Heating

When looking to buy a home, heating is a very important factor.  Many buyers look for homes in the springtime and summertime when the weather is nice and the heat is off.  Therefore, they don’t get a chance to see how well the heat works and often times they don’t give heat a second thought.  There is nothing worse than finding a great bargain on a home only to find that, when the weather gets cold, the house is freezing!

When you are looking for a home it is important to check for possible routes of hot air leakage, especially if you are looking in the summer when you can’t test the heater.  Make sure that windows are sealed—drafty windows are the number one source of heat loss in homes.  Also check the quality of the roof, as excessive heat loss can occur through a roof that needs repair.

Once you have secured that the windows and roof will keep in the heat you should see what type of heater the house has.  There are several types of effective heaters.  A traditional furnace draws air from the house into a series of ducts.  The air is heated within this ductwork and returned to the house.  Furnaces have been around for a long time and are generally effective in heating a home.  Newer versions of the traditional furnace even include blowers to help circulate the warm air throughout your house.  Another type of heater is a radiant heater.  Radiant heat, like sunlight, doesn’t use any blowers. 

The most common type is radiant baseboard heat, which is often visible along the base of the wall as long metal units.  These units contain electric elements that heat up.  Radiant heat units can also be installed in floors or ceilings.  Hydronic heating is a type of radiant heating in which hot steam flows through pipes to your radiators.  Central air systems cool or heat your home through ducts in the walls, ceilings or floors.  If the house does not have a heating system installed you may choose to bring in space heaters.