Even in Shreveport, where it typically doesn’t get that cold, it can be quite costly to keep your home heated in the winter. In terms of upfront costs, an electric furnace is almost always the least expensive choice.
Nonetheless, electric furnaces consume far more energy than the other options, meaning your heating costs will be highest if you go this route. If you’re building a new house or need to replace your current heating system, you should carefully consider what type of heating you want to install.
Heat Pump System
Compared to an electric furnace or electric baseboard heating, an electric heat pump will allow you to heat your house for far less money. In fact, a heating pump system will typically be much less expensive to run compared to all of the available options.
Modern heat pumps are extremely efficient, allowing them to heat effectively while using around three times less energy than options like a gas furnace. Instead of just producing heat, as other units do, a heat pump pulls in heat from the air outside and then releases it inside to raise the air temperature throughout the house. The refrigerant in a heat pump system works extremely well at capturing and transferring heat, allowing the system to continue heating effectively even in extremely cold temperatures.
The other major benefit of having a heat pump is that it provides air conditioning and keeps your home cool on even blisteringly hot summer days. The thing that makes a heat pump different from a traditional central AC is that it has a reversing valve.
This valve allows the refrigerant to flow through the system in either direction so that the system can transfer heat within the house outside or bring heat inside. The one potential negative of a heat pump is that it will usually have at least a slightly shorter life expectancy than other HVAC units. Traditional HVAC units only heat or cool and, thus, only run for part of the year, whereas a heat pump gets quite a bit of use all year long and experiences more wear and tear.
Another great thing about installing a new heat pump system is that it can get you up to a $2,000 federal income tax credit. To qualify for this credit, the system must be installed by a licensed HVAC contractor and meet certain cooling and heating efficiency standards. The total amount of credit you can get is also limited to 30% of the cost of purchasing the new system and having a contractor install it.
Boiler and Radiant Heating System
A radiant heating system is also an excellent choice that will provide effective and energy-efficient heating. Gas boilers generally aren’t any more energy efficient than furnaces. Nonetheless, radiant heating systems tend to cost less to run than traditional furnace and forced-air heating systems.
The biggest issue with forced-air systems is that they just heat the air in the house, and air isn’t great at retaining heat. That means the air starts to cool off fairly quickly after the system turns off. The other problem is that the hot air immediately rises to the ceiling. These two issues combined are why a forced-air system often has to cycle on several times an hour.
Instead of directly heating the air, a radiant heating system uses hot water (or sometimes steam) to heat various surfaces and objects in each room. The system occasionally pumps hot water to each radiator or through the underfloor heating coils. Heat then continually radiates off the floor or the radiator and gets absorbed by the walls, furniture, and cabinets. The heat that then radiates off all of the surfaces and objects warms the air up as well. Each room stays warmer longer, and you get more consistent temperatures throughout the entire space.
If you want to install radiant heating in a home you’re building or fully renovating or you need to replace your old boiler, it’s definitely worth investing in a high-efficiency condensing boiler instead of a conventional boiler. That’s because the boiler will waste less energy and likely keep your heating costs at least 10% lower than they’d be with a conventional boiler.
A high-efficiency combination or combi-boiler can be an even better option, as it will also serve as a water heater to meet all of your plumbing system’s hot water needs. This type of unit is essentially the same thing as a tankless water heater. The difference is that it has pipes connected to it in a closed loop for the radiant heating system along with a cold water intake pipe and hot water outlet pipe connected to the plumbing system.
Gas Furnace
Despite the drawbacks of a forced-air heating system we just mentioned, a gas furnace is still a great option. The main reason is that it provides the most effective heating and raises the temperature much faster than a heat pump or radiant heating system. These other two systems are great at keeping the temperature consistent once the entire house is fully warm. However, they heat quite slowly and usually only produce a temperature rise of about 1 degree per hour.
It’s also possible that a gas furnace won’t cost all that much more to run than a heat pump would, despite the furnace not being nearly as efficient. That’s just because natural gas prices are usually quite a bit lower than electricity prices, especially in Louisiana, which has some of the cheapest natural gas in the country.
As with a boiler, it’s usually worth paying the extra cost for a high-efficiency condensing furnace. Not only will it use less energy, but it will also heat your home more effectively than a conventional furnace. A high-efficiency furnace usually lasts longer as well since it runs less and doesn’t experience as much wear and tear as a conventional furnace.
Shreveport’s HVAC and Plumbing Professionals
With 65 years of experience, Bobby L. Greene Plumbing, Heating & Cooling Co. is the most trusted plumbing and HVAC company in Shreveport. When you’re in the market for a new heating system for your home, you can turn to us for expert advice on which option is best. We install heat pumps, furnaces and boilers along with central ACs and ductless mini-splits and have options to suit homes of all sizes. No matter which option you choose, our expert technicians will make sure the installation goes smoothly and that your new unit works correctly.
We have financing options for new HVAC systems that are available on approved credit as well. If your central HVAC system or radiant heating system isn’t working properly, we also specialize in repairs and maintenance. We offer same-day services and are available 24/7 to handle any heating, air conditioning and plumbing emergencies. To speak to our team and get help selecting the right option for heating your home, give us a call today.
