The heat of Texas Summer is over – mostly!! Fall weather is late but it is upon us again and Winter is just around the corner. Many homeowners call us with heating issues and aren’t sure what kind of heating system they have. Below are the common types of heating systems in Texas that you will find in your home and how to identify them.
Gas Furnace:
Gas furnaces run of of natural gas piped into you home. A gas furnace is the most common, and in our opinion, the best form of heating equipment in the DFW area. Gas furnaces are less expensive to run because natural gas has been historically cheaper to buy than electricity. Natural gas futures also show that it will be an affordable fuel supply for many years to come. Another option in some areas is to retrofit a natural gas furnace to burn propane gas. Unfortunately, if your home doesn’t have gas service, then this heating option is not available to you. To see if you have a gas furnace, go into the attic or closet where your indoor AC / Heat unit is located. A gas furnace will have two visible components:
A thick metal flue vent that is 4″ or more in diameter
A rigid, 1/2″ gas line running into the heating unit.
Electric Heat:
Electric heater systems are coils that are installed inside of air handlers that run off of electricity only. This heating method can be expensive to operate if you have a high heating demand. An electric heating unit can be identified a couple of ways:
Look at your breaker panel and find the breaker labeled “heat”, an electric heating system will have one large breaker (100amp) or two medium sized breakers (30 amp or 60amp).
Look at your indoor heating / AC unit – the absence of the 4″ flue vent or rigid gas line described for the gas furnace is another clue that you have an electric heater.
If you have electric heat don’t feel like you are destined to pay heating bills forever. Fortunately, you can pair electric heat with a Heat Pump unit that we will talk about next to keep the winter bills down.
Heat Pump:
The concept of a heat pump is something that can confuse customers if they haven’t worked with one before. Here is why: A heat pump creates heat by running your air conditioner in the winter time. How is that possible? A heat pump has the ability to reverse the cycle of refrigerant so that it makes hot air in the winter and cold air in the summer. Heat pumps run off of electricity also, but have the advantage of using less energy than most electric heat systems.
Heat pumps are designed for moderate climates like DFW, so they have trouble keeping up when the temperature dips below freezing. Because of this, heat pumps are usually paired with “emergency” heat systems to keep you warm in the extreme cold. Since heat pumps look like regular air conditioners, they are difficult to identify by the untrained eye. One way to check is to look at your thermostat. Go through the COOL/HEAT/OFF settings. If you come across a setting that says EM HEAT or AUX HEAT, odds are that you have heat pump.
So if you aren’t sure what is heating your home, take the information you learned today and go take a look to see what you have. Keep in mind that heating equipment is dangerous and easily burn or electrocute anyone who isn’t trained and being cautious. Always rely on an expert for your heating maintenance and repair needs.
Unless you have lived in your Maryland home when the current heating system was installed, you may not be able to tell which kind of HVAC system you have just by looking at it. Determining whether you have a heat pump or a conventional system can be difficult, as the equipment can appear very similar. In our most recent blog, the HVAC system technicians at Grove Heating & Cooling will help you size up your heating system and determine which type is installed in your home.
To cool your home, heat pumps and conventional heating and cooling systems operate in the same way – they move heat from inside to the outdoors. This similarity can make it difficult to determine if you have a heat pump or a conventional system.
Where heat pumps and conventional HVAC systems really differ is in the way they heat. A heat pump runs its heating process opposite of its cooling process, moving heat from outdoors to the inside of the home to add warmth. Conventional boilers and furnaces function differently by burning fuel to generate heat. Heat pumps are able to function as a heating and cooling system, an attribute that many Maryland homeowners appreciate.
Central heat pumps and furnaces are both types of forced air heating systems. Air heated by transferring warmth from the heat pump is distributed through the home’s duct system to heat your home. Once air is heated by the furnace’s combustion process, it also cycles through ducts to reach living areas. Boilers heat water, which is then piped through the home and emitted using radiators to provide radiant heat.
Furnace and boiler system components sit inside the house, while heat pumps have indoor and outdoor components. A furnace is a single metal cabinet installed vertically or horizontally. Boilers have two indoor components, including a furnace and a vessel that holds hot water. In a heat pump system, the actual heat pump is the outdoor unit that closely resembles a traditional air conditioner. It moves heat between the heat pump and the air handler, which sits inside – this is known as a split system, as half the equipment is indoors and the other half is outdoors.
When you need to know whether you have a heat pump or a conventional system, the best way to solve this mystery is to inspect the outdoor unit. Look around the exterior housing to find an attached metal plate that lists the model number and other information. If this plate does not specifically say whether the unit is a heat pump or an air conditioner, write down the model number.
Next, search the unit’s brand and model number online. There are countless resources online that are helpful as you learn how to tell if you have a heat pump or a conventional system. With the model number to your outdoor unit, you can likely access the owner’s manual online, which comes in handy if the original is missing.
If an internet search turns up empty, there is one more thing to try to determine if you have a heat pump or a conventional system. Turn your thermostat to HEAT mode and adjust the temperature until the thermostat triggers a heating cycle. Once the heating system is running, go back outside to the exterior unit – if this equipment is on and blowing air, it’s a heat pump.
Knowing how to tell if you have a heat pump or conventional system is helpful when you experience troubles with your heating system. When you call Grove Heating & Cooling for service, let us know what type of system your home has. If you still aren’t entirely sure, don’t worry – our technicians will definitely find the answer during your service call. Schedule your appointment today!