While it still feels like summer most days, the nights at the Jersey Shore are beginning to get a bit chillier. Those nippy evenings are a sign of what’s to come: fall and winter are on their way! Whether you live in Point Pleasant or Brick, Farmingdale or Middletown, it’s important to understand the type of equipment you have in your home.
What Exactly is a Boiler?
Boilers are units that utilize water in some form to deliver heat to your home. The water is heated as it runs through the boiler, then transfers heat into the rooms of your house using baseboard, radiators, or radiant. After it completes its job, the water is returned to the boiler for another run around your home.
While they are often confused with water heaters, boilers are units that provide heat to your home and (depending on the type of unit) sometimes hot water. Just to reiterate, a water heater will only provide domestic hot water, while a boiler’s primary function is to heat your
home.
Benefits of a Boiler
- Less dust and dryness – Many homeowners with boilers claim that their system is better than a furnace in the wintertime because it uses water, adding moisture the air. This claim is false, as the water stays within the sealed loop of pipe work. However, the system will not dry out the air or circulate dust like a forced hot air system might.
- Easily zoned – Jersey Shore homes that utilize a boiler will often have multiple thermostats that each control areas of the home. As opposed to the space and design required to zone ductwork for furnaces, adding zone valves or circulator pumps to create specific areas for your boiler is much easier and less expensive.
- Gentle, comfortable heat – Boilers heat the room itself, including objects and floors, where furnaces heat the air itself. There are also less noticeable temperature swings, as the boiler will heat throughout the day. Most Jersey Shore homeowners who have experienced both prefer boilers for comfort.
Disadvantages of a Boiler
- Can be expensive – The boiler itself is just a small part of the heating system in your home. There are dozens of parts that are required for the boiler to run properly. While these parts are designed to be replaced easily, they can be expensive over time.
- Slow response – We get the call from new homeowners at the Jersey Shore all the time. The classic “my old house had a furnace, but now I have a boiler and I don’t think it’s working.” Boilers are meant to be set to a comfortable temperature and left. They aren’t able to increase or decrease the temperature in your home as quickly as a furnace can.
- Requires professional service – Boilers themselves are old technology but, as everything, have evolved over time. Both maintenance and service on boilers should be completed by a professional, licensed company like Rostron Premium Home Services. At the end of the day, it’s not something you should take a chance on.
What Exactly is a Furnace?
Although the primary mission for your furnace is heating your home, just like a boiler, they work very differently. Rather than heating up water, furnaces heat up the air in your home, pulling it through the returns throughout your home, conditioning it, then returning it back to your Jersey Shore home through supply registers.
Benefits of a Furnace
- Customizable – Jersey Shore winters often bring low humidity and dry air. For forced-air systems like furnaces, there are options to add humidifiers and UV lights, leaving you with the clean air that has a customized humidity level. As a bonus, you can also add a dehumidifier for the summer time.
- One system – AC systems are often able to utilize the blower motor from your furnace, meaning that both your heating and cooling system are able to work together, using the same ductwork and thermostat. Any upgrades done to your furnace will also apply to the AC system, including UV lights and air cleaners.
- Dual Fuel – At the Jersey Shore, there are a ton of benefits from utility companies for homeowners with high efficiency equipment, including rebates and special 0% financing. Furnaces also have the ability to be combined with heat pumps, meaning you’ll save even more.
Disadvantages of a Furnace - Noise level – Depending on where your system is in your Jersey Shore home, you may be able to hear the unit turn on and off. As units age, they become louder when operating. Ductwork issues can also cause sounds like banging or whistling.
- Space restraints – Installing a furnace in a new home or converting from another source is tricky, as this heat source requires space for ductwork to be run. You may lose space in your attic, basement, or even throughout your home to allow ductwork to be routed properly.
- Proper install – Both furnaces and boilers should be installed properly and can be dangerous when they’re not, but furnaces/AC installed overhead can be a risk for water damage. Every winter, Rostron visits homes where high-efficiency furnaces were installed incorrectly, leading to frozen drain lines and water damage through the ceiling.
Why Does My Home Have a Boiler or Furnace?
In a nutshell, there is one simple reason as to what equipment is currently in your home: it’s age. Older homes at the Jersey Shore are more likely to have boilers, as they were state-of-the- art technology for heating your home back then. Even when natural gas overtook oil as the energy source, the most cost-effective option for homes was to replace the boiler and reuse the radiators or baseboard.
Newer homes are more likely to have furnaces for a few reasons. For one, they often have the space required for ductwork, like attics or basements, that are needed to deliver heat. For another, air conditioning requires ductwork as well and will often utilize the blower motor from the furnace. At the end of the day, it’s all about savings and efficiency.
How to Properly Care for Your Heating System
Regardless of how you heat your home, proper maintenance is a must for any kind of HVAC unit. The best time to begin maintenance is before an issue arises. Schedule your maintenance visit with our professional, ready-to-go technicians from Rostron Premium Home Services. We offer services for both Monmouth and Ocean Counties in New Jersey. Give us a call at 732-223- 8221 or fill out a form, right here on our website!
