Ducted gas heating is one of the most efficient and effective ways to heat your home. Unlike other kinds of heating, which can be uneven, a ducted gas heating system will keep you comfortable all winter long. The heated air will circulate evenly throughout your home, keeping you warm and cosy no matter the temperature outside.
If you’re looking for an efficient, comfortable, and safe way to heat your home this winter, ducted gas heating is a great choice. The cost of installing ducted gas heating is usually offset by energy savings within a few years, making it a fantastic investment.
Ready to learn more about this type of heating system and how it can benefit your home? Learn all about the benefits of central gas heating below.
As the name suggests, ducted gas heating heats your home through a series of ducts strategically installed around your home. The ducts are attached to a central heating unit that runs on natural gas or LPG and may be installed in your floor or ceiling.
This is why ducted gas heating is also known as ‘central heating’ – it allows you to use a single heating unit to heat your entire home, making it a practical, cost-efficient option for most homeowners. While less suitable for small homes, it’s ideal for a family home with many rooms.
Key parts of a ducted gas heater include the heating units, grilles or vents, thermostat, and well-insulated ducts, which are used to carry air to and from the heater.
Ducted heaters generally come with two units – one unit installed indoors and one outdoors. The indoor unit, the central heating unit, is either installed under the floors or in the attic and is connected to different rooms using a network of insulated ducts.
Ductwork is connected to the central heating unit on one end and the other to outlets on the floor, ceiling or wall of each room. Ducted heating systems draw air in via a fan, which is then heated by the central heating unit using gas-powered heaters. This air is then pushed through the ducts into each room.
Given that the ducts are insulated, they reduce heat loss and ensure that each room enjoys the total capacity and performance of the central heating unit.
In straightforward terms, the ducted gas heater works by passing cold air over a heat exchanger where the air is warmed through the combustion of gas.
Ducted gas heating is a simple system. Cold air is first drawn in through return air grilles into the heater, passing through a heat exchanger, which warms the air via gas combustion. Fans then push this warm air into a system of insulated ducts which run inconspicuously throughout your house.
The air then flows into the rooms of your home through the vents, which are either set unobtrusively in the ceiling or floors, depending on how your home is constructed. The grilles or vents spread air into the individual rooms before eventually returning this air to the heater.
Meanwhile, the thermostat, which is placed in the living area, monitors the temperature of the room and functions as a sensor for your heater. When the temperature drops below your desired level, it signals the heater to start warming up the air.
The thermostat tells the heater to stop working when the room reaches the desired temperature. The by-products of the combustion process are then pushed out safely outside your house through the flue.
There are several advantages to using a ducted gas heating system in your home.
In terms of performance, ducted gas heating tends to have an edge. This is because reverse cycle systems lose efficiency as the weather gets colder. A ducted gas system keeps the home warm, irrespective of how cold it gets outside.
Ducted heating allows you to enjoy clean and heated air in each room, with no cold spots that everyone avoids. Ducted gas heating is highly efficient and distributes heat more evenly throughout your home. This means you’ll stay warm all winter without wasting energy or money.
As a bonus, Australia’s natural gas system only experiences an unplanned outage once every 40 years, making gas heating a more reliable option.
Zoning is another wonderful feature. This allows you to divide your home into areas you can choose to be heated alternately depending on the time of day. For example, you can heat the living area by day and then the bedrooms by night.
Ducted gas heaters also allow you to control the temperature in each room, helping you and your loved ones maintain the temperature you prefer. This level of control and customisation is unavailable for a split system.
You can choose to have every room of your whole house heated equally and consistently, or you can set different temperatures for each room, which helps you allocate the heat more efficiently by not heating the parts of your house you rarely visit.
Ducted heating’s unique features is one of the things that make it very efficient and cost-saving. This means you’ll save money on your energy bills. Ducted systems use less fuel than other heating systems, and switching from electric to gas heating can save you plenty in running costs.
Ducted heaters use natural gas instead of electricity to heat your home, reducing your resource costs. The cost of electricity has been rising much faster than natural gas, and in this regard, ducted heating does provide an alternative that’s much cheaper to run.
Zoning alone can help you save up to about $200 per year, while the whole system can help you save up to $300 of operating costs per annum compared to when you use gas space heaters.
Upgrading from an old 3-star system to a 6-star ducted heating system can save you up to $567 per year, according to a Brivis study.
Not only is ducted gas heating the cheapest and most cost-efficient method out there, but it is also environmentally friendly. Using natural gases instead of coal-powered electricity, gas heating reduces your carbon footprint.
Since the structure of natural gas is different to coal, the level of emissions is far lower, and the energy yield rate from extraction is much higher at 90%.
According to an Australian Government research paper, natural gas is 65 to 70% less greenhouse gas intensive than coal. How cool is that?
Ducted gas heating is one of the safest home heating available today. Compared to electric heaters, ducted gas heaters are also safer to use. This is because ducted gas heaters do not have any exposed coils or other elements that can cause accidental fires. Heating units are sealed to contain gases, and the flames are contained within the unit, so there is no risk of a house fire.
