Information is the root of all the right decisions in life and we at HomeClimate are fully devoted to educating you in the ways of the finest heating and cooling appliances available. You will find an abundance of useful tips and facts regarding all sorts of domestic heating and cooling devices. Our small but energetic crew has spent quite the time compiling buyer guides so that we can give you sufficient details prior to your purchase.
We have shed light on the most conventional and some unconventional ways of cooling a home or an office. The same, of course, goes for heating. In a world where infomercials and salespeople can rarely be trusted, we prefer the “user to user” method. Trust our judgment, reviews, and experience in order to get the right unit for your home.
Here you will find substantial guides taking you on a fun and productive journey. Read about the top products of each type as we have handpicked some especially for you. Then, check out what we have to share in terms of questions and answers, tips, and comparisons. We have no doubt that our work will be useful to you in your domestic cooling and heating endeavors.
Heating Systems
When it comes to heating, we at HomeClimate have come up with more than a dozen separate guides and have covered a wide array of options. Electric ones are among the most popular choices but be sure that you will find plenty of specific differences between them. For example, an oil-filled radiator heater is electric but it requires a certain fluid in order to run. You don’t have that with infrared heaters where the magic happens inside a low-intensity tube. Yes, both are good for your living room and can be great secondary options but they do have their own pros and cons.
Many times people look for a solution for their bathroom in particular. This is a very delicate part of your home but fortunately, we have done all the hard work researching appliances so that you won’t have to. Here you have several options one of which are your regular bathroom heaters. Some of them are free-standing, ceiling recessed, or wall-mounted. Speaking of walls, installing a top-class electric wall heater inside your bathroom is also a viable option as long as it stays away from moisture.
But let us think out of the box and suggest something pretty interesting. More and more people lately are coming back to the electric radiant floor heating systems and radiant floor heaters which we have also covered extensively in one of our guides. These systems are excellent for bathroom floors and they can last a long time.
They are also good for a complete house heating as radiant heaters can be installed under hardwood and tile floors alike. As long as you are confident you can control the temperature of the whole mechanism using your wall thermostat, then why not go for it? Make sure to explore that option.
Other specific areas to heat are garages. The devices listed above are rarely suitable for workshops and this is why we have a separate guide to electric garage heaters. These are larger units with great capabilities. If you are okay with the energy consumption then you are fine. Of course, portable car heaters are another option.
You don’t have to go completely electric in your garage. True, if you check out our guide on the most efficient space heaters you will see that some are fine to be used in a garage but we still have highlighted other options as well. For example, you can use a kerosene heater in your shop.
These are often overlooked devices with great efficiency ratings. You have heavy-duty ones as well as portable ones. Any job site can benefit from having the best kerosene heater.
A popular choice for many folks happens to be propane heating. Make sure you read our full guide on the best propane heaters in order to become familiar with all the safety recommendations and hazard prevention. If connected, run, and maintained properly, a propane heater will likely be fantastic for your garage.
Portable propane units are often used indoors and even inside living rooms as well. The main options there revolve around portable and full-size units. The smaller ones have little propane tanks which are detachable. This makes them an excellent accessory when camping.
The larger propane heaters require a hose and a regulator and are typically connected to an external tank. In this case, you will need to have a gas installation fully compliant with all the regulations and standards. Inspections must also be conducted often. At the end of the day, it all comes down to:
- Practicality
- Cost-efficiency
- Space-saving
- Safety
A broad topic is the one concerning ceramic heaters. It turns out that a large number of the regular residential electric space heaters happen to have a ceramic heating element. Finding out more about the best ceramic heaters can be very useful for anyone because people typically want a device with residual heat. Here you have a heating element that saves you energy, increases its resistance automatically, and brings you just enough heat for a room. At some point, you only need to pick the right design that will match your furnishing and you are all set. It doesn’t have to be hard, does it?
A specific niche (pun intended) in the electric domestic heaters tree is represented by the trustworthy baseboard heaters. With them, you get a very interesting way of heating because when they are placed under a window, the draft coming from there will always be warm. Sometimes the installation is what makes people think twice before investing in a baseboard heater but nowadays this procedure is rather simplified.
Now we will move on to a class of heaters which bets heavily on aesthetics and this is what also raises their price. They are definitely not the most popular choices but a lot of offices or owners of large homes opt for them. We are talking about fireplaces. There’s no need to address usual classic fireplaces as there’s nothing really special about them.
