Furnace Repair & Installation

A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system is the system that keeps a building cool, warm, and ventilated as necessary. Each of these three components plays an important role in keeping the home or commercial building’s occupants healthy, safe, and comfortable.

There are many different types of heating systems available. If you live in an older home, you might have steam radiators or an oil tank. These older systems can work safely and warm the home as needed, but they are less efficient than newer systems. Consider replacing your current system or discussing ways you can make it more efficient with an experienced HVAC professional.

Types of Heating Systems

49 percent of homes are heated with natural gas. 34 percent are heated with electricity. Among the remaining homes, some are heated with oil, some are heated with wood, some are heated with propane, and others have no heating systems at all. According to energy.gov, a home’s heating bill usually makes up the bulk of its utility bill.

Beyond the energy sources that create heat in homes, heat is distributed through homes in a variety of ways. These include:

• Forced hot air systems. With this type of system, air is heated by a furnace and distributed through the home’s ducts, entering rooms through metal grates;
• Steam radiators. Water is heated in a boiler and transferred via pipes to cast iron radiators that emit heat through steam;
• Baseboard heating. Like with a radiator system, a baseboard heating system uses water heated in a boiler to transmit heat through metal units;
• Radiant heat. Tubes below the floor’s surface and sometimes in the home’s ceilings transfer hot water to provide an even heat; and
• Geothermal systems. This modern type of heating system uses the planet’s natural heat to warm homes by moving heat through a geothermal loop pipe. Geothermal heating systems are considerably more efficient at heating and cooling homes than traditional heating and cooling systems, but they are also far more expensive to install.

Heating System Maintenance

The right maintenance schedule for your heating system depends on the type of system in your home. In most cases, a heating system should be serviced twice each year.

Similarly, the extent of the maintenance your system needs depends on the type of system you have. For example, a system that uses a water boiler will need to have its water temperature and pressure checked at each service visit, and the system drained and flushed every five years. With an oil-based system, the oil nozzle will need to be replaced when it becomes blocked with buildup.

Work with an Experienced St. John Heating and Cooling Professional

If you are planning on installing a new HVAC system in your home, if you need to have your system serviced, or if you are considering upgrading your existing system, contact our team of experienced HVAC professionals at Naughton Mechanical LLC today to set up your initial consultation with us. For close to 30 years, our team has served Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana’s heating, cooling, and refrigeration needs.