Heating Your House During The Winter

Heating up a house is not only a way to keep inhabitants comfortable; it will keep them healthy, alive and your property intact. Human bodies must be kept at certain temperatures to maintain homeostasis. Homeostasis is a term that refers to keeping all systems within the body stable and working. Blood flow, nerve functioning, brain operations and every other working part of the body must be kept at minimum temps or it will shut down. 

Although our bodies are miraculous machines that can adapt to a certain amount of heat and cold, extremely frigid temperatures can shut it down, causing hypothermia, frostbite and death. Your house also needs to be kept at a certain level of warmth or pipes will freeze, plumbing systems will backfire and structural damage can occur. Having the appropriate heaters are about survival -- for the wellbeing of humans and buildings.

There are different ways to heat a house, including:

Central HVAC system: Some HVAC units are centrally located and provide heating and cooling throughout the entire house. The machinery is usually positioned outside the home on the roof or in the backyard. Ductwork runs through the walls and attic into each room and is delivered via vents. A thermostat monitors and controls the temperatures delivered by the unit.

Baseboard heaters: These are often fueled by electricity and are placed beneath windows in separate rooms. They are designed to warm up relatively small areas of specific square footage.

Wall units powered by propane: In rural settings, systems may be fueled by propane gas. These units may be positioned and vented through walls or set up to look like fireplaces with artificial flames. The propane gas is delivered by large trucks to a holding tank in the customer's yard. Tanks are typically 250-gallon capacity but can be smaller or larger, depending on the size of the abode.

Woodstoves: Woodstoves have been around for a long time and were used by our ancestors to warm up houses and as a cooking surface. A cast iron teapot was often left on top to provide a source of hot water to the inhabitants for drinking and bathing. Today, we still use this woodstove method as heaters but stoves have become much more efficient and attractive. They are fueled with timber which homeowners purchase or chop down themselves.

Pellet stoves: A newer version of the woodstove is the pellet variety. These are fueled by timber pellets, which are produced from scrap wood. It's a great way to utilize recycled timber waste and can be an extremely economical way to heat a home. The only downside is that a person can't just go chop his or her wood; he or she must buy the pellets from an outside source.

Solar: The sun is a source of natural solar heat. When it's powerful rays are harnessed by modern technology, it can be an effective and green way to provide warmth in an abode.

Heating a home can be done in a variety of ways. It is necessary to keep inhabitants and structures healthy and sound.