Deciding Which Heater to Buy for Your Home in the Northeast

The winters can get pretty brutal here in the Northeast, so it’s important that you have a reliable heating system to keep you warm all winter long. If you’re in the market for an upgrade with your furnace, you might be wondering what kinds of options you have for your system.

The main options you have available to you when it comes to heating system varieties include natural gas, electric and liquid petroleum gas or oil. Here’s a quick overview of what you should know about each of these options when preparing for HVAC installation in Bridgeport, CT.

Natural gas

Natural gas is far and away the most common heating source for homes in the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, natural gas is used as the primary heating source in about 57 percent of American homes, even as its use is on the decline everywhere except in the northeastern United States. The only region of the country in which it is not the most common heating source is the South.

Natural gas furnaces feature heat generated by a pilot light, which controls several burners in the system’s combustion chamber. The heat travels from the chamber to a heat exchanger, which heats the air to the temperature on the thermostat. At that point, the blowers can then send the heated air through the home’s ductwork, heating each room of the home.

Electric

Electric systems feature heat pumps that begin with a compressor and a pair of copper coils, one located indoors and the other outdoors. During the heating process, the outside coil removes the heat from the air through a liquid refrigerant that evaporates, and the coil inside releases the heat from the refrigerant by then condensing it back to liquid.

Recent technological advances have made the efficiency of these heat pumps significantly better than it was in past decades, which is one of the reasons why the popularity of electric HVAC systems has significantly increased. It has become the most popular type of HVAC system for homes in the South, and continues to increase in popularity everywhere else in the nation.

Liquid petroleum gas

Liquid petroleum gas systems are an alternative to natural gas systems, but only account for about four percent of energy in the United States. These systems feature a mixture of gases, including propane or butane. In a liquid state, these gases can be easily stored and transported for use as an energy source.

Because these liquids are flammable, people mistakenly presume they are unsafe or pose a fire risk. However, there are more than 14 million homes in the United States that use liquid petroleum gas, and the fire risk is negligible.

These are three examples of some of the most common types of HVAC systems you’ll find on the market. To learn more about the various options you have available to you when researching new HVAC in Bridgeport, CT, or to schedule an appointment with the team at BLM Refrigeration Heating & Air Conditioning, we encourage you to contact us today.

Categorised in: HVAC Services

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