Energy-Efficient Heating Systems For Your Home

With energy costs steadily rising, homeowners are looking to save every dollar they can when it comes to heating their homes. Getting these savings can seem like a daunting task, but fortunately there are many ways to get these savings through programs like Mass Save® and the Inflation Reduction Act.

And then there’s the heating technology itself. Heating systems are a lot more advanced and energy efficient than they used to be, but it’s important to know what’s out there and which kinds of heating systems are right for your home.

So let’s review, with that in mind. What follows is a brief rundown on everything you need to know about heating systems to get the right one that will keep your home warm and comfortable, not to mention save money on your home heating costs along the way.

The Different Types of Home Heating Systems

While it might seem simplistic to start this rundown with a review of the basic types of home heating systems, rest assured that it’s essential. Home heading technology is advancing quickly, and there are developments you may not be aware of, even if some of the items in this list are familiar.

Furnaces: Furnaces heat air and distribute it throughout your home via a channel system of ductwork. They used to be powered by oil, natural gas, propane or electricity, but many of today’s furnaces are using heat pumps to operate more efficiently.
Heat pumps: Heat pumps also have cooling capability, and they work by extracting heat from air beneath the ground or outside the home. They can also use groundwater as the source if such water is present. They’re usually powered by electricity, but heat pumps use far less of it than a traditional electric heating system.

Forced Air Heating

Electric heating: These kinds of heating systems use what’s called resistance heating to warm your home. Heated air can be distributed via baseboards, electric radiators, radiant floor heating or furnaces powered by electricity. The downside of this kind of heating is that it tends to be expensive unless a heat pump is part of the system.

Radiator Systems

Boiler: Boilers work by heating water, which can also be turned to steam to heat your home. They can be powered by oil, gas, propane or electricity, and state of the art boilers rely on heat pumps to use electricity and keep the cost of home heating down.

What are the Most Efficient Home Heating Systems?

Efficiency has become more than a buzzword in the world of home heating systems. It’s gone from a way to sell pricey products based on a high efficiency rating to a world in which high efficiency products are a staple, which means it’s your choice as a homeowner when it comes to what kind of technology you choose.

Geothermal heat pumps: These heat pumps draw air from beneath the ground, then heat it for distribution within your home. This underground air usually stays at a stable temperature, which makes it less costly to heat. Geothermal heating systems tend to have a very high efficiency rating, and they use far less electricity than other heating systems.
Air source heat pumps: Even if you go with a heat pump system that doesn’t access the air beneath the ground, you can still capitalize on the efficiency of heat pumps. Air source heating does this. It takes the air outside your home, then heats or cools it to meet your seasonal needs. You can even get hybrid heating systems that have smart control technology, which allows them to use a furnace for extremely cold conditions, then switch back to electrically-driven heating or cooling for less extreme temperatures. These systems are especially good at cooling homes in extreme heat, too, and they offer an efficiency level of up to 300 percent.
High-efficiency furnaces: These furnaces aren’t nearly as efficient as heat pumps, but they still perform well and can save you a lot of money. They offer an efficiency rating of over 90 percent, and they waste less energy because they’re able to extract more heat from whatever kind of fuel is used to operate them. Some also use advanced condensing technology, which is another advance in heating and cooling systems that homeowners will be hearing much more about in the future.
Solar heating: Most people aren’t using solar systems to completely heat their homes, but there’s little doubt that solar technology has come a long way in the last decade or so. It’s gone from being an outlier to a genuinely reliable and functional way to cut your home heating bill, and there are even some people who are collecting enough heat through solar panels to sell it back to the grid. As far as the future goes, it’s hard to envision solar technology doing anything but growing. Maybe not exponentially, but solar panels are a lot cheaper than they used to be, and there’s little doubt that in time a larger percentage of the population will be using passive solar heating to warm their homes.

What is the Most Effective Home Heating System?

This one’s a bit of a trick question. The most effective heating system is the one that works best for your home and your needs.

It’s the system that heats your home comfortably while being as efficient as possible, while matching up with your budget, your lifestyle and the technology that suits you best.

That might mean it’s a heat pump, or maybe a high-efficiency furnace. Or maybe your budget dictates that it has to be simpler and less expensive technology like newer appliances with a high energy efficiency rating or smart, programmable thermostats.

And that’s more than okay. The drive for more energy efficiency in your home heating system isn’t a lockstep movement to force people to make moves they’re not prepared to make.

It’s a series of offerings that include savings, rebates and discounts, and taking advantage of those can be just as beneficial to your personal financial situation with home heating as getting in on the latest technology.

Get the Ultimate Energy-Efficient Heating System for Your Home with Revise, Inc.

At Revise, Inc., we’re committed to doing everything we can to help make your home more energy efficient and educating you about your home and what you can do to maximize savings under Mass Save®.

We’re proud to be a designated contractor under the Mass Save® program, and we’ve helped hundreds of customers save thousands of dollars while improving their energy efficiency.

We make the process as simple as possible. Our home energy assessors are professionals who are extensively trained to evaluate your energy needs, and we’re happy to answer any questions you may have or explain anything from the assessment. We want you to understand that it’s a lot easier to increase your savings than you think, and we can show you how to do it.

To start the process, call us at 800-885-7283 (SAVE) or visit our website, www.callrevise.com. We’ve got some great information about savings there, so it’s an excellent place to start if you’re curious and you want to get some background material about how to spend less while making your home more energy efficient.