What is the best kind of heat to put in my home? Snowden’s Heating and Cooling

What is the best kind of heat to put in my home?

               When people are looking for the best way to heat their homes, they will often ask this question. It all comes down to personal preference and the utilities you have available. According to Snowden’s Heating and Cooling, the most common ways of heating here in the Ozarks are electric heaters, heat pumps, gas furnaces, mini-splits, and wood. The messiest of these of course is wood heat, but it’s hard to beat coming in from the cold and warming up by the wood stove or fireplace. But let’s face it cutting, stacking and hauling wood in the house is HARD work! Not to mention the dust it produces in your house.

               For those who don’t have a fireplace or wood stove there are other options. The electric heater or air handler, as those in the HVAC business call it, is one of those options. They are cheaper to buy and work with your central air conditioner during the summer. Basically, you have a rectangular box with a fan motor, air conditioning coil and heat strips that ties into you ducting. Though it is cheaper to buy it is the most expensive to operate. The heat strips use a lot of electricity to run. The heat from the heater is warmer than that of a heat pump, but not as warm as the heat from a gas furnace.

               Next, we ask Snowden’s about the heat pump. A heat pump consists of the air handler in the house and a condenser outside that produces heat. Simply put, the freon in the condenser or air conditioner outside reverses direction and heat is produced. It extracts the warmth from the outside air and through a series of copper or aluminum tubing moves that air into the air handler and the fan blows that air through the ducting. Snowden’s feels the cost of running a heat pump is significantly cheaper than running the straight electric heat. The temperature of the air coming out of the vents is a little cooler than the electric heater. It is more expensive to install a new heat pump system, but the savings from operating it far outweigh the cost of installing. There are higher efficiency heat pumps you can get that will also help keep your electric bill lower. One thing to keep in mind. When the temperatures get below 20 or 25 degrees outside, the heat pump no longer is as efficient. That is when you need to switch the thermostat from heat to emergency or auxiliary heat. That disengages the heat pump outside and uses the heat strips in the heater to heat.

               The next heating system we’re going to look at is gas. A gas furnace produces the warmest air  from the vents in your house. On those cold mornings when you get up it feels pretty good to stand over the vent of a gas furnace and warm up. We have either the option of natural gas or propane here in the Ozarks. It depends on where you live. Most people outside the city limits of Branson or Hollister have propane if they have gas. Though some people are uneasy having gas in their homes, when installed properly it is just as safe as electricity. The cost is a little more unpredictable. There are times it has been considerably cheaper than electricity and then other times it has been about the same.

               The last heating system we’re going to look at is the mini – split. These relatively new machines have exploded in popularity in the past 10 years. They work much like a heat pump; except they don’t have the electric back-up heat. They heat even in temperatures below -5 degrees. They are very quiet and efficient. There is a unit that sits outside, and it is connected by copper tubing to a head or multiple heads inside. The best part of this kind of system is that you can customize your temperature for each individual room that you have a head in. There is no ducting for these. They are probably the most economical to run according to Snowden’s Heating and Cooling.

               If you’re trying to decide what kind of heat would be best for you and your family, give them a call at Snowden’s Heating and Air, LLC and we can help you make the right decision. Call 417-334-0256