If your home was built in the 1960s or 1970s in the UK, there’s a good chance its heating system was based around “warm air” vents.
This was a form of central heating, but instead of heating water that fed radiators, it sent warm air through ducts, which blew into the rooms through vents in the walls or ceilings. The heater could be fueled by gas or electricity. It was effectively air-conditioning, but instead of cooling the air, it heated it.
You’ll notice we’re talking in the past tense here. This system went out of fashion in the late 1970s, as radiator-based gas central heating became the norm. New builds stopped installing the system, and existing air-warmed homes gradually switched to central heating or underfloor systems.
The drawbacks of warm air systems were:
- They were single-use systems – a separate boiler was needed to heat water.
- There was little ability to vary the temperature from room to room.
- They could create draughts thanks to moving air
- They could potentially spread allergens around the home.
- They could be inefficient.
Warm air heating: the next generation
In an interesting turn of events, however, warm air systems are coming back into vogue. The drawbacks listed above have been addressed:
- Combination boiler and heater systems are now available.
- Individual controls can regulate room temperature.
- Buffers and clever vent design can let warm air move with less breeze.
- Filtration can keep those spores and pollen at bay.
- Modern systems are much more controllable and energy efficient.
There are also some additional benefits:
- There’s no risk of water leakage from radiator pipes
- The heat is more instant – no waiting for a home’s worth of radiators to heat up, then slowly heat the room.
- The space taken up by radiators can be used for other things.
Warm air heater installation and maintenance
The re-emergence of warm air heating might have seemed unexpected a few years ago, but heating engineers and architects are beginning to take it seriously again. New advances in the technology are making it not just economically viable, but effective and aesthetically pleasing too.
That’s why Able Plumbing Solutions have trained our Milton Keynes-based engineers up on this exciting new(ish) development. We’re ready to install a warm air system in your home and give you all the benefits of instant heat that you have full control over.
The system can include a water heater, so you can continue with your baths, showers and washing as normal. The warm air system can run alongside other systems, such as underfloor heating (a bathroom favourite) or skirting board heaters if they are already in place.
If your home is already heated by warm air, we’re available to service it. We can perform repairs and maintenance on your warm air heater, as well as keeping the ducts and filters clean. If you have an original system installed, we can upgrade it to a modern, efficient one to keep those energy bills lower and give you all the control you need.Are you ready to change to warm air, or need your system repaired or servicing? Please get in touch with us today.