How It Works

Indoor Comfort Systems

Controls and Thermostats
Indoor comfort manufacturers provide a wide variety of thermostats that allow you to control temperature, ventilation and humidity when and where it is needed. Today’s indoor comfort controls are high tech and help to save you energy while optimizing your comfort. 

Thermostats 
Thermostats regulate the temperature in your home based on the settings you establish. This control switches the heating or cooling system on or off as needed to maintain the set temperature. 

Humidistats
Like a thermostat, humidistat controls the humidity levels in your home, the humidistat allows you to set a desired humidity level (usually 30 percent to 45 percent) and when the humidifier reaches that set level of humidification, the water supply is turned off. In some systems, the thermostat and humidistat are combined to work together.
Programmable Controls
Thermostats today can be programmed to automatically adjust your home's temperature settings. Programmable thermostats can help you save energy by scaling back the temperature to a more economical setting when you are away from home.

Zone Control 
Having cool or heated air delivered just to the areas of your home that are being occupied can help you save energy and keep you more comfortable. Zone controls can be added to any forced heating or cooling system as an accessory. A zone controlled system allows you to adjust the temperature in various parts of your home independently. Each area of the home has its own thermostat, and you can set the temperature for what you like for heating and cooling for just that area.

You pick how many zones you want to have, from two zones on up, with most homes using two to six zones. The components needed to have zoned heating and cooling typically require electronic zone dampers to be installed inline with the ductwork, a zone control panel and thermostats for each zone. 
If you have a boiler heating system, you can have zone control to regulate the heat in your home. This type of zone control system has a control panel, one or more circulating pumps, sometimes zone valves and a thermostat for each zone.

Hydronic Heating
One method for warming an indoor space is known as hydronic heating. This method of heating circulates hot water through plastic tubing, baseboards, or radiators to provide heat in an indoor space. Hydronic systems can use a variety of energy sources to heat the water: a gas water heater, electric boiler, wood boiler, heat pump, solar collector, or even geothermal energy.
Baseboard and Radiator Heating
Baseboard hot water heating and radiators for space heating have been used in American homes for many years. These heating systems use hot water from a boiler that circulates into a system of pipes and then through baseboard heating units or into radiators located throughout the house.

Radiant Heating
Radiant heating systems circulate hot water from your boiler through durable tubing installed in or under your floors, walls or ceilings. This form of heating also can be installed outside your home under your sidewalks and driveway to deliver warm water that melts ice and snow. It also can be installed to warm a swimming pool or whirlpool.
  
Radiant heating is distinct because it warms people and objects that come in contact with it rather than just heating the air. When installed under foot, the tubing carrying the hot water is usually encased in a slab of concrete or lighter-weight gypsum cement. In some cases, the tubing can be fastened to the underside of subflooring instead. The heated water warms floors to about 85 degrees Fahrenheit or cooler (it generally feels similar to a tile floor warmed by direct sunlight). A zone control adjusts floors of various rooms to the desired temperatures. 

Indirect-Fired Water Heater
The consumable hot water provided by indirect fired water heater is heated by hot water that is generated by the home’s boiler and circulated through looped tubing from the boiler into the water heater. The heat from the water in the tubing is transferred to the water inside the water heater and then it flows back through the tubing to the boiler and the cycle continues.

Furnaces
Before selecting a furnace for your home it is important to understand how they work so you can make an informed decision. A furnace heats your home by pulling cool indoor air into the furnace, heating it and then redistributing the warmed air back into the rooms through ductwork. 
Furnaces can be fueled by natural gas, oil, propane, coal, wood or electricity, but most furnaces today use natural gas, oil and electricity and they each have differences in how they work.

Natural Gas Furnace
With a natural gas, forced air heating system, gas is mixed with air inside a burner and ignited inside the combustion chamber. A blower pulls cool air in from the rooms through air ducts in the furnace. The air is heated by passing over a heat exchanger connected to the combustion chamber. Warm air then flows back into rooms through ductwork. Exhaust gases from the burners are vented outside through a flue through the roof, or with some models, through a side wall vent.

Oil Furnace
An oil fired furnace operates in much the same way, except the oil is atomized, or turned into a fine mist, and burned. Air absorbs the heat in the exchanger and a blower sends the warm air back into the rooms through ductwork. Emissions from the burners are then vented outside.
Some homes are equipped with gravity furnaces – typically in basements – which use central heating, but not with forced air and blowers. Instead, the heat naturally rises and heats the rooms through ducts.

Electric Furnace
An electric forced-air furnace uses a blower unit to blow air over electrically-heated coils. The warm air is then distributed through the home through ducts. These units can be used with heat pumps or central air conditioners.

Heat Pump
A heat pump is a device that takes heat from one area and delivers it to another area at a higher temperature. In heating a building, a heat pump absorbs heat form outside the building and delivers it inside. The same heat pump can also cool a building by pumping heat from the inside to the outside. A heat pump is an air conditioner that contains a valve that lets it switch between "air conditioner" and "heater." When the valve is switched one way, the heat pump acts like an air conditioner, and when it is switched the other way it reverses the flow of Freon and acts like a heater. A heat pump is an HVAC unit that heats or cools by moving heat. During the winter, a heat pump draws heat from outdoor air and circulates it through your home's air ducts. In the summer, it reverses the process and removes heat from your house and releases it outdoors.


Dual-Fuel Heat Pumps
A dual-fuel heat pump is an electric heat pump and a gas furnace all in one. In the Tennessee Valley, where temperatures are typically above freezing and we enjoy some of the lowest electric rates in the U.S., a heat pump is the most efficient way to heat your home. In those few instances when the temperature drops below freezing, a gas furnace provides heat more economically. By combining the two, you can have the benefits of both systems.

When the temperature is above 35 degrees or so, the dual-fuel heat pump uses electricity to heat your home as necessary. This type of heat circulates evenly throughout your home, and isn't too dry. When it gets really cold outside (around 35 degrees or lower), the heat pump automatically switches to supplemental gas heat for better efficiency. Because there are advantages and disadvantages to both a heat pump and gas furnace based on the outdoor temperature, the dual-fuel solution really does give you the best of both worlds. It's the most comfortable heating system at any outdoor temperature, as well as one of the most efficient, versatile, and economical heating-and-cooling systems you can buy.
 
 
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