Learn about Downflow / Horizontal
Copyright 2008 Alpine Home Air Products www.AlpineHomeAir.com 4
1) Selecting the right equipment
Your project likely falls into one of two categories: replac-
ing an existing heating system, or installing a new heat-
ing system for the first time in a new home or renovated
home. If you are replacing equipment, it is most likely
that you will be selecting the same kind of equipment
that you have, meaning your new equipment will use the
same kind of fuel, be the same type and be the same size.
In this case, the information below is to help you identify
what equipment you have now.
If you are installing new equipment the information
below is to give you an overview of the various types and
features of different heating systems. This will help you
decide which will be best for you.
Fuel / Energy
The rst thing to do is to select a fuel or energy type your
system will use. Dierent types of home furnaces operate on
dierent types of energy or fuel to create heat. The four choices
are: natural gas, propane gas, oil or electricity only. If you are
replacing a heater, you’ll likely use the same fuel or energy
type for the new unit as the old unit used. If you are install-
ing a heater in a new construction home, you can talk to your
city’s local mechanical department or local utility companies to
nd out which fuel costs the least in your area, and which are
available in your neighborhood. If one fuel type is much lower
cost per BTU (unit of heat measurement), then you’ll likely use
that one. Keep in mind how the fuel or energy is brought to the
home: natural gas (where available) and electricity are sup-
plied as needed automatically without having to rell anything,
whereas oil and propane require having a service truck visit
your home to periodically ll a tank in the yard.
Type
Next select the type of unit you’ll need or want. (Not all heater
types listed below are available in all fuel / energy types.)
The seven common types are:
1) Standard Forced Air Furnaces
These are the most common heaters. Standard forced air
heaters install inside the home and are connected to duct-
work which distributes the warm air to each room. One of the
advantages of a forced air furnace is that you can add central
air conditioning to it so you can have a complete heating and
cooling system. These heaters come in three basic orientations,
depending on where in the home you install it and which way
you want the air to blow from the unit.
“Up-ow” units blow the air up, and are installed usually in a •
basement or closet.
“Down-ow” units blow the air downwards and are usually •
installed in a closet.
“Horizontal-ow” units are installed horizontally and blow the •
air out the side, and are usually installed in attics and crawl-
spaces.
If you are building a new home and haven’t decided where you
want to put the heater yet, any of these locations can work for
you. If you are replacing a standard forced air furnace, choose
the furnace with the same orientation as the one you already
have.
Since gas and propane forced air furnaces are so popular,
manufacturers make them available with high eciency and
increased comfort features.
2) Boilers