Grounds for Making a Choice
The builder has a choice of several heating systems, all of which have good and bad aspects. There is no one and only heating system to fit all purposes on the market, which is why there are many factors that affect your choice of system.
Since there is no one right heating system option, the small home builder has to accommodate:- his/her own preferences;
- economical starting points;
- the possibilities offered by the construction site and the building; and
- the characteristics of the heating system.
With good planning, all available heating solutions can be realised by a reliable and well running heating system. When choosing a heating system it is worth while using the professional expertise of LVI- ja sähkösuunnittelijan.
The house and its occupants
The size of the house and its energy requirements affect the choice of heating system. With a large house you should generally acquire a more expensive system that uses energy less expensively.
Building site
The building site has in some cases an effect on what kind of system to opt for. District heating and ground source heat are possible only if the building will be close to the district heating or natural gas grid. When considering a ground source heat pump you should check whether the soil is suitable for the weight of the pipe system or whether the bedrock is close enough to the surface for the proposed borehole. Wood heating is more usual in sparsely populated areas, where getting and storing wood is easier than in densely populated areas.
Environmental effects
Heating produces the greatest environmental burden during a building’s lifetime. This burden can be reduced by building a house that requires little heating energy and by choosing a form of energy that results in fewer emissions. The ideal solution is to build a low or passive energy house and to utilize renewable energy in it, such as wood, solar energy and ground source heat.
Economy
The costs incurred by heating comprise a heating system’s investment costs and use costs. The overall costs of the heating systems on the market are fairly close to one another. In general, with a system with a high purchase cost you can make use a cheaper source of heating energy. Correspondingly, with a lower purchase cost the gross costs entail a higher price of energy. In choosing the heating system it is worthwhile bearing in mind the whole lifespan of the building and future changes in energy prices.
