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FORCED
AIR HEATING – WHY IT’S RIGHT FOR YOU
By:
Ted J. Carey
C
and C Service
Hillsdale, New Jersey 
There are many myths & fallacies
surrounding forced air heating that have
permeated the
home-construction industry over the years. The following
argument will attempt to dispel these misconceptions by
concluding that today’s forced air systems are vastly
superior in quality and performance to all other types
of heating systems available.
The historic roots of everyone’s
innate prejudice against forced-air heating probably
trace back to post WWII America. In this era an
unprecedented prosperity was realized and with that came
a construction boom that moved too quickly for good
sense to keep pace. Split-level and ranch-style homes
sprung up across the landscape like wildflowers in a
meadow. In practically every one of those homes, a
“hot air” furnace was installed to provide heat to
the dwelling… however, virtually every system was installed
improperly. Each system had more supply outlets than
returns -- the opposite of what is known today to be the
ratio required for proper circulation. In addition, all
the supplies were installed to the interior partitions
with the returns on the outside (and usually
uninsulated) walls.
Think of how comfortable a home would be if the
radiant baseboard were installed to inside walls. All of
this, coupled with the relative ignorance of the day
regarding humidification & air filtration, was
enough to leave entire generations of Americans with the
attitude… “Hot air? Not in my house!!!”
Today, enlightened engineering
and design combined with proper duct sizing and
installation techniques, allow forced-air systems to
provide year round comfort and convenience to every home
built in America. This is an assertion that no baseboard
radiation system can make. It is supported by the
various features of forced-air heating itemized below
for comparison with the more popular home heating
systems available in today’s market.
·
Lower construction cost. The savings realized by combining
your heating & cooling systems are obvious. With a
forced-air system, the furnace provides air delivery in
both summer and winter.
Utilizing the same ductwork minimizes the
construction costs associated with independent heating
and cooling installations.
·
Aesthetic benefits of a warm-air delivery system as opposed
to baseboard radiation cannot be overlooked. A room that would otherwise require an entire outside wall to
be sacrificed to the radiation element, can be serviced
with just two or three wall registers, strategically
positioned to best work with the furniture pattern of
the room, liberating design options for homeowners &
interior decorators.
·
Greater efficiency. Forced air systems are more efficient
because they directly heat the medium of optimum concern
-- the room’s air supply.
Baseboard
radiation systems first heat a standing reservoir of
water and then circulate this medium through the
baseboard element, which in turn warms the room through
a process known as convection - where room air
gravitates in a ponderously slow thermal pinwheel across
this most typical of hot-water heat exchangers.
Systems
designed to heat an entire residence with in-floor
radiant loops take this heated reservoir and circulate
it through prelaid piping that warms the floor. This
heated floor radiates to people & objects in the
space, these in turn warming the air that the thermostat
is sensing.
·
Improved comfort. With a professional duct design
and proper installation, the fear of uneven
temperature levels in the home is virtually eliminated.
However, be aware that this is the single most
critical issue when deciding on a combination
heating/cooling system. An improper duct design
and/or installation by an inexperienced contractor can
be both devastating to a system’s performance, and
costly to rectify once the problems become evident. Your
needs will best be met by discussing your system’s
design with a qualified contractor… allowing him to
determine your individual requirements, as well as for
you to become comfortable with his expertise. If a
system is already in place, discussing its design &
installation with the builder and/or contractor will
allow you the same level of confidence. A qualified
contractor will always be happy to educate the homeowner
about the system’s benefits & design features.
·
Filtration is another amenity only available through forced
air systems. High-performance filtration devices remove
airborne contaminants in the microscopic range, all but
eliminating an allergy sufferers’ woes. A secondary
benefit realized through the correct usage of these
filtration devices, is reduced dust settlement in the
home. With an appropriately outfitted system, your
home should never be more dust and contaminant free.
·
Humidification, a comfort and money saving enhancement to a
system, is reason alone to opt for forced-air over any
other type of heating system. Cold air doesn’t have
the capacity to hold moisture the way that warmer air
does. This is the reason winter is typically the driest
season. Heating dries this cold air even further. It
doesn’t matter if heated by furnace, radiation, or
convection… to heat air is to dry it.
