Winter in Chicago brings more than just chilly temperatures and blustery wind. It also spikes the heating bill higher and higher. A high heating bill may indicate an inefficient heating system at work, traditionally through duct distribution of heat throughout the home. Duct loss, however, keeps the bill up and consistent warmth down. Alternatives to baseboard and forced-air heating may prove to be a smarter choice. One solution for a cost-effective, efficient system is opting for radiant heating.
Many factors should be considered when deciding on the heating system for a home such as practicality, convenience, efficiency, and cost effectiveness. Our skilled team possess the experience and expertise necessary to give you exceptional JC radiant heating services, you can rely on JC Heating, Air Conditioning.
What is radiant heating?
Radiant heating involves supplying heat directly from a surface, namely the floors, walls, or ceiling. Floor heating relies on convection to naturally heat a room with the warm air rising up from the floor whereas wall and ceiling panels heat depending on strategic placement of the panels. The heat transfers to the people living in the home. Thus, ceiling panels heat the upper body more than the lower body, etc. Types of radiant heating include:
- Air-heated radiant floors.
- Electric radiant floors.
- Hydronic radiant floors.
- Wall and ceiling radiant panels.
What are the benefits of radiant heating?
Radiant heating has several advantages over other heating systems. Forced-air heating systems use ducts to transfer warm air into different rooms in the house. Depending on the maintenance of the ducts, heat can be loss during the travel from furnace to the rooms. An additional problem with force-air is that it often contaminates indoor air with allergens and other particles as it distributes heat.
Radiant panels offer the convenience of being able to control temperature in each room, and the response of radiant panels surpasses that of other heating systems in terms of heating. Forced-air systems also do not heat the floor, and nothing feels quite as nice on a chilly morning than warm floors under bare feet. Radiant heating also keeps a constant temperature in the home whereas forced-air doesn’t. Thus, radiant heating is much more efficient while reducing energy costs.