Need to Heat an Older Home? Consider These Options

You enjoy the charm and character an older home brings, but not the challenges it presents with keeping warm throughout the winter. The majority of older homes were built long before central HVAC systems were the norm, and fitting a modern heating system into an older home often requires extensive modifications that could drastically alter your home's character.

If you want to preserve your home without having to go without comfort, then you should check out the following alternatives.

Most homes built before the 1980s weren't built with modern high-efficiency furnaces in mind. For starters, there isn't enough space to run the large ducts that most central HVAC systems require. If you're insistent on making room for modern HVAC equipment, you could find yourself demolishing original walls, woodwork and flooring.

High-velocity mini-duct systems offer a smarter alternative to the typical central HVAC system. True to its name, a mini-duct system relies on small flexible ducts to deliver conditioned air throughout the home. These small ducts can be routed through walls, ceilings and other existing spaces without any major modifications.

These small ducts get their airflow from an attic-mounted air handler that generates airflow at higher velocities than your typical central HVAC system. To mitigate noise, these systems are usually outfitted with inline sound attenuators and other sound-deadening equipment.

If running small ducts throughout your home is out of the question, the next best alternative is a ductless mini-split system. These systems do away with the centrally-located air handler of typical central HVAC systems in favor of using multiple wall-mounted air handler units.

The only caveat of the installation process is that a small hole needs to be drilled to route the required refrigerant lines to each air handler.

Aside from not having to deal with any ductwork, you'll also get the benefit of zoned heating for multiple parts of your home. The only downside is that the units themselves may seem a bit bulky and out of place for some older homes. Some manufacturers are making slimmer units that fit in better with their surroundings.

Hydronic radiant floor heating systems offer another good alternative for heating an older home. These systems rely on hot water circulated through small PEX tubing embedded underneath the subflooring. The resulting heat radiates from the floor, gradually warming the entire room. Hydronic systems can be installed throughout the entire home with minimal changes to the home's overall structure.

There are also electric radiant floor heating systems available, but these systems are usually limited to delivering supplemental heat to a single room. These systems rely on electric cabling embedded within mats or heating pads that can be covered with your choice of flooring.