|  | | | Choosing The Right Furnace |
As winter approaches, everyone begins to think about the furnace. Will in kick on? Will it last through another
winter? Should we install a new furnace? If so, with what kind? If these
questions are familiar to you, keep reading as we try to "demystify" a
couple of household heating sources.
The most important step to take before starting the furnace for the season
is to have it inspected by a licensed Houston heating Contractor. They
will clean the furnace, make sure it is in good working order, they will
also recommend any parts that will need to be serviced or replaced in the
near future.
If the furnace inspector tells you that it is time to replace the furnace,
you may be overwhelmed by the choices in today's' furnace market. There
are the standard gas, oil and electric furnaces as well as the newer
outdoor wood furnaces and corn-fueled furnaces to name a few. There is
lots of information available on these newer furnaces on the internet,
however, a quick overview will be provided here.
One of the most popular options today is an outdoor heating source. It
uses the old standby of wood, but eliminates the mess and smell associated
with burning wood. An outdoor wood heating unit is placed approximately
500ft from the house. The wood burner itself is built inside of a small
building, this often is made to look like a smaller house or shed. The
heat is carried from the burner via heated water, which runs through
underground, insulated pipes. This is the most effective and efficient
method for moving heat over distances. Once the heated water reaches its
destination, there are a couple of options for actually heating the home.
Using a boiler, radiant floor heating system, a heat exchanger or a forced
air furnace that is powered by a direct circulation system. The wood
burning system can also do double duty to heat household water if a
water-to-water heat exchanger is installed.
Although there are many advantages to using an outside wood burning
furnace, it has a down side to its use as well. The cost can be quite high
for most people, running approximately $5,000 installed. This of course,
depends upon what part of the country you live in.
Another alternative to the traditional furnace that is gaining in
popularity is the corn burning furnace. This type of furnace uses shelled
corn (the same kind fed to livestock) to heat a home. While this is a
viable source of heat it is not fool proof, it does have drawbacks that
need to be considered before making a final decision.
Corn fuel furnaces are comparable to a convention furnace as far as price
is concerned, costing roughly $2,000. It uses corn that has no more than
15% moisture content; fortunately, this is the same percentage of moisture
as feed corn, making it very easy to obtain from a local elevator. The
cost of burning corn as compared to propane is approximately one bushel of
corn is to 5.5 gallons of propane fuel. Corn is also a natural and
renewable resource, and keeps farmers in business while keeping your
heating costs down.
On the other side, corn fed furnaces need daily cleaning to be efficient.
They also run on an electric fan system, if you lose electricity, you lose
heat also. For this reason, its best to either have a generator or a back
up furnace for emergencies.
Being armed with the knowledge of these types of heating sources will make
you a more educated consumer when it is time to replace an old, worn out
furnace.
Linda Moore writes on a variety of
subjects including home ownership, family matters, personal enrichment,
replacing your furnace
http://www.get-lower-heating-bills.info and property values.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Linda_Moore
If you are looking for a Vero Beach heating
contractor, please call us today at 772.299.9818 or complete our online service request form.
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