When building your own home, there really are an astounding number of decisions you need to make. The look, style, feel, materials, colors, almost every facet of your home needs to be considered during construction. While the stylistic things are just that, there are also a lot of practical choices that need to be made. In particular, the heating and cooling system you plan on using for your home. This can be the real challenge, as keeping your home temperate often requires a lot of work, especially if you’re using a standard HVAC system. The problem with central air and heating system is the large amount of ductwork that needs to be installed in your home, even before the plumbing and wiring go in. Not only does this take a lot of time and money from the outset, but these systems are not consistent when it comes to maintaining temperature, let alone the fact that they can cost you a small fortune when it comes to your energy bills.
So what is a better alternative to these bulky and cumbersome systems? Well, many home builders have been switching over to radiant heating systems built directly under the floor. These help to provide even, consistent heat, are cheap to install, and best of all, are very cost effective due to energy efficiency. The problem is, they don’t really do much for you in the summer, meaning that homeowners with radiant heat systems are still stuck with the duct. That is, unless you flip the system upside down.
A Floor System… In the Ceiling?
And why not?
European contractors have reversed the way that a radiant floor system works and installed them in the ceiling instead for a very effective result. Instead of piping hot water through the tubing, cold water is run through instead, and the result is a nice cool house all summer long. While some critics doubt the consistency of this type of cooling system, it’s been proven to work, even in the places where there is an extreme variance in temperature, such as Connecticut. The ceiling mounted radiant cooling system managed to keep the home at a consistent, comfortable temperature all summer long.
Other Benefits
It’s not just efficient heating and cooling from these systems that makes them desirable to install. Ceiling panel temperature systems are very cost effective in both time and money. First of all, you aren’t stuck waiting for the HVAC ducts to be installed when you’re building your new home. Ducts can be a lengthy process time wise, and until the ducts are in, you’re unable to run the electricity and plumbing. The ceiling panels eliminate that step which helps to shorten build time. What’s more is the radiant ceiling tiles also double as drywall, allowing you to finish a room faster and cheaper than with other systems. Also, radiant ceiling tiles don’t require a blower or a motor, which means they run silently, as well as help to cut down on the dust and bacteria that can aggravate symptoms for allergy sufferers. All told, if you’re looking for an energy efficient system to keep your home cool in the summer and warm in the winter that is both cost and energy efficient, then consider installing a radiant ceiling system.
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<a href=”https://plus.google.com/114412502820783104314?20rel=author” target=”self”>+Ken Uhrich</a> likes houses. In fact he lives in one. You can drop him a line at the Custom Home Group <a title=”granite and quartz countertops” href=”http://www.customhomegroup.com/blog” target=”self”>website</a>.