选择加热燃料 & 系统类型

选择加热燃料和系统类型

选择 the fuel and heating system best suited for your needs depends on the following factors:

• 燃料或能源的成本和可用性
• The type of appliance used to convert that fuel to heat and how the heat is distributed in your house
• 购买、安装和hth华体会下载供暖设备的费用
• 加热器具及供热系统的效率
• 与加热燃料有关的环境影响.

燃料的可用性

The simple view of heating fuels is that most homeowners are relatively limited in their options for heating fuels. 在东北, 可供选择的主要是燃料油或电力, 尽管越来越多的家庭可以使用天然气. 对于农村地区的人们来说，取暖燃料可能仅限于丙烷和Wood材. People in most of the rest of the country have natural gas and electricity as their main choices.

实际上，情况要比这复杂得多. 首先, 太阳能在全国都可以使用, and new homes in cold or moderate climates should be designed to take advantage of passive solar heating. Active solar heating systems can be used as a supplemental heating source in new or existing homes and are compatible with most heating and systems. hth华体会下载owners can use either solar air heating devices for preheating of ventilation air or solar water heating devices to supplement hot water heating systems. 太阳能也可以用来提高热泵的性能, and an absorption heat pump will actually allow you to power an air conditioning system with solar energy.

In addition, pellet fuels—generally made from recycled Wood waste—are available nationwide. 这些燃料可能以具有竞争力的价格供应. Wood材在这个国家的大部分地区也可以买到, 当然, it is most cost-effective if you can harvest it for free (note that even "free" fireWood requires expenses for hauling it, 所以它可能比你想象的更贵). 丙烷在全国各地都可以买到.

燃料成本

One somewhat simple way to evaluate heating options is to compare the cost of the fuel. 要做到这一点, you have to know the energy content of the fuel and the efficiency by which it is converted to useful heat.

燃料是用物理单位来衡量的, 比如加仑的Oil或丙烷, 立方英尺的天然气, 或千瓦时电量(kWh). 它们也通过热含量来测量. 在美国, the most commonly used value for expressing the energy value or heat content of a fuel is the British thermal unit (Btu). One Btu is the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of one pound of water 1°F, 当水的温度为39华氏度时. 一个“therm”是100,000 Btu.

The table below provides a list of typical heating fuels and the Btu content in the units that they are typically sold in the United States. The figures below are general references for residential heating applications only. Commercial and industrial users should obtain more precise values from their fuel vendors.

表1:燃料平均Btu含量

*请注意，Wood材受热值可能会有很大变化. The most important factor affecting useful Btu content is the moisture content of the Wood. 滋味, air-dried Wood will typically have a moisture content of around 20% (when compared to a "bone dry" sample of the Wood). A very rough approximation of the effect of moisture content on the heating value is for every percent increase in moisture content (relative to a bone-dry sample), 热值下降了1%. 另一个影响热含量的因素是Wood材的树种. Higher heating values of Wood can vary from 8,000 to 10,000 Btu per pound, bone dry. A cord of Wood is a rough measuring unit; it is a stack of Wood 4 feet high, 8英尺长, 4英尺宽. 一捆“好的”Wood材将被紧紧地包装. 颗粒燃料通常由锯末制成. The Btu content will, therefore, vary depending on the type of Wood that the sawdust is from. 颗粒燃料的水分含量通常在10%左右.

The efficiency of the heating appliance is an important factor when determining the cost of a given amount of heat. 在一般情况下, the efficiency is determined by measuring how well an appliance turns fuel into useful heat. (The condition of the heat distribution or delivery system also affects the overall system efficiency.) Many types of space heating appliances must meet minimum standards for efficiency developed by the U.S. 能源部. 表2提供了普通加热设备的平均效率.

Table 2: 估计d Average Fuel Conversion Efficiency of Common 加热 Appliances

The actual costs of fuels is best determined by examining your utility bills or contacting your utility and by contacting local suppliers of other fuels. 能源部的能源信息管理局也跟踪一些燃料的价格.

环境及效率考虑

In addition to cost, you might consider the environmental impact of your heating fuel. You probably generate more greenhouse gases by heating and 冷却 your home than by any other activity, 其中包括驾驶.

电力似乎是一种清洁能源, 但美国的大部分电力是通过燃烧煤炭产生的, 排放二氧化硫, 氮的氧化物, 微粒, 和温室气体. 有些电是由天然气产生的, 它燃烧更清洁, but at least half of the energy is lost in converting it to electricity and delivering it to your home. 另一方面, 电是用来驱动热泵的, 产生的能量比消耗的要多. An electric heat pump system can balance out the efficiency losses at the power plant by using the electricity to draw energy from the outside environment.

燃烧天然气, Oil, 丙烷, Wood, or pellets in your home with a high-efficiency furnace or bOiler can be a very efficient way to deliver heat to your home. 在所有这些选择中，天然气燃烧最清洁.

当然, 太阳能是家用取暖(也可能是制冷)最清洁的燃料, 什么东西完全不产生污染. 在大多数家庭, 太阳能仅作为主要冷热源的补充, although the 能源部 is building homes that aim to consume net zero energy over the course of a year

选择一个加热和冷却系统

When choosing a heating and 冷却 system, there is no one answer; it's largely a personal choice. 对现有系统, your choices are pretty much set by the limitations of replacing the system with something significantly different. 而是为了一个新家, 如果你的建筑承包商没有施加限制, 选择的余地很大.

Choosing between systems depends in part on your fuel options, but also on your preferences. 以下是一些你可以考虑的问题:

• 你要中央空调系统吗? If so, are any heat pump options - particularly geothermal heat pumps - practical for your home?
• 如果你不想要中央空调, 踢脚板热水系统或辐射供暖系统能满足你的需要吗?
• 如果你想给家里降温，但又不想要中央空调系统, 房间里可以有空调吗, 蒸发式冷却器, 或者一个无导管的迷你分裂系统满足您的需要?
• 你想利用太阳能为住宅供暖或制冷吗?

回答这些问题, 探索供热信息, 冷却, 这个网站的热泵部分应该会给你一个答案.

U.S. 能源部-能源效率和可再生能源