As environmental concerns continue to rise, homeowners are looking for new ways to heat, cool and ventilate their homes. Solar panels already provide electricity for millions of Americans, but unless you’re an HVAC professional, you might not have heard about the benefits of solar heating.
What’s the difference between solar heating and traditional options?
You can heat your home in several ways. While furnaces and heat pumps rely on forced-air ductwork to fill your home warm hot air, a radiant heating system heats your home by directly transferring heat from water pipes, electric cables or air that circulate under floors or behind walls. Solar and radiant heat are often joined in highly efficient and well-performing residential heating systems.
Solar heating systems can heat either water or air, so they’re especially effective at saving energy and heating spaces immediately. Back-up heaters are usually necessary to make up for drops in solar energy, but if you use a liquid heating system such as a hot water radiator, you can heat water with solar energy and store it for future use.
How does solar heating save you money?
You may well be eligible to receive tax credits for retrofitting your home to take advantage of eco-friendly energy sources, including solar and geothermal. Geothermal heat pumps may qualify for federal and other tax credits and incentives, and if you install a solar heating system, you might be eligible for further rewards.
Of course, there are also long-term economic benefits of solar heating systems. When you stop depending on combustion heating, with gas or propane, you protect the environment, your heating system and your budget at the same time. These alternative energy systems also reduce your overall energy use and require less frequent maintenance. And if you take extra steps to maximize your savings – for example, lowering your water heater temperature to prevent unnecessary energy use – the impact might be even greater.
If you would like more information on heating options for your home, contact us today at Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning. We’ve operated from Lorain for more than three decades and know the importance of weathering our Lake Erie winters without wasting money or electricity.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lorain, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about solar heating and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning
1 (440) 246-5440
Serving the Lorain, OH Area