Best Tips for Choosing the Most Efficient Heating System for Your Home

A good heating system is essential in making any home a more warm and welcoming place during the colder months. Choosing the right central heating system can make your home comfortable without substantially increasing your heating bill. If you’re planning on installing a heating system to your new home or replacing your old one, take note of these tips to end up with an efficient heating system that suits all your requirements and needs:

Familiarise yourself with the local climate

Before looking out for heating units, get to know the place that you’re living in first. What’s the climate like where you’re at? Are winters there typically mild, or should you expect a few meters of snow every year? This will help you determine how strong the heating system should be and how you should prepare your home for winter. If the temperature in your area is predictable enough, maybe it’s a good idea to invest in a programmable thermostat. This way, you can stay comfortable and keep your heating bills as low as possible.

Prepare your home properly

You don’t want your heating system to waste energy, so you need to fully prepare your home even before you schedule a gas heater installation. Check if your home is properly insulated. Insulating the walls, roof, and floor of your home helps retain the warmth generated by the heat system, as insulation reduces heat exchange. What’s more, you should also prevent heat loss by sealing the gaps around doors and windows where the heated air could escape.

Choose between electricity, gas, and wood

Now that your home is prepared properly, let’s take a look at your heating options. Houses in Australia have 3 choices when it comes to heating: electricity, gas, and wood.

• Electricity – Electric heaters combine convenience with being eco-friendly. It’s the only option among the 3 that can have zero emissions and can be supplied with 100% renewable power. However, not all electric heaters are created equal. Homeowners typically have 2 choices when it comes to electric heaters: plug-in heaters, which simply convert electricity into heat, and heat pumps, or reverse cycle air conditioners that access the ambient heat from outside.
• Gas – Gas is the perfect option if you want your heater to quickly raise the temperature inside your home. A gas heater’s greenhouse gas emission can be 6 times lower than that of heaters that rely on grid electricity, plus it’s also cheaper. However, the price of gas can always change, and gas appliances require regular maintenance to keep them efficient and in optimal condition.
• Wood – Wood is also a popular choice for warming a home. The price of wood varies, so there’s no telling if it’s cheaper than the other options. At the same time, how wood heaters affect the environment depends on a lot of factors, such as the source of the wood.

Aside from these, you also have the option of going with geothermal heating systems, which use the stable temperature underground to warm or cool a space. Boilers, too, can prove to be both reliable and cost-efficient in the long run.

The fuel source you choose should fit your budget, lifestyle, and how much impact you want it to have on the environment. Regardless of which you choose, make sure that your heating system is installed and maintained properly so that you can enjoy warm, comfortable spaces without spending too much on heating cost or wasting energy.