Articles

SunTouch WarmWire Notes an Energy Trend

SunTouch WarmWire staff have recently noticed a new trend among heating companies. Many companies offering forced air systems, gas furnaces, and even baseboard heaters have been offering their customers “energy audits” or “efficiency audits” at little or no cost. The purpose of these audits is to go into a home and find ways to create a more comfortable atmosphere. In many cases, the experts sent to customers homes’ find ways that customers can reduce their heating bills. For example, customers may be told to insulate their windows, insulate their doors, and so forth – at their own expense, of course.

While this is undoubtedly sound advice, SunTouch WarmWire staff can't help but wonder why all the audits are necessary in the first place. Could it be that most heating systems are simply not efficient in and of themselves, and leave customers far from happy?

Customers who choose radiant floor heat for their homes rarely spend time getting efficiency audits or worrying about heat. Maybe those audits are a good idea, but floor heating customers are too busy enjoying their cozy, comfortable homes to worry about it much.

It’s not much of a surprise, really. Unlike forced air heating and most types of heating, radiant heating is very energy efficient because it does not try to overheat the air. Most traditional heating systems work by overheating something -- a radiator, a furnace, a baseboard heater -- in order to warm the air. Unfortunately, hot air quickly rises towards the ceiling. This creates unfortunate homes in which the air near the ceiling is quite cozy. Unfortunately, most of us do not live near our ceilings. The area where we do live -- the floors -- tend to be rather cool in homes heated in traditional manner. Plus, thanks to the fact that baseboard heaters, furnaces, another forms of heating work in cycles, these forms of heating create very warm rooms which then rapidly cooled down. This creates unfortunate levels of discomfort, as the inhabitants of a home feel too warm, then too cold, then too warm again as heating systems turn on and off throughout the day.

Of course, as furnaces and heaters turn on and off, they use energy. Plus, as they have to be heated up to very high temperatures, they tend to use up a great deal of energy. This tends to push heating bills up. In contrast, radiant heat works on exactly the opposite principle. Radiant floor heat works by continuously and gently heating floors, not the air. This means that the walls, furniture, and other objects in the room are gently heated throughout the day, resulting in an even, comfortable heat. Since there's no need to overheat anything, homeowners do not have to pay for extra heat that only goes towards the ceiling anyway. Plus, many people with electric floor heating systems find that they can turn down their thermostats a few degrees and still enjoy great comfort. This is because radiant floor heating systems keep the feet warm, which keeps the entire body warmer.