A majority of U.S. homes are heated with one of two systems: furnaces or boilers. Furnaces distribute heated air through your house via ducts. Furnaces heat up water and either use the water or steam to heat your home, transmitted through radiators. There is a number of factors that make boilers a better choice for your home’s heating system.
For one, if you have a large home there is no contest between the two. When you utilize a furnace you run the risk of the air becoming cool by the time it gets to your upper floors. Compared to the vents used in a furnace system, boiler pipes are comparatively small. This makes it easy to scale the heating system to whatever the size of your home may be.
Another great advantage is that boilers are a less intrusive system. Being as vents are blowing air that means they could also be distributing dust and allergens throughout your home. Inevitably, the vents will need to be cleaned and maintained. Additionally, with a boiler you receive the benefit of a completely quiet heating system. The noise that boilers make is limited to the quiet burning of the fuel that heats the water.
Most importantly, boilers are simply better at their job: heating. Even if installed in the floor, boilers will provide consistently even heat. With a furnace there is a risk of creating a draft, in turn creating mixed temperatures throughout the room. Boilers also have the added bonus of making zoning off areas easy. This means you can save money by only heating certain parts of your house or setting zone temperatures individually.
Suspect your boiler may not be working properly or is it time for its maintenance check? Contact The Plumbing Doctor. We are your Reston boiler system experts. Call us today at  703-525-9280.