Forced
air heating is the only type of system that offers a solution
to this problem. A
humidifier, properly sized and installed to the duct
system, alleviates the general condition of dry air
along with all of the ailments associated with it… dry
skin, dry nasal cavity, etc.
Additional benefits include reduced shrinkage
& cracking of construction materials in your home,
longer life for fine furnishings, and the elimination of
static zaps to you and your electrical appliances &
computers, caused by dry air.
Most
importantly, with proper humidity levels maintained in
the home, comfort is realized at lower temperature
settings. 68 degrees at 40%RH is sensibly equivalent to
72 degrees at 15%RH (the estimated dryness of the
average American home). Set your thermostat 4 degrees
lower all winter, while your family enjoys the comfort
provided by a properly sized humidifier. Lower heating
bills with greater comfort – a unique feature of
forced-air heating.
No
other type of heating comes close to providing the
efficiency, comfort, health benefits and indoor air
quality that a properly designed, installed, and
serviced forced-air system affords.
FORCED-AIR HEATING OPTIONS IN RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION
A Follow up to FORCED-AIR
HEATING – WHY IT’S RIGHT FOR YOU
By:
Ted J.
Carey
C
and C Service
Hillsdale, New Jersey
 Outlined
below are the two basic designs available for
consideration before installing a particular style of
forced air heat in residential construction.
Budget-Conscious Designs
The
most typical system design can be provided at a
relatively reasonable cost for any home under 3,000
square foot in total area. This system allows for one or maybe two warm air furnaces,
each dedicated to a level of the home and outfitted with
a cooling section. A humidifier, a must for any forced
air system, is sized for the entire residence. A digital
thermostat will be centrally situated in each zone with
the humidistat located in the living area.
In
addition to this basic yet effective design, the
consumer may desire one or more of the following
upgrades:
· High efficient air filtration
· Additional zoning breakdowns
· Upgrading the efficiency ratings of the heating
& cooling equipment.
Ultra-Comfort Installations
This design, the optimum in residential comfort, is
generally provided to homes of 5,000 square foot and
above. It is a hybrid of the hydronic and forced-air
systems, offering the best of both technologies.
A boiler is utilized to produce a reservoir of hot
water, which is then pumped to various air-handlers
situated throughout the residence; each equipped with a
coil in its air-stream. Room air is directed across this
compressed version of a radiant loop, forcibly
extracting the heat for delivery to the individual zone.
Among the most-notable benefits of this design is
the centralization of the “burn”, where the fuel is
consumed to generate your home’s heat. Multiple
furnaces are eliminated.
Typically, larger homes will tend to have many
more, smaller zones… making this a relevant point to
consider. Each designated area can have its own
thermostatically controlled air-handler with hot water
coil & cooling coil onboard, without the concerns
associated with the placement of fuel-burning equipment.
This allows for greater flexibility when dealing
with individual needs & desires within the home.
Reduced operating costs, year in and year out, are also
realized with a multiple zone installation. In addition,
heat developed for delivery to an area tends to be a
softer, gentler heat than that generated by a
traditional gas furnace. This is because water
temperature through the coil can be adjusted to deliver
lower-temperature discharge air. With a gas-fired
furnace, air temperature rise across the heat exchanger
is less manipulatable.
Additionally, the available reserve of hot water
allows for radiant floor zones to be included in the
design -- usually installed in the master bath or any
other tiled area where a warm floor might be viewed as a
welcome pleasure to bare feet. These zones are designed
as enhancements to the overall warm-air delivery system
and are not, in this instance, relied upon to heat the
individual zones themselves.
Ultra installations typically include
humidification, high-efficiency air filtration and
digital setback thermostats. Upgrades might include
higher equipment efficiency ratings as well as more
elaborate steam humidification systems and ultraviolet
treatment of your air stream in order to thwart the
growth of mold within a duct system. A digital comfort
control package, integrating your home’s HVAC system
with your computer for centralized operation, might also
be an option to consider on these high-end
installations.
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