Staying warm during winter is always a challenge. There’s no shortage of options available – from portable electric heaters to gas ducted heating Adelaide, it’s easy to find a solution for every budget.
But heating is an energy-intensive process. The cost of keeping your home warm can quickly add up, especially if you’re using an electric panel heater in every room. If you want to beat the cold while looking after your back pocket, gas-ducted heating is the answer. Gas ducted heating is an affordable, effective, and highly efficient solution for heating your home, and it’s ideal for anyone that lives in a mild climate. In this article, we’re going to explore gas-ducted heaters in more detail to see why they’re the ultimate choice for heating your home.
What Is Gas Ducted Heating?
Gas ducted heating is a whole-home heating solution that uses a central furnace to distribute heat throughout an entire property. These furnaces are typically installed in the ceiling, and they transfer heat around your home using a series of ductwork. The ductwork is separated into multiple ‘zones’ using valves that can be opened or shut. This allows you to direct heat to rooms that are in use while shutting off the ducts in rooms that are empty. Using zoning controls not only makes it easy to heat your entire home at once, it means you don’t have to heat rooms that aren’t in use, saving money on your gas bills.
The Benefits Of Gas-Ducted Heating
When it comes to heating your home in winter, nothing beats gas-ducted heating. It offers several major benefits when compared to alternatives such as electric heating and reverse cycle air conditioning:
- Energy Efficiency – Gas ducted heating is far more energy efficient than electric panel heaters. About 90% of the energy in the gas is converted into heat, making them an effective way of heating any space.
- Lower Running Costs – Gas heaters are not only more efficient than electric heaters, but gas also costs less than electricity. Australia’s energy prices vary, but you can expect to pay about 5c per MJ of gas, while you’ll pay more like 28c per kW of electricity. This difference can add up to hundreds of dollars over the course of a single winter.
- Environmentally Friendly – Natural gas is a much more environmentally friendly resource than coal-fired electricity. Burning natural gas creates about 50-60% less carbon dioxide than burning coal. This reduces your overall carbon footprint and can help you make the shift away from fossil fuels.
- Instant Warmth – The major benefit of gas ducted heating is that it provides instant warmth throughout your house. Because gas heaters burn natural gas, they generate lots of heat very quickly, and this can easily be distributed throughout your home. Compared to electric heaters and reverse cycle air conditioning, gas-ducted heaters are much better at providing heat quickly.
- Quiet Operation – Gas heaters work using simple principles. Inside your heater, gas is burned to create heat within a heat exchanger. Air is passed over the heat exchanger, where it absorbs warmth before being distributed throughout your home. This is achieved using fans and blower motors, which are almost silent when compared to the compressors used to power reverse-cycle air conditioners.
- Low Maintenance Requirements – Gas ducted heaters are simple appliances that require very little maintenance. Your system should be serviced every 6-12 months. Those services take about an hour, during which a technician will clean and test the system to ensure it’s working properly.
Tips For Reducing Your Energy Bills In Winter
Heating your entire home can be an expensive prospect, especially if you’re using electric heaters. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to keep your power bills under control this winter:
- Set your thermostat to 18-20C
- Try adding an extra blanket or layer of clothing before increasing the temperature.
- Shut curtains to prevent heat loss through windows
- Use caulk and weatherstripping to seal any air gaps around external doors and windows
- Use your heater’s zoning functions to shut the ducts in rooms that aren’t being used
- Use your heater’s programming functions to automatically adjust the temperature during the day
- Invest in a high-efficiency 6-star gas ducted heater
The best thing you can do to reduce your energy bills is to have your gas-ducted heating in Adelaide professionally serviced. Regular maintenance is a key part of keeping your gas consumption under control. During normal use, dust and other contaminants will build up on your gas heater. This puts additional strain on the system, which leads to breakdowns, excessive wear, and premature failure. Having your gas ducted heater serviced every 6-12 months ensures it’s always functioning at peak efficiency.
