When it comes to buying a big house, you should not have to worry about whether or not it is going to be too large to properly heat. The only thing you should really be worrying about is whether or not your family is going to be happy living there. We’ve rounded up the heating systems will give you that comfort.
Best HVAC Systems to Heat Your Large House
Central Heating
A central heating system is by far the most efficient and effective way to ensure your home is heated properly.
Central heating systems usually employ a furnace in your basement or garage. It can either run on gas or oil as a fuel. There is even a hybrid system that will allow your central heating to operate on both.
What are the parts of a furnace?
There are four things that furnaces are made up of. The first components are burners that bring in and burn fuel, then there are the heat exchangers, followed by a part called the blower, and finally a flue that is pretty much an exhaust for all those gas by-products.
How does central heating work?
A central gas furnace runs by making a cycle that warms up cooler air. Natural gas will enter your home through a pipe in the street.
A boiler will then take that gas, burn it through a heat exchange, which will take the heat energy from the gas to the water. Once that is completed, an electric pump forces the hot water through the unit.
That water will then flow around the radiators throughout the house. It starts from the bottom and works its way through radiators to the top floor.
The power of this system is through the water and radiators. While the water is being pumped throughout your house, a thermostat will keep the temperature so your unit will be able to tell when your house is heated enough and the unit can shut down.
Any waste gas from your unit leaves your home through a small smokestack.
Hot Water or Steam Heater
This system uses water from a boiler that heats into steam. You can identify a house that is using a hot water or steam heating system if you are able to spot radiators that are attached to just one single pipe and not multiple.
If this is the route for you, there are some things you need to think about before you get started.
Hot water heater vs steam heater
The key difference between a hot water and steam heater is the number of pipes the unit uses.
How does a steam heater work?
For the steam heater, you will see one pipe coming from the radiator. That is a definite sign that your system is a steam heater.
If your system has two pipes, the steam will enter through one pipe, while the condensing happens in the other pipe, which will bring the water back to the boiler.
How does a hot water heater work?
If you have a water heater, your system will be broken down into 3 parts: the pipes, circulating pump, and expansion tank. Depending on what kind of water heater you have, gas or electric, it will determine how exactly it works.
Electric water heater
If you have an electric water heater, you will find the thermostat next to the side of the tank. Once the thermostat notices the temperature is getting low, it will turn on a switch and get to work.
The heating element is dropped into the water tank and warms up. It does this by electricity being sent through a resistant material which then turns into heat.
Gas water heater
If you have a gas water heater, that too will also use a thermostat. The key difference here is that when it comes time to heat your house, the tank will open a valve, which will let gas go to the tank, and light a flame.
The flame then goes on to heat the bottom of the tank, which will allow the hot water to go up and the cool water to sink. This creates a good circulation as heat then flows throughout the house.
Forced Air Heating
These systems use a furnace or heat pump to make the air warmer while pushing it through your house. Once you set the temperature you want, cold air is pulled from your house into your heating system.
The air will go through a filter which removes any pollutants, thus doubling as an air purifier and making the air heating your house that much cleaner. This means that forced air heating is the healthiest type of heating on our list.
How does a forced air heating system work?
First the thermostat will inform the furnace when it is time to start heating the house and when it is time to shut down.
The oil or gas burner is where all the heat comes from. This part of the unit works directly with the thermostat.
Then there is the heat exchanger, which is a metal box that keeps in the combustion of gases from burning gas or oil. This is sent through the exhaust pipes and leaves outside your house.
The blower takes the cold air in your house, sends it into the furnace which is where it will stay until it is properly heated. Inside your house, you will find return and supply ducts.
The return ducts are the ones that take in the cold air while the supply ducts send out the hot air into your home. The forced air heater will also come with an air blower which is run by the fan limit switch.