Having little to no heating and cooling in your home can be as unpleasant as if your roof leaked for those living inside. It is not only unpleasant to have a poorly heated home in the winter; it can be bad for your family’s health. The reverse can be just as true in hotter climates during the summer, heat strokes from a stifling hot home can be just as dangerous as a cold brought on during the winter if not more so. Luckily, most installation companies will take care of both these heating and cooling problems at the same time.
When you decide to purchase heating and air conditioning it is important to know what would work best for your home. There have been many advances in the heating and cooling industry over the years and some of them might be better suited towards your needs than others. The most common method used to provide heat to the entire house is central air. By having air vents through out the house able to distribute the hot or cold air on demand is enough to keep most houses comfortable. This method however can require extensive installation, as it needs to have air ducts leading into every room, through floors and walls. If your home does not already have an existing system that your contractor can build upon the initial installation for central air can be extensive.
Another popular method of heating a home is called radiant heating. By covering your floor with flooring designed to transfer heat evenly your entire house will be warm from the floor up. The beauty of radiant heating is that since it covers the entire floor, there are no more cold zones as you step away from a heating vent. Radiant heating can be achieved in several ways, but the most common is electrically heated wiring beneath your floor or pipes of hot water. Both methods work by transferring heat through the floor into your home and both have their advantages and disadvantages so it is important to ask your contractor what he thinks would work best in your home.
One of the major disadvantages of radiant heating is that it does not do much to provide air conditioning for your home in the winter. In a central air system however most air conditioning systems will just use the same air ducts that the heating elements used to provide cool air through your house. If you live in an area that rarely gets too hot or can afford to have both systems installed into your home than radiant heating may be the right choice for you.
There is also always the option of getting smaller air conditioning system for your home if it is rarely too hot. It would not be as efficient or comfortable as a central air system but people have been using wall-mounted air conditioners for smaller homes and apartments. Whatever heating and cooling method your decide your family will thank you the next time the weather takes a turn for the worse.