In the long history of home heating, the system that has stayed the most popular is the furnace. You probably have spent most of your life with a furnace keeping you warm. Furnaces have many advantages, but they aren’t the only heating system available now. Just because furnaces are the most common heater doesn’t mean you necessarily should select one for your next installation—especially if you have moved to a new house or are planning to construct one.
Let’s go over 3 alternate options to the standard furnace that you should consider among the many heating systems in Portland, OR. Each of these offers attractive benefits, and one may be the ideal choice for your home. For help selecting, sizing, and installing a new heater, contact our heating specialists at Clean Air Act today.
Heat pumps
Heat pumps operate similar to air conditioners: using the exchange of heat from one location to another to raise the temperature of a home. In fact, heat pumps are air conditioners… except they can switch the direction they move heat. This means that a heat pump gives you both heating and air conditioning in one package. They also run at superior heating efficiency compared to a furnace and will reduce your annual heating bill. Heat pumps have the drawback of losing heating efficiency during extremely cold weather, but the winter climate in Oregon should not pose any serious problems for them.
Geothermal heat pumps
Geothermal systems are heat pumps that use the earth instead of the air as the medium for heat exchange. Refrigerant cycles through underground coils to move heat from the earth to inside your home. (During warm weather, the process reverses.) Geothermal systems are incredibly energy efficient, quiet, safe, and environmentally friendly. However, they won’t work for every property and require extensive work to install.
High velocity heating systems
This is one of the newer advances in heating technology, and it represents an exciting advance over standard forced-air systems that use ductwork. These systems operate like heat pumps, but instead of channeling the heated/cooled air through large ducts, they use small, flexible tubes that fit easily into walls and ceilings. The air enters rooms at high speeds, creating convection currents that more evenly and effectively spread heat without creating pockets of cold air. They operate much quieter than standard heat pumps.
So what sort of heating system should you have installed? It depends on your home and your budget goals. Matching you to the right heater requires professional input and installation, so don’t try to make the choice on your own. For excellent installation of heating systems in Portland, OR, call Clean Air Act today.
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