Heating Old Homes And New Homes – Things To Consider

When considering whether you should buy a home, central heating installation is something you should take a closer look at. This is particularly true with rising energy costs.

Heating Issues

As you inspect potential homes, the central heating installation should be foremost in your mind. If the potential new home hasn’t already benefited from central heating installation, now is your chance to work out where it should go.

1. Layout – You might be surprised to learn that the layout of your home plays a large part in determining the central heating costs. While high ceilings are beautiful architectural aspects, they can be a huge heating issue. The fact that heat rises means you will need to leave the heating on for longer in order to heat the whole home. In short, high ceilings mean high central heating bills.

Another layout problem relates to how many floors your house has. Obviously the larger the home, the more appealing it is, but always think about how you’re going to heat the lower ground floors. With homes that have 3 stories, they are called tri-level homes and are often subject to the zone effect. The rooms on the bottom of the tri-level are always cool, while the top floor may be close to a sauna. Your energy bills will rise is you have a tri-level residence, so speak to your central heating installation provider about what options you have, and see if there is a modern-day solution.

2. Control Areas – One way to reduce the central heating requirements for high ceiling and tri-level homes is a controllable central heating system. Many modern heating systems allow you to isolate particular sections of the home you wish to heat. For those with large homes and rooms that don’t get maximum use, a controllable heating system could be a great idea. You can consider this for your central heating installation plans.

3. Vents – As a homeowner trying to be cost-effective, be sure to think about the vents in the home. In some homes, the vent layout appears to have been undertaken by a drunken sailor. You only need to think about vents underneath the windows to realise that this is a waste of heat and energy. Also look for very large rooms with one or no vents, as these rooms will take a long time to heat up.

To be fair, any new homes you view should have central heating installed properly and the above points shouldn’t be an issue. Just be wary of older homes, as their high ceilings and generally larger rooms can make your central heating and energy bills rocket.

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