There are various types of heating systems in use today. Some of the most commonly found ones are:
Let us help find the right furnace for you – a furnace that will suit your home and budget best! As a leading Ottawa home heating and furnace expert, we offer a broad selection of the latest Lennox and York furnaces.
Forced air furnaces are some of the most commonly used systems for heating homes across Canada. As the name suggests, forced air furnaces distribute hot air via ducts throughout the house with the help of a forced air system.
They’re great at warming homes quickly, compared to other systems. More importantly they have a high functional value since the ducts can be used for air conditioning during the warmer months. In addition a forced-air furnace is often used for multiple other purposes. For instance it can be simultaneously used as a fresh-air ventilator or an air humidifier alongside heating.
Older furnaces are drastically more inefficient compared to their modern counterparts. Moreover, it would be worthwhile to add that all new furnaces for residential use must comply with Canada’s regulations for energy conservation, meaning that they must have an Annual Fuel Use Efficiency (AFUE) of at least 90%. In fact, Climate Works offers furnace models that are nearly 99% efficient, while older furnaces are 50-80% efficient.
Fortunately, newer variable speed ECM blowers in many new furnaces can move air more efficiently at a fraction of the cost. Savings are most often $300.00 to as much as $500.00 per year! This is becoming even more significant with rising power costs and the HST tax on energy bills.
The trend has been to replace these inefficient furnaces with condensing gas furnaces and the results have been tremendously fruitful with an increasing number of homeowners enjoying considerable energy savings. The most efficient furnaces in the industry, Lennox condensing gas furnaces, reach AFUE efficiency ratings over 98% and can save up to 25% of your electricity bill too!
Fortunately, newer variable speed ECM blowers in many new furnaces can move air more efficiently at a fraction of the cost. Savings are most often $300.00 to as much as $500.00 per year! This is becoming even more significant with rising power costs and the HST tax on energy bills.
The basic working principle of a heat pump is different from that of other heating systems. Essentially it “transfers” heat while most other systems typically “produce” hot air or water. During the colder months, a heat pump operates by extracting heat from the outside and transferring it indoors while in the warmer months, the heat from inside is “pumped” outside.
The advanced design and efficiency of today’s Lennox and Mitsubishi ZUBA Central Heat Pumps make them a much better option than those powered by oil or propane. Even for those households using a gas furnace for home heating in Ottawa, installing a heat pump along with a “Dual Fuel” system makes sense as the system allows the heat pump to operate at times when it is the more efficient heat source, while the gas furnace takes over when it may be more suited to do so. The overall energy savings can thus be significant.
Ductless Heat Pumps are a great solution for homes heated with electrical baseboard heating that lack the ductwork system to distribute through a central heating unit.
Hot water radiators are one of the most common heat distribution systems in newer homes, second only to forced-air systems. They may be a baseboard-type radiator or may be of an upright design that resembles steam radiators. Cast iron radiators are typically only found in older homes, and operate at a lower water temperature than tube and fin convection radiators, typically found in newer homes.
When renovating or replacing an existing boiler, it is important to consider the different temperature requirements of the radiators you have or are considering installing. Newer High-Efficiency Boilers work better on systems requiring lower temperatures. Outdoor reset controls and output modulation capabilities work to keep the water temperature cooler when less heat is required, dramatically increasing overall efficiency and comfort.
Many existing hot water heating systems can be easily zoned, providing an added level of control over your home heating. Zone control is most effective when large areas of the home are not used often or are used on a different schedule than other parts of the home. Automatic valves on the hot-water radiator piping, controlled by thermostats in each zone of the house provide independent control of the heat in that area. Using programmable thermostats will allow you to automatically heat and cool off parts of your home to match your usage patterns.
Radiant floor heating is a method of heating your home by applying heat underneath or within the floor, wall, or ceiling and in effect, making the entire surface of the floor or wall the radiator.
It’s enjoying widespread use as it’s an efficient and comfortable method for home heating in Ottawa or any other cold region for that matter.
How does it work exactly? It’s quite simple really. Water that runs through the underground pipes is heated with the help of a boiler or hot water tank. The heated water running through pipes beneath the floor warms up the entire house. Similar to cast iron radiators, this type of heat distribution warms objects directly, as opposed to raising the temperature of the air which then warms objects. Think of it as the difference between sitting in the sun or the shade. Sitting in the sun can be quite comfortable, even on an otherwise cool day.
Radiant floor heating can be used to warm up the whole house in a uniform manner or even just a room that requires an additional heating mechanism. For instance, spaces like kitchens and bathrooms can be more adequately and evenly heated with radiant floor heating.
Radiant systems operate at significantly lower temperatures than a typical radiator system and provide an even higher level of comfort. Savings of up to 20% can be attributed to radiant heating in Ottawa, due to the ability to maintain comfort and a lower thermostat setting something called the “radiant mean temperature.”
It is a common misconception that radiant heating is a new technology; in fact, radiant heating has been in continuous use for thousands of years. The Romans used radiant heating in their bathhouses and used similar technology to heat water for the public baths. Radiant heating has been used for centuries by the Koreans too to heat their royal palaces and traditional homes.
Of course today’s’ radiant heating technology is more advanced, and new materials and technologies can be used to provide heat for almost any purpose, including domestic water heating, pool heating, and snowmelt systems. It’s a lesser known fact that radiant systems are used very effectively for cooling as well.
NTI has spent almost ten years developing, testing, and perfecting the technology of The Matrix heating system. The Matrix delivers a premium system that incorporates a condensing water heater, condensing furnace, condensing boiler, and heat recovery ventilator and which is already pre-wired for air conditioning. All of these functions are contained in one powerful system that requires less energy to operate than competing.
The Matrix is a world-class energy device that delivers reliable heating to keep your family comfortable. It also produces fewer tons of GHGs than any other integrated home heat product.
We do complete installations on all these units, from the demolition of old to start up and testing of new – all installed by our trained and certified technicians. Once the units are running, we can provide service and maintenance plans for you as well.
Climate Works provides 24-hour service for inspection and repairs. Should your furnace be damaged significantly during a disaster, we can give you temporary heat until your new furnace installation is approved, guaranteeing that your needs for home heating in Ottawa are always met.
