The choice of a method for heating a house is one of the most important decisions to be made. It affects not only the thermal comfort of the residents, but also the expenses. Therefore, heating must be efficient and economical at the same time. Learn about the most popular methods and find out which ones are worth considering. Find out what type of heating is worth choosing for your home, so that the costs do not overwhelm you.
Before you find out which heating for your home is worth choosing, learn about the most popular solutions. This will give you an idea of what each of them consists of, as well as their advantages and disadvantages. This will certainly help you make the right decision, which you will not regret in the future.
Coal boilers are still very popular in Poland. Due to high environmental pollution, Class 5 models are now on sale, which are characterized by high efficiency and the fact that they emit far less harmful substances. They are also equipped with automatic feeders, which make their operation very convenient. In addition, the boiler can be equipped with a special controller. Thanks to it, you can remotely operate the stove, even when you are away from home. This is a very convenient solution for ensuring optimal temperature in the house.
It should be remembered that even when buying a boiler with the necessary certificates, harmful pollutants are still emitted into the atmosphere when burning coal. This is undoubtedly the biggest disadvantage of this method of heating.
This is another popular way to provide thermal comfort in a building. Wood and pellets are also cheaper than electricity or oil. Their advantage is also their high availability. Pellets are made from dried and compressed wood waste. When burned, it emits a small amount of harmful substances, plus it is hassle-free to transport and store.
If you are wondering what is the best way to heat your home, you have certainly also considered the possibility of installing a gas-fired boiler. Such boilers are low-maintenance both in operation and maintenance. With the help of wired and wireless controllers from Engo Controls, you can conveniently control your heating appliance. However, you have to reckon with the high cost of heating with gas, since this type of fuel is expensive. Nevertheless, it is an environmentally friendly way to provide heat in your home, so it is worth considering this option.
This is also a rather expensive method of heating your home due to high electricity prices, which are expected to be even higher once you exceed a certain consumption limit. However, if you are interested in this solution, you need to know that there are different options available. Accumulation heating is basically stoves that accumulate heat when electricity is cheapest, and give it back to the environment during the day, when it is more expensive. Another type is convection heating. It converts electricity into heat through the phenomenon of convection. Most often, however, it is an additional source of heating.
You can also opt for electric heating. It can be conveniently controlled with temperature controllers. Electric heating does not require building a chimney or collecting fuel, which translates into comfort.
The most cost-effective way to heat a house is to use a heat pump that draws energy from the environment. This is a virtually maintenance-free device that draws from renewable energy sources. It significantly reduces the costs associated with heating the house. It needs access to electricity, but energy consumption is very low. A heat pump is an excellent solution especially for modern houses with high energy standards. The biggest disadvantage of this heating method is undoubtedly the price of purchasing and installing the pump.
When choosing the best home heating, the first thing to consider is the heat demand of the building. It depends primarily on the state of thermal insulation and heat loss. It presents itself as follows for buildings with specific parameters:
– for passive buildings: 10-15 kWh/ m2;
– for energy-efficient buildings: 50-70 kWh/m2;
– for buildings with standard insulation: 80-120 kWh/m2;
– for older insulated buildings: 140-160 kWh/m2;
– for uninsulated buildings: 170-200 kWh/m2.
In the following table you will find an example of cost calculations of different methods of heating and hot water preparation for a house with standard insulation, whose heat demand is 95 kWh/m2 per year. A building with an area of 150 m2 is inhabited by 4 people.
Electric boiler | Condensing gas boiler | Coal boiler | Wood boiler | Pellet boiler | Air source heat pump |
20 790 PLN | 6 490 PLN | 6 410 PLN | 6 710 PLN | 7 880 PLN | 5 960 PLN |
As you can see, the cost of heating with different devices varies greatly. By far the most expensive is the use of an electric boiler, which is due to the high price of electricity. It works best as an additional source of heat, which is used only occasionally.
The cheapest heating is the use of a heat pump. Despite the high cost of purchase and installation, this investment can pay for itself after several years. It is also possible to receive subsidies for the installation of this heat source.
It is necessary to think about the choice of heating method already at the stage of designing the house. It is also necessary to check the Local Land Use Plan. It contains a lot of valuable information – including information on the permitted methods of heating the building. You also need to take into account access to utilities, which mainly concerns those planning gas heating. It is also worth thinking about the comfort of the installation. Virtually maintenance-free devices that require minimal involvement of the householder will work best.