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Most people are familiar with the most common types of oil heat - warm air furnaces and hot water furnaces.  A third type of oil heat is gradually becoming more popular in North America - in-floor heating.  Each type of oil heat has its advantages, but all of them share the common characteristic that they are less expensive than electric heat.

1. Warm air heating systems were very popular in earlier years, but are not often installed in new homes.  These systems are relatively easy to install, and actually come pre-installed on most mobile homes.  They are less popular to install today because they suffer from some of the disadvantages of electric heat: uneven heat, and excessive dryness of the air in the house.  However, humidifiers are now available which allow you to select the desired humidity of the air in your home, and electronic filters are also available which purify the warm air of dust and other pollutants.

2. Hot water heating systems today are quite sophisticated.  A house is divided into as many zones as the home owner wishes, and thermostats located in those zones provide the degree of heat desired for each zone.  Set-back thermostats are available which you allow you to select any range of heating levels for daytime, nighttime, weekends, etc.  The great advantage of these heating systems is the evenness of the heat.  This provides greater comfort for the occupants and avoids the problems experienced by electric heat and some warm air furnaces: the drying out of the air in the house.

3. An increasingly popular form of hot water heating is "in-floor" heating.  This system has been popular in Europe for many years, and is gradually catching on here in North America.  Specialized tubing is looped just below the floor boards, and the house is heated from the floor up.  In other forms of home heat, the warmth goes up the outside walls to the ceiling, and then moves downward.  The greatest advantage of this form of heating is sheer comfort.  A second advantage is that the cost of heating a home is significantly less than other forms of heat.  To achieve these advantages, in-floor heating must be planned before a home is constructed, and the cost is typically much higher than other forms of heat.