New York winters are downright frigid, but that does not mean you have to sacrifice comfort to keep your heating bills affordable. Brooklyn heating contractors can offer valuable advice and practical tips for using less energy and saving money. Here are a few ways consumers can save money and keep their home warm this winter.
Brooklyn Heating Contractors Provide Maintenance
One way to save money is by having regular maintenance performed before each heating season. Systems run more efficiently when they are kept clean, and problems found before they cause damage. Routine maintenance programs include cleaning and vacuuming the system, checking for leaks and changing air filters.
Another money-saving tip is to upgrade your old system to a newer Energy Star furnace or boiler. Energy Star appliances have stricter standards for efficiency and use less energy to run. Upgrading to a newer heating system not only saves money but improves the home’s equity value.
Radiant heating uses steam heat to provide warm and is more energy-efficient than gas or oil. Heating and plumbing expert for This Old House Richard Trethewey, recommends radiant floor heating as an extremely efficient way to heat a home and reduce energy costs. Aladdin Plumbing made a This Old House appearance on their Brooklyn build.
Contrast that with what happens in a conventional forced-air heating system, the kind found in most American homes. Air blows out of the registers at a well-baked 120 degrees, rises to the top of the room where it quickly sheds heat, then drops back down as it cools. The air in the room becomes uncomfortably stratified: Your head can be bathed in warmth while your toes lie in the frozen zone. Then there’s the problem of cycling. “You turn on the furnace, it quickly takes you to 68 or 70, and then shuts off,” says Richard. The result is a phenomenon he calls “the cold 70,” which is what you feel right after the hot air stops pumping from the registers. Those jarring ups and downs are absent with radiant floors, which may reach 85 degrees, tops, on a frigid day. The warm air still rises, but it does so evenly over the entire floor, so the coolest air stays up at the ceiling. “You’re heating where the people are,” Richard says.
What is Radiant Heating?
There are two types of radiant heating. One are free-standing heaters that circulate oil or water inside of a closed system. Another is a permanent hydronic system installed under the floor. Hot water tubes run underneath floorboards allowing heat to radiate upwards providing warmth while maintaining a consistent indoor temperature. One way that heat escapes in older homes is through uninsulated flooring, and a cold floor can make it seem even colder tempting us to crank up the thermostat.
For more information on the benefits of radiant floor heating or upgrading an old system, contact Aladdin Plumbing Corp. We are experts in heating, cooling and plumbing and have been providing excellent service to our customers in the Brooklyn and Tri-State Area since 1976.