Instead, we will highlight the best electric fireplaces as well as a shortlist of the finest gas fireplace inserts on the market today. The former is a great option for any sort of home including little apartments. Electric fireplaces present us with an opportunity to both heat our room and have a visibly pleasing setting.
They are similar to wall heaters but feature a large window with digital flames, interchangeable colors, and many other perks. These appliances you can attach to a wall or have them wall-recessed. Whichever option you choose, you have to be sure that the visual effects will be stunning.
In the case of gas fireplace inserts, we have a mixture between a fireplace and a natural gas heater. These units are among the most efficient ones you will find in any of our buying guides. However, they require a substantial initial investment not only for the unit itself but also for the installation. There need to be hoses, venting, and electrical connections done before you purchase the product.
On top of all, gas fireplace inserts will also require an actual fireplace to be built and if you don’t have one, then you can’t really go any further with this project. If you visit the guide itself, you will surely find plenty of tips and suggestions.
A very interesting heating option is related to neither electricity nor liquid fuel. It’s the only hard-fuel type of heater that we have on our website and that’s the woodstove. Our buying guide to getting the best wood stove is sitting there waiting for you to discover all the benefits of this particular heating solution.
It is an unconventional choice but a very effective one as the modern-day wood stoves are made out of top-notch materials, their piping is high end and will give you tremendous amounts of BTU. Maintenance is crucial there and we have covered it all for you in our guide.
A very fun and cheap accessory for every wood stove is a top-notch wood stove fan. Yep, we have a separate page especially for that and you will be amazed how useful this little gadget can be and what sort of difference it can make. By all means, combine these two products and enjoy outstanding heating results at home.
A great alternative to wood stoves is pellet stoves. Remember to check them out too!
Our last heating option is an outdoor one as people also want some warmth even on the patio or balcony. Restaurants and pubs often try to get the most suitable patio heater and this is why our crew has covered this topic in detail.
You can have these units with the infrared technology or with propane being used as fuel. Whichever one you choose, you need to know that there are also standards and regulations for both and the best way to familiarize yourself with this info is by checking out our guide regarding the best patio heaters.
Cooling Systems
The desire to cool off one’s home is just as big as the one to heat it. This is why Home Climate is completely focused on delivering you comprehensive guides on the best ways to also cool your rooms. It has to be noted that the options here are fewer but are still very impressive and versatile.
You can always try and start simple and look for the best tower fans out there. You don’t have to settle for the cheapest products as they will not be effective and will not last long at all. What you can do for sure is get educated on the topic and go through our buying guide. Don’t forget that design really matters here.
Advanced products, however, feature not just a fan but also a compressor. Yep, we are talking about air conditioners and they are the main source of heavenly low temperatures during the summer. Since we want to give you a convenient solution we prefer focusing on quiet portable air conditioners.
In that sense, you can go ahead and see the smallest air conditioners that are worth your time. Space-saving is among our top priorities and this is covered thoroughly in our guide. Pros and cons, as well as comparisons, await you on our page and we think you will surely find it informative.
What unites all portable AC units, regardless of whether you have them on the floor with an exhaust hose or built-in your window, is the need for them to be quiet. A whole topic is devoted especially to quiet window air conditioners because they have been known to be rather loud. You may also want to go in a completely different way and try out an evaporative cooler to avoid all the hassle of air conditioners.
The noise sources can be a lot and we want you to know the reason for each and every one of them. That’s why our guides to quiet air conditioners focus on maintenance, troubleshooting, and storage of your unit. Our team believes that presenting you with only the best products on the market isn’t enough.
We always want to bring you the bigger picture and lead you through the whole way of enjoying either a warm or cool home. Readers are our greatest asset and mutual help is the main goal of the team. This is why you can vest your trust in our expertise but you might as well enjoy our friendly tone as you read our articles.
We are happy to have you and hopefully, you will find just the right product for your preference. Thanks for reading and stay put!
Air Quality Systems
Breath is life and consequently, the quality of the air that you breathe is of utmost importance. To start with, it is a good idea to test the air quality of your surroundings in order to make sure that you breathe healthy air free of allergens and all kinds of contaminants. For that, all you need is a home air quality test kit. Lucky for you, we have reviewed the top models on the market. All you need to do is to read them and choose the product of your desire.
After you have estimated the air quality in your living area, you may want to enhance this quality. Air purifiers are perfect for that purpose. Depending on the humidity of your surroundings, whether you are a smoker or have allergies or if you are keeping pets at home you may want to pick an air purifier for mold, air purifier for smoke, or an air purifier for pets.