In this post, we're going to continue our series on heating to review Forced Hot Air Heat.
In Massachusetts, Forced Hot Air systems have become the preferred choice of most builders and buyers. As we noted in the last post, this is primarily due to it's compatibility with A/C, as we'll discuss below. This is part of a series where we look at heating systems, including distribution systems (hot water, hot air, and electric) as well as the heating units themselves (burners and furnaces).
How does Forced Hot Air Work?
Forced Hot Air is produced when the heating element heats air. Now, there's two ways that a system can do this, one is "direct" where it heats the air directly, and one is "indirect" where it heats something else (like water,) and then air from the home is circulated around the hot element, heating it up. Either way, air from the home is circulated through duct work - house air comes from "return" ducts, is heated and then is pushed out to the various rooms. This process continues until the thermostat tells the burner that the room is at the correct temperature.
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Advantages/Disadvantages of Forced Hot Water Systems
The main advantage is that it is very simple to add Air Conditioning to a home with forced air ducts. The heating and cooling systems can use the same transport system, which is very convenient.
Most of the disadvantages have solutions, but it's worth noting which might be missing in your setup. The primary complaint, especially with directly heated air systems, is that the air in the winter rapidly dries up, lowering the humidity uncomfortably in the winter. This is most commonly solved by adding a humidifier to the duct work, which simply adds water to the air if it gets too dry. Indirect heat system for air are supposed to avoid this issue entirely, which is why they avoid heating the air in the first place. Forced Air Systems do create moving air, and sometimes the vents are place in such a way where that air is uncomfortable, or there is noise. Forced Air systems do have air filters that require annual maintenance, but they help pull pollen and allergens out of the air, so that's both a plus (cleaner air) and a minus (buying and replacing filters). Also, forced air is more difficult to "control" in terms of hot and cold spots, but generally the difference is a mild annoyance in the areas where it is a problem. Other disadvantages include that you will likely be looking at "tank based" hot water systems, commonly electric, but sometimes gas, and the tanks don't provide "endless" hot water, but usually enough in most cases when sized correctly for the house/family. Obviously, not all families use the same amount of hot water, so some families may need larger tanks.
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If A home has forced Hot Air does it use Gas? Probably, but it's not a given. Forced hot Air systems can use Oil burners/boilers as well. The delivery system, the duct work, is really separate from the heating elements in the system.
Should I Pay More or Less for a Home with Forced Hot Air? Generally, buyers pay about the same for Forced Hot Water and Forced Hot Air when they purchase homes. The market generally discounts homes that have electric heat, which is seen as less desirable.
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Matt Heisler
*All information is posted in good faith and is assumed to be reliable, but may rely on third party information sources.
