the exterior.
For the different variants of furnaces an electric furnace utilizes a heating element – commonly strips of heated metal – in order to heat the air. In the case of a coal or wood furnace there is a sealed firebox in which the fuel to run the system is combusted, and also a heat exchanger in which the air is warmed prior to its re-distribution throughout the house. The systems also feature metal vents that enable the air that has been warmed by the system to subsequently be released from the system itself in order to increase hot air circulation without the need for any additional mechanics. These vents are, in normal circumstances, to be found either in the walls or on the floors of the living areas. The temperature of the home itself can be controlled and changed by altering the settings on a central thermostat, and this unit is usually to be found on a wall situated at eye-level. The thermostat unit displays the current room temperature as well as the desired target temperature that can be easily set by any resident.
Oil furnaces often have tanks for storage, and these tanks can be buried or free standing outside the home. In the instance that they leak they can cause environmental damage, so prospective homeowners should bear this in mind.

You can also employ the use of electric heat pumps, which function by pushing heat from place to place. They can also function as air conditioning systems during periods of warm weather rather than simply heating units in the winter. The pumps themselves take warmth from external air, ground or surface water or even from underground sources (as the case may be, depending on the location). This extracted air is, if need be, warmed further by the system and is then circulated around the house. This system typically also features the metal filters and vents also found in forced air furnaces with similar thermostats and settings. One small differences is that the thermostat also features controls for air conditioning.

Baseboard heaters are yet another common alternative to heat production within a home which you will often see as long, metal units with internal electrical elements. Every individual unit has its own control, generally indicating high/low settings marked in increments. This does not display the room temperature, however.
It is not uncommon for baseboard heaters to be the sole form of heating for a house. They are also popular for use as supplemental heat sources for naturally colder rooms or those that are hard to fit with ductwork. These units are generally more costly to run than furnaces due to the fact that they rely upon a high energy draw in order to generate heat from the filaments contained within them.

Radiant heating systems installed in the floor or the ceiling are another option for home heating that can be used in various ways. These heating systems act to heat without circulatory ducts, thereby not needing to utilize blowers. Every area also has a dial control which is much like those seen in the operation of baseboard heating units. These units may be fitted into walls as well, though it is much more common and effective to mount them in lower areas beneath floor in order to allow heat to radiate upwards for maximum warmth.

Hydronic heating can also be found, and this is a different type of radiant heat in which hot water runs either through tubes beneath the floor or through units looking similar to baseboard heaters. You may see such systems installed in ceilings and occasionally under concrete drives in order to prevent the build-up of snow and ice. Such systems feature a boiler system that serves to heat the circulating water and can be adapted to provide heat for a number of different sources simultaneously depending on the particular need of one home.

It is also possible to find portable space heaters, being either electrical in nature or fueled by either gas or kerosene. Gas space heaters are more normally found in certain areas, and these can be either wall-attached or free-standing. They would only enable an area of the home to be considered a heated living space if they were wall-attached, and thereby an integral, permanent fixture.

As far as other heating systems are concerned house buyers may also consider solar heating systems, which may be a coming force in home heating due to environmental concerns. Solar heating systems use the thermal energy emitted by the sun in order to heat living spaces and water supplies. As a natural source of energy it is beneficial for homes, and has the capability to not only produce clean energy but also save a good deal of energy and substantially cut utilities costs for the homeowner. Such a system features a collector that is positioned externally facing the sun in order that it can absorb thermal energy.
There exists both passive and active solar heating, with active heating utilizing pumps to transport air or liquid from the collector to the home. By contrast, passive heating doesn’t require either mechanical or electrical equipment, instead relying on the design and structure for the accumulation, storage and circulation of heat. In such instances water is transported through natural convection. Solar heating can be used for heating living spaces but it can also serve to heat both water and pools. Such systems are beneficial in terms of their environmental effects (or lack thereof) and also they do not require the kinds of storage tanks needed for oil or gas-generated heating systems, thereby eliminating the worry of the potential ignition of flammable materials or chemical leakages.
While solar energy may be initially expensive to purchase and set up it won’t prove costly after the system is installed and many home owners can realize a return on their investment in a few short years. It is also not adversely affected by either political or economic events, thereby also guaranteeing a steady and regular supply without fluctuating costs. A potential downside, however, is that initial purchase and installation coast are likely to be high if no special grants are available for their purchase in your area, though costs are decreasing regularly in recent years.
This can, however, be weighed against potential future savings once the system is up and running and its durability and reliability. Once installed solar heating systems can last and function for anywhere up to 30 years. More cost-effective designs are currently being research and investigated, as solar energy is a coming force as governments and companies look to move away from stock-depleted and environmentally unfriendly fossil fuels.

