Updated January 17, 2024
For home heating, there’s one type more common than all the others: forced-air heating. This means using a blower fan to send heated air through a ventilation system to the various rooms. I.e., a furnace or a heat pump.
But just because something is everywhere doesn’t mean it’s the best for everybody. Some homes use a different kind of heating for comfort—radiant heating. More and more homeowners are opting to have radiant heating installed because there is so much to like about it. What does radiant heating do that makes some people prefer it over the standard furnace?
First, what radiant heating actually is
Radiant heating describes the way that heat moves. Convection heating is the movement of heat through the air, and conduction heating is the movement of heat through direct contact. Radiant heating is heat moving in waves from a hot surface until it reaches another surface. A good example of radiant heat is the warmth you feel from asphalt on a hot summer day.
When it comes to home heating, a radiant heating system is any heater that raises the temperature of objects in a room, so waves of heat radiate off them. Most radiant systems are hydronic, which means a boiler heats water and sends circulates it to baseboard heaters, radiators, or in-floor pipes to create heat in the rooms.
Why people like this type of heating
- Energy savings: Water is a better heat transference medium than air. It more effectively delivers warmth into a room, losing less heat in the process. Homes with radiant heating systems can expect annual energy savings compared to using conventional forced-air systems.
- Fast, even spread of heat: A trouble with furnaces and heat pumps is they blow out heated air into space, where it then rises to the ceiling to gather there. It takes a long time for this heat to spread throughout the room. Radiant systems send out the heat from below (in-floor systems are especially effective) and the heat moves evenly through the living spaces. This means faster comfort and no cold spots.
- Long system life: Hydronic systems wear down slower than furnaces or heat pumps because they contain fewer moving parts. An investment in a radiant heating system is an investment in 20 or more years of excellent comfort.
- Fewer repairs: The small number of moving parts also means hydronic radiant heating systems require fewer repairs over their lifetimes.
- “It just feels better”: This is harder to quantify, but the warmth from a radiant heating system is less stuffy and more comfortable than forced-air heating. It’s like a warm sunny day inside your home!
Let us help you with radiant heating systems
if you’re interested in having a radiant heating system to fulfill your Des Moines, IA heating needs, we can take care of you! Our professionals will help you make the right decision when it comes to providing comfort for your home. At the end of the day, your household will have the best possible heating system to meet its needs.
If you want a Service Provider who will treat you and your home like their own, then call us today: Golden Rule, where “We Obey the Rules to Live By!”
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