alternatives to furnaces

Air heat pumps and hydronic boiler systems are direct alternatives to furnaces. Other more radical alternatives - associated to new homes and large remodels - involve high levels of insulation combined with space heating, and also water and ground-source (geothermal) heat pumps and solar heating solutions...

Green alternatives to furnaces

Tightly sealed homes, with very high levels of insulation in their whole envelope - and with advanced windows and exterior doors - will have smaller heating needs, opening the scope for space heating, that is, the use of selective heating - based on heaters like stoves, insert fireplaces or direct-vent wall furnaces - in selected parts of the house.

Tightly sealed and well insulated homes are also crucial to implement green strategies based on green energies like solar or wind.

Other key elements for green alternative to furnaces include solar passive techniques in new homes, using the exposure of the house to the sun, the shape of the building, the type of windows and its area, overhangs, shading and landscaping... These techniques can diminish the heating needs and be combined with insulation and air sealing, new wall materials and, obviously, solar heating solutions or low-power consumption solutions like geothermal heat pump systems.

The Hydronic boiler Alternative

Hydronic boiler systems are a direct alternative to furnaces. They involve a pipe system and radiators, and are based on hot water (heated by a boiler or an high-efficient condensing water heater eventually linked to a solar powered system).

Boiler systems can also be linked to radiant floor heating, and provide the hot water you need for your showers and kitchen.

The Air Heat pumps Alternative

If you live in a moderate or not too cold climate, air heat pump solutions are an alternative to central ducted furnaces (and to air conditioners). They work like a refrigerator, and they use electricity, but aren't efficient enough in freezing weather conditions. They are part of the offer of top furnace manufacturers, and are sometimes named electric furnaces.

See: New heat pumps

Ground and water source heat pumps

Water and ground source heat pumps (also called geothermal heat pumps) are based on pipes buried in the underground, and can be an efficient solution as heating and cooling systems. These heat pumps use their ground pipes to profit from the relatively constant temperature of the earth to heat the home in the winter (the contrary in the summer). They are a very low-power consumption alternative for both cold and moderate climates.

See: Water and ground source heat pumps

Wood Pellet Furnaces

Wood pellet furnaces (and other biomass furnaces) are between the most direct and green alternatives to gas and oil furnaces.

See, on these issues:
Wood Pellet Furnaces