Potentially homeowners might also consider the aforementioned hydronic heating system in a more comprehensive sense which in simple terms uses water in order to transport heat into heating and cooling systems. This is often called either in-floor or in-slab heating and is one of the most typically used systems for heating both residential and commercial properties. This type of heating can occur naturally with regular water flows and has been used since ancient times and is still popular today in Korea where underfloor heating is considered a standard in many homes. Such heating methods are currently believed to be among the best and most efficient ways of heating areas.
Hydronics simply involves a boiler, which heats the water which is subsequently transported to heat distributors situated at various points around the home or property. In larger buildings you may find a loop for heated and cooled water, and a hydronic heating system comes in two types – steam and hot water. The system is further distinguished as to its flow generation, piping situation, pumping organization and temperature. The pipes within the system will generally involve either a single pipe or anywhere up to four or five pipes – or even a series of loops as needed. All of the pipes are placed into concrete flooring so that heated water can be circulated throughout the house or building. The heat itself is delivered to the whole house in several ways, first through a baseboard unit, as previously mentioned, or through a radiator which will retain heat even when the boiler ceases heating due to the fact that it takes a certain amount of time for the heated water that is circulating through the radiators to cool. This can also be viewed as a real benefit to homeowners as it contributes greatly to both cost-effectiveness and energy efficiency. 


Those also looking to find a decent, cost-effective and long-lasting heating and cooling system can examine the merits of geothermal heating systems. Due to the fact that this type of system is so energy efficient it is very popularly used in many businesses, homes and even schools. Geothermal literally translates as “earth heat”, meaning effectively that such a system uses the earth’s massive supply of heat for its purposes. As previously touched upon such geothermal systems work as ground-source heat pumps that transport a constant supply of heat energy derived from the ground in order to then circulate the heat throughout a building or home living area. This type of heating system is extremely energy efficient, comes with a very low cost and is also very environmentally friendly as pollution is kept to a bare minimum.
According the figures from the US Environment Protection Agency, a geothermal heat pump has the potential to save homeowners anywhere between 30-70% on cooling cost as compared to traditional cooling and heating systems. Such ground source heat pumps transport heat by means of a network of tubes known as closed loops. These can be either vertical or horizontal and may contain water, refrigerant or a solution of anti-freeze, which will be buried deep in the soil and absorb energy and heat from the earth in order to deliver cooling and heating to your home directly through heat exchangers. As soon as the liquid is warmed up it is then transported through the heating system and back into the home. Once it has passed through the building and transferred its warming or cooling energy it then travels back to the apex of the loop system and the entire process is undertaken once more.
During warmer periods, and especially during the summer months, the system works to provide cool air to homes, acting as a type of air conditioner. The system has both primary and secondary loops and these play main roles in all geothermal heating systems. Some can use much cheaper plastic tubing for their secondary loops, and they are not pressurized and require less refrigerant – making them significantly less expensive to maintain and run as refrigerant can be quite costly. Also, by using ground source heat pumps in this way homeowners can reduce their electricity consumption by anywhere up to 70% as compared to traditional heating and cooling systems. The system’s ability to work exclusively on cooling during the warmer, summer months also serves to ensure that the pump is much more energy efficient for its task when compared to the more traditional, regular air-conditioning units. With this kind of geothermal system if homeowners also install a de-superheater a heat pump at ground source has the ability to transport energy to a hot water tank. This affords homeowners a supply of free hot water in both summer and winter.
There are, however, potential initial downsides if you are keen on a geothermal heating system and none of your prospective homes have one installed. In this case the installation of such a system is likely to cost several thousand dollars initially, which may be off-putting for some homeowners. However, for those with long-term considerations in mind such a system requires very little maintenance and can serve the needs of householders for between 20 and 30 years with little to no maintenance. Also, once the system itself has been installed homeowners will reap the certain benefit of significantly lower monthly energy bills over a very long period of time – something that should certainly be borne in mind when looking at the initial set-up costs. There is also an extension of the system, known as geothermal district heating, whereby hot water or steam can be transported to many buildings from the same system – a positive note for those looking to heat multiple structures off of one source.

Finally, in terms of stoves which can – and often are – used to heat the entire home many are more recently popularly fired by corn, wood and pellets. Such alternatives are becoming increasingly popular as people seek more alternative ways of heating that are both cheaper and more energy efficient than traditional means. Another excellent advantage of such stoves is that they also support local industries due to the fact that both wood and corn can be locally grown and produced as well as being significantly more affordable than either oil or natural gas. Also, because such stoves serve as direct vent systems they require no further venting systems or chimney. They are also highly convenient as they range in both capacity and size, thereby meaning that they can be installed comfortably into any home.
The fuel to fire and drive them is easily stored, and the stoves themselves can be simply and painlessly controlled by thermostats. Homeowners that are taken by such heating methods will be happy to realize that competition between the many alternative energy and heating companies is pushing prices down and companies are fighting to be the most energy and cost efficient. Homeowners can also choose to take advantage of certain government tax credits when buying alternative energy heating systems if there are some available in your area. All of this spells interesting news for the homeowner of the present and very near future looking to maximize heating and energy efficiency and costs whilst helping to take care of the fragile environment.