Goettl Technician replacing duct filter

Radiant vs. Forced Air Heating

radiant-heatingFor most people in our area, keeping one’s home comfortable generally means running the air conditioner. While the heat of our summer seasons certainly outweighs the chill of winter nights, it is important to remember the role that your heater plays, as well. It gets more than cold enough to cause discomfort around here in the winter, and your heater in Rancho Cucamonga, CA needs to be up to the task of heating your home in an effective and reliable manner.

If you have a new home being built, or if the time has come to replace your heating system in your existing home, then we strongly recommend that you consider your heating options carefully. Remember, you don’t always have to stick with what you’ve been using. There are a lot of different types of heating systems to consider,  and they work in different ways. Today, we are going to look at some pros and cons of forced air and radiant heating systems.

Forced Air Heating Systems

A forced air heating system, such as a heat pump or a furnace, is one that uses air ducts in order to distribute heated air throughout the house—or, in the case of the heat pump, heated or cooled air. That distinction is a topic for another post, though. Today, we’re just looking at the fundamentals of forced air heating.

Once air is heated, the fan in the system forces (hence the name) that air through the air ducts. The pros here are that this allows for very prompt and effective heating of the entire house, provided that the air ducts are properly installed and that the ductwork is well-designed for the home in question. There are some cons to consider too, though.

Hot air can rise up and get stuck at the ceiling, where it is not really doing anyone any good. This is particularly problematic in homes with high ceilings. Also, leaky ductwork is a very common issue that homeowners may not catch onto right away. Just because you don’t notice it right away doesn’t mean that you are not wasting money and enjoying less comfort right away, though.

Radiant Heating Systems

Radiant heating systems don’t use ductwork because they don’t heat air. Instead, these systems apply heat directly to surfaces in the home, most commonly the floors. Typically this is accomplished with the use of an in-floor hydronic heating system, meaning that water heated by the boiler is piped throughout the house via a system of tubes.

Water retains heat much better than air, and you don’t have to worry about leaks in ductwork, so radiant heating is quite efficient. It also tends to keep heat down in the living space where it belongs better than forced air heating does, as the heat radiates up from the ground to objects and people in the rooms.

Installing this type of system is a pretty big job, though, particularly in existing properties, so it’s best to do it at the time of construction or when remodeling your home. Radiant heating systems last a long time, but they also tend to cost more upfront than forced air systems. They also cannot share existing ductwork with your AC as the furnace can. If you have any questions about these heating methods, just give the pros at Goettl Air Conditioning SoCal a call.

G–O–E–T–T–L–it’ll keep you cool but it’s hard to spell.

Testimonials

What Our Customers Say About Us

Arthur FortesArthur Fortes
17:47 06 Dec 23
Michael was great and explained everything clearly!!
Lawrence PeteLawrence Pete
17:38 06 Dec 23
Very thorough performing service give customers more options to decide...no pressure he worked on the HVAC system
B SimonB Simon
17:11 06 Dec 23
Ralph. Came out on time. Very professional, knowledgeable. Did excellent work
Jennifer WebbJennifer Webb
23:48 05 Dec 23
Friendly fast service. Matthew was very pleasant, did a systems check and showed and explained everything that was needed with suggestions and prices.
Denise TamezDenise Tamez
23:03 05 Dec 23
Ralph did an excellent job! Thank you for the wonderful service!
Ernest RodriguezErnest Rodriguez
18:23 04 Dec 23
Carl JacksonCarl Jackson
15:00 04 Dec 23
The work was very professional & neat , I was very surprised about the quality of workmanship. The crew was very knowledgeable & very respectful while working. I would recommend Goettl plumbing to anyone with the great job they have done….
Cheryl SkatesCheryl Skates
22:54 03 Dec 23
Did a great job servicing are unit. Answered all our questions.
Diane WainnerrDiane Wainnerr
01:32 03 Dec 23
I was very pleased with Goettl Plumbing/AC company . Joseph came out and was excellent at explaining the issues that were going on with our pipes & then did a great job fixing the issues. Thanks, Goettl!
Rafiu BabatundeRafiu Babatunde
18:22 28 Nov 23
Catherine BowlesCatherine Bowles
17:21 28 Nov 23
was very helpful and professional 👏
Rachel RamosRachel Ramos
16:55 28 Nov 23
Tyler Leija was very thorough and explained everything carefully about our plumbing issues. I’m glad we called Goettl.. Thank You!
G force9299G force9299
15:32 28 Nov 23
William and Peter were amazing! Although Peter is in training, you would not have known if he didn't tell you. Services provided were top notch! Thank you!!!
Linda ClaytonLinda Clayton
22:25 25 Nov 23
Frank M is fabulous! Great service!Sam is wonderful. I would like them to send him every time. Great service. On time. Expert knowledge. Highly recommend!
Scott MillerScott Miller
00:41 25 Nov 23
Great job and fast response. Tyler did a great job.
J NevilJ Nevil
00:34 25 Nov 23
Roger came out on Thanksgiving Day to fix our unit. Turns out, our home builder completely shorted us on the amount of blown-in attic insulation (which you think a home inspector would have caught) and also our unit is too small for our house which is 4 years old. Roger took the time to explain all of this to us in detail and got our unit up and running. Thank you Roger!
Rosalyn DouglasRosalyn Douglas
22:37 24 Nov 23
Michael was very professional and polite. Got the job done in a timely manner installing the sensors.
Michael SchmidtMichael Schmidt
22:10 24 Nov 23
Joseph was professional, friendly, and very thorough. He answered all of our questions and gave us a detailed explanation of what the problem was and why it occurs.
Joel RuizJoel Ruiz
16:02 20 Nov 23
Ralph did a great job, was on time and explained everything very clearly.
Sunshines BuggySunshines Buggy
01:26 20 Nov 23
js_loader