Dee Cohen asked:


Do you need to upgrade the heating system in your old home? Are you buying a new home which needs an additional heating system? Are you wondering which unit to buy? To assist you in comparing heating systems, let’s review some basic information.

Understand the cost of running hot and cold water depends upon three factors: How efficient does the system consume fuel? What is the cost of the fuel? How do you operate the system? The mistake most homeowners make is to leave their hot and cold water running all the time. The boiler, then, is constantly running to heat the home. Therefore, this is not a cost-effective method. Unless it is outrageously cold, the hot water and heating should stay on for more than nine hours a day.

Most apartment dwellers use electric plug-in heaters, or gas fires are very expensive and quite an inefficient way to heat your home. Generally, portable heaters should be relegated to one room and central heating for an entire home. Keep in mind, portable heaters can be dangerous. You may want to consider an alternative method. If you opted for central heating, keep the temperature high in the rooms you use most, and low in the rooms you use least.

If you are like many of us, you may have radiators in your home or apartment. Have you ever heard the sizzle of the heat as it comes up to your radiator, but notice that the top of the radiator is cold? Actually, this represents loss of heat. The reason is because the radiator needs to be bled. Contact a professional for this task, since the heat needs to be turned off to avoid scalding.

There are a variety of heating units and systems you can use in your home. Comparing heating systems is the best way to ensure you appropriately and cost-effectively heat your home. Go online today. The winter months are upon us don’t let it get too late.



Ella

Tal Potishman asked:


The earth’s crust consists of many natural chemicals including aluminium which makes up eight percent of our earth’s outer layer. This metal can be found in many applications including every day cans, through industrial applications to complicated aeroplane parts. The heating industry has recently taken to aluminium because it conducts heat easily, is flexible and is very lightweight. Recently, in increasing numbers of central heating equipment manufacturers have been exploring ways to make radiators and other heating component out of aluminium.

The Romans and Greeks were the first to use aluminium, using effectively an aluminium salt for dyeing. However, the pure form of aluminium was first found at the end of the eighteenth century. The pure form of the metal can be very hard to find but in spite of its elusiveness, many industries began implementing aluminium with some regularity by the beginning of the nineteenth century, growing substantially in the twentieth century.

Currently aluminium can be found in many everyday objects like jewellery, computers and other electronic devices and packing materials. One of the main reasons aluminium is so popular is that it has very high corrosion resistance levels. Alongside its light weight and flexibility, resistance to corrosion is one of the major reasons that aluminium is a prime candidate for repeated recycling, making it very popular in our eco-friendly society.

Over the last few years, manufacturers of central heating equipment have started using aluminium for cooling and heating systems both for domestic and commercial applications. Two of the most popular heating components to recently be switched to aluminium construction are heating coils and copper tubing.

Over the last few years several manufacturers of central heating components have taken up this metal and started building radiators completely out of aluminium. Although still a minority, there are many customers that chose to purchase the aluminium radiators instead of traditional radiators because the aluminium radiators last longer and does not need as many repairs over the years. If the component does need repairing, the repairs can be carried out quickly because of the pliable nature of the metal.

In addition to buying aluminium heating and cooling kits, many have started buying aluminium windows to help lower their heating and cooling costs. Aluminium windows help regulate the temperature of a room by making sure that the air outside of a room does not influence the temperature of the air inside of a room. Many users have reported a significant reduction to the cost of their heating bills, as the level of insulation is improved. Other uses for aluminium in heating and cooling include the use of aluminium foil for lining ventilation ductwork, floor panel ventilation grilles, and refrigeration coils.

Aluminium is one of the most versatile materials found within the earth’s crust. Because there is so much of it and the fact that it is highly versatile, aluminium can be used by almost every industry. The heating industry has proven that aluminium can be used for just about anything and they have gone to great lengths to implement this versatile material.



Brian

Tim Carr asked:


s we have come to expect a certain standard of living as the norm. It is somewhat understandable that we take modern appliances and the advances in technology for granted as we have seen so many dramatic changes in the last decade never mind the last century to the extent that we consider now consider progress to be inevitable.

However, we would only need to cast our minds back a short time to see how different our lives were in the not so distant past. It wasn’t uncommon in the last century for people to go weeks or even months without washing. In fact, people were generally unaware of the link between hygiene and health. Not so today. A Norwegian engineer by the name of Edwin Ruud invented the automatic storage water heater in 1889 which eventually led to the invention of showers.

Nonetheless, progress took its time back then so even after the war entire families often shared bath water. The water for the bath was heated in appliances on the stove and then poured directly into the bath with jugs. The bath also had to be emptied in the same way. Not many of us today would be able to cope with that in our busy schedules.

Today, we get up in the morning in our centrally heated homes and switch on the kettle for our coffee; we turn up the heating if it’s too cold, run a hot bath or take a shower without a thought. Hot water is readily available on tap and in constant supply. Can we imagine what our lives would be like without it?

There is little doubt that how we live now bears no resemblance to how our parents and grandparents lived only a short while ago. Take something like central heating for example. The first form of central heating was invented by the Romans around 2000 years ago and was a crude form of under-floor heating. It was hugely labour-intensive and so affordable only by the affluent. It wasn’t until the 1960’s and 1970’s, only a few decades ago, that new inventions led to central heating becoming a feature in around 30% of homes in the UK. Prior to that heating was usually by a coal fire or stove and was generally limited to one or two rooms in the house, often the kitchen, where most of the family congregated most of the time.

