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Home Heating

Your choice of heating technologies impacts your energy bill. Learn about your options, from active solar heating to portable heaters.

Wood and pellets are renewable fuel sources, and modern wood and pellet stoves can heat your home efficiently.

Most Americans heat their homes with a furnace or boiler, and high-efficiency models of all types of furnaces and boilers are available. Is it time for an upgrade?

Active Solar Heating
This North Carolina home gets most of its space heating from the passive solar design, but the solar thermal system supplies both domestic hot water and a secondary radiant floor heating system. | Photo courtesy of Jim Schmid Photography, NREL

Live in a cold climate, but get lots of sun? Active solar heating may be the most efficient option for heating your home.

Electric Resistance Heating
Baseboard heaters are one type of electric resistance heaters. | Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto/drewhadley

Electric resistance heating can be expensive to operate, but may be appropriate if you heat a room infrequently or if it would be expensive to extend the existing heating system to an addition.

Heat Distribution Systems
Radiators are used in steam and hot water heating. | Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto/Jot

Does your home have an efficient system for distributing heat? Learn about different distribution systems.

Radiant Heating
In-wall radiant heating in a house under construction near Denver. | Photo courtesy of Warren Gretz, NREL.

Say goodbye to cold floors in winter. Radiant heating can be a comfortable and efficient heating choice.

Portable Heaters
Portable heaters can be an efficient way to supplement inadequate heating. | Photo courtesy iStockphoto.com

Looking for an inexpensive way to heat a room? Portable heaters are useful for supplemental or occasional heating, but must be installed and operated properly to avoid fire and burn hazards.