Quick Response A/C, Inc. is your one-stop shop for all your heating needs, including:
• Traditional Furnaces
• Electric Heat Pump
• Hydronic Heating
Traditional Furnaces
A furnace draws air from the house into a ductwork system, taking it to an area where it is warmed before being delivered back to living spaces. Newer furnaces use blowers to recirculate the warmed air. A furnace may be fueled with gas, electricity, oil, or even coal or wood. Circulating air is drawn through a filter that helps rid the house of dust and other particles.
Gas and oil furnaces have a pilot light that warms a heat exchange unit, which in turn warms the air before it is circulated back through the house. These furnaces have a flue where exhaust gases vent to the outside.
An electric furnace uses heating strips, or elements, to warm the air.
A wood or coal furnace has a sealed firebox where the fuel is burned, and a heat exchanger where air is warmed before delivery.
Metal vents that allow warmed air to escape from the system and into the house are usually found in the floors or on walls in living areas.
The home's temperature is controlled by changing the settings on a thermostat, usually positioned on a wall at eye-level. The thermostat shows the current temperature of the room.
Tanks for oil furnaces are sometimes buried. If they leak, they become an environmental hazard.
Electric Heat Pump
Heat pumps work by shuffling heat from one place to another. They also serve as air conditioners during warm weather.
Heat pumps extract warmth from outdoor air, from ground or surface water, or from the earth. The air is warmed more by the system if necessary, then circulated through the house.
You'll find metal vents and filters similar to those used for forced air furnaces. The thermostat may appear similar, but will also include controls for air conditioning.
The outdoor unit usually states 'heat pump' on its label.
Hydronic Heating is another type of radiant heat, where hot water flows through tubes under the floor or through units that resemble baseboard heaters.
A hydronic system might be installed in ceilings.
Hydronic heating systems are sometimes used under concrete in driveways to keep snow and ice from accumulating.
Hydronic heating systems include a boiler that warms the circulating water. |