There is little doubt that hot water technologies have dramatically changed our lives. They have improved our level of hygiene and consequently our health as well as our life expectancy. Today we don’t have to be wealthy to stay clean, warm and comfortable in our homes. Over 90% of homes in the UK now have central heating and even the smallest of homes has a bath or a shower with hot running water.

Modern water boilers are the culmination of years of innovation and research. They come in different forms to suit different purposes and are highly efficient, safe, and relatively inexpensive to run. They have also dramatically changed the way we live and indeed, expect to live our lives.



Charlie

Alex Perry asked:


Did you know that in northern countries like the UK, the earth just a few feet below the surface keeps a constant temperature of between 11 and 12 degrees Centigrade, even in winter? It traps the heat of the sun, and stores it underground, all year round. A Ground Source Heat Pump transfers this heat to your home to provide space-heating. Using a compressor (a bit like the one in your fridge), it increases this heat to around 45 or 50 degrees, and transfers it to radiators or underfloor heating. The heat can also be used to pre-heat your hot water, meaning you need less gas or electricity for this also.

Because they make use of the renewable energy stored in the ground, Ground Source Heat Pumps provide one of the most energy-efficient ways of heating buildings. The only energy used by Ground Source Heat Pump systems is the electricity to power the pump. Normally a system will deliver 3 or 4 times as much thermal energy (or heat) as the electrical energy used to drive the system. If you can source your electricity from a renewable source such as wind or solar, then your heating will be completely clean and non-polluting.

Ground Source Heat Pumps have been widely used for many years in both Europe and North America. There are now several hundred thousand in operation. In Germany, tens of thousands of systems are installed each year. They typically cost more to install than conventional heating systems. In the UK you should currently expect to pay around £8,000 (plus VAT) or more to heat a medium-sized house, although government grants can refund some of this cost (up to £1,200 is available in England and £4,000 in Scotland). However, Heat Pumps have very low maintenance costs, and can be expected to provide reliable and environmentally-friendly heating for over 20 years.

In a modern, well insulated house, a Ground Source Heat Pump system can also save you money on running costs. It is likely to be cheaper to run than an oil-fired boiler, and less than a third of the running cost of electric heating. Currently it is likely to be just a little bit cheaper than the very best of the modern condensing gas boilers, but gas prices may well rise in the future in many countries.

There are 3 main elements to a Ground Source Heat Pump system. The first is the ‘ground loop’ which is a length of pipe buried in the ground, either in a borehole or a horizontal trench. For a modern detached house you will typically need two trenches about 40 to 50 metres long to supply enough heat for the house. The ground loop collects the heat from the earth. The second main element is the heat pump, which is typically the same size as a fridge-freezer. This transfers and increases the heat from the ground loop. Finally you need a distribution system which basically means underfloor heating or radiators.

Ground Source Heat Pumps are most suitable for homes that are well insulated, because otherwise they can become very expensive to install. The cost of a system is directly related to its size, which is in turn driven by the heat it needs to deliver. If you live in an older building with very high heat loss, this can add substantially to the capital cost on installing a heat pump. Money spent on upgrading wall, floor and loft insulation can save a large amount on this capital cost. Unfortunately, some older buildings can never be made sufficiently energy efficient to use the modern heating distribution systems that go with Ground Source Heat Pumps, such as low temperature underfloor heating, or low temperature radiators.

You should consult a professional installer if you are considering such a system. They will be able to give you detailed advice on the suitability of your home. Issues that you should consider are things like whether you have enough space to dig the trench for the ground loop, what kind of heating distribution system you want (e.g. underfloor heating), and the size of Heat Pump you will need.

With over 40% of carbon dioxide emissions coming from the heating of buildings in countries like the UK, energy-efficient systems like a Ground Source Heat Pump are looking more and more attractive. If your home is well insulated, and you have some outside space like a garden, it really is worth investigating a system like this to help cut your personal contribution to Climate Change, by making better use of the free heat supplied by the earth.



Joe

Ivor Bates asked:


It’s a basic fact that plumbing and heating systems that are not regularly serviced or routinely maintained are 90% more likely to suffer breakdown, failure or blockage.

Most people will admit to ignoring heating and plumbing problems until they develop into an emergency. But potential emergencies can be alleviated with a simple servicing and maintenance programme that is tailored to your heating and plumbing system.

Another fact: boiler manufacturers will not guarantee any new boiler if the heating system is not chemically cleaned. The best way of doing this is by Power Flushing.

Power Flushing is a powerful technique for cleaning central heating systems. It improves the performance of the heating system by flushing out sludge and scale, and promotes efficient energy consumption.

If your radiators are cold, noisy or need bleeding regularly, or if your pump or boiler has failed, then you will definitely benefit from Power Flushing. Look for a heating engineer that is an experienced specialist in the Power Flushing system and that offers a certificate confirming that pH levels and cleanliness within your system correspond with industry standards.

Yet another fact: it is recommended that most gas appliances such as boilers, cookers, hobs and gas fires are serviced at least once a year to make sure that any dangerous faults are dealt with by a professional. Gas safety is of utmost importance. Carbon monoxide is a silent killer and the importance of making sure your gas appliances are functioning properly and not emitting harmful fumes is crucial.

Manufacturers generally stipulate that their appliances are serviced annually and you should remember that the appliances’ life could be extended by regular professional servicing.

If you want to avoid the stress and expense of a heating and plumbing emergency then make sure you employ a regular servicing and maintenance campaign: it’s an insurance policy for your winter warmth and peace of mind.



Julie