Ducted gas heating systems also come with a fan delay feature, which ensures that all the by-products of combustion are safely pushed out of your home before the fan switches off. This additional safety measure gives you and your family more peace of mind.
Ducted gas heaters are very easy to install and require minimal maintenance. These systems also have a long lifespan, so you won’t have to replace them anytime soon.
You will only need to get your ducted gas heater serviced every few years to ensure it works properly and efficiently. Other than that, there is not much else you need to do to maintain your ducted gas heater.
You don’t have to wait a long time for your house to start heating up. Once you turn on a ducted gas heater, the heat is distributed evenly and quickly throughout your house via the ducts.
This is in contrast to an electric space heater, which can take a while to start heating the room, and may not be able to heat the entire room evenly.
Ducted gas heating is very quiet – you will not hear the noise of the furnace running. Compared to wood fires, gas heating is a clean way of heating your home without producing smoke and ash.
All byproducts of gas combustion are safely removed from the home using the flue system, keeping your indoor air quality healthy. Ducted heating systems also have filters installed to actively improve your indoor air quality.
Another good thing about this heating system is that the warm air released in the vents will not dry your eyes, compared to the heat produced by other heating systems.
Gas systems produce heat that is moist when compared to wood and reverse cycle systems which is less likely to irritate. The warmth you enjoy in each room also feels much better on your skin.
You can pair your heating system with an add-on cooling feature. Another massive advantage of installing a ducted gas heater is that you can use the same system to enjoy cool air during warmer seasons.
You can switch to cool, filtered air whenever you install an add-on cooling system. However, this must be configured during installation first. This last feature may vary depending on your heating system provider.
Given the ever-fluctuating Aussie weather and extreme winter and summer seasons, having an all-in-one system for heating and cooling your home is a major advantage.
Ducted gas heating systems are versatile and can be used in almost any building, from homes to offices to schools. They can be installed in new buildings or retrofitted into existing buildings, making them a popular choice for many different applications.
The installation process for ducted gas heating is smooth regardless of whether your home is new or you’ve been living in it for years. Ducted gas heating is also suitable for those who want to upgrade their home’s existing heating system.
You can easily retrofit ducted gas heating into an older home as the ductwork can be installed through the ceiling space. This is a major advantage over other heating systems that require floor or wall space, which isn’t always available in older homes.
Ducted gas heating is also flexible over time. You can add or remove ducts as needed, customising the system to suit your home.
Ducted gas heating is better suited to large properties and heating multiple rooms than split system air conditioning. It also offers better efficiency in cold weather, and lower running costs when using natural gas to heat your home.
There are several factors to consider when choosing between ducted heating and reverse cycle air conditioning:
If you’re unsure about what you need to invest in, the first question you need to ask yourself is, “Do I need heating in every room or do I want to keep a specific area warm?”. Your answer will tell you what kind of system you need – a split system if you don’t need to heat your entire home or a ducted gas system, which allows you to keep every room in your home warm.
When compared to reverse cycle systems, ducted gas heating also takes the lead in performance since the latter still functions perfectly no matter how cold it gets outside. On the other hand, split system air conditioning loses efficiency the colder it gets.
Gas heating is more energy-efficient than reverse cycle air conditioning powered by electricity. While the average cost for heating with natural gas is 11c per kWh, with LPG at around 20c per kWh, a split system air conditioning unit costs around 30 cents per kWh running on electricity.
When choosing a ducted gas heating system, it is important to consider the star rating. The higher the star rating, the more efficient the heater is used, this is because these ratings are given depending on what percentage of gas that’s been used in the heating process is ultimately converted into heat. So the higher the star rating, the more efficient it is bound to be.
Efficient and flexible, ducted gas heating is one of the best and new ways of heating your home and providing warmth and comfort to your entire family. Ducted gas heating is effective, cost-efficient, flexible, and environment-friendly – what more could you ask for?
At Alliance Climate Control, our team of experienced technicians can help you design a heating system that meets all your needs and requirements. Benefit from our expertise and enjoy a continuous comfort system for the lowest possible running cost.
Check out our website for more information, or call us at 02 8061 5023 to schedule your appointment for the installation of a ducted gas heating system. Enjoy warmer, more comfortable winter months with your family this year.
Ducted heating can be gas or electric. Gas ducted heating is powered by natural gas or LPG, while electric ducted heating uses electricity to generate heat.
The average lifespan of a ducted gas heater is 15-20 years. However, with proper maintenance, your ducted gas heater can last for many years. You have the option of replacing your gas heating unit and utilising existing ductwork if it’s still in good condition.
The cost of running a ducted gas heater will depend on the size of your home, the climate, and the type of ducted gas heater you have. Generally, the cost of running a ducted gas heater is 11c to 20c per kWh, depending on whether it uses natural gas or LPG.
Central heating is a system that uses ducts or pipes to distribute heat from a central source, such as a furnace, to different rooms in a home. Central heating systems can be powered by gas, oil, electricity, or other sources of energy.
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