question about central heating??

[kateb]

DH and I have to move house. We're currently getting a lot of details for small 3-bed homes with nowhere to put a dining table. I don't really want to encourage eating with a tray on our laps in front of the tely due to lack of space. We've been sent details for a much bigger 4-bed house with gas to warm air heating. We initially dismissed it as this isn't "normal" in the UK, we usually have big metal radiators attached to our walls here. Anyway the lack of real choice for us is really depressing so I decided to do some research on the internet.

I found a site that seems to suggest this system is the common choice in the States and that it's actually more energy efficient than our usual radiators. It mentioned they can be prone to leaks. :shrug

Anyway I thought I'd ask you ladies what you thought of them.

Thanks

[Marrae]

Oooh! You're in the UK. * o/ waving * I'm in S W Scotland.
So, I can't help you with the heating, sorry :blush, but just wanted to say hi!
Going to look at your website, we have a family one too,

Love

[expatmom]

I don't know much about heating systems, but I have lived with both central heating & room by room radiators. I much prefer the radiators, because you can control the heat at different levels depending where you are. Now, when I go back home to Canada, I am always freezing cold in my parent's centrally heated home.

[Mama Bird]

Hmm...well we have central heat. It is powered by natural gas. We just replaced our system last winter...it was pretty expensive, so keep that in mind. You will need to change furnace filters once, maybe twice a season. That isn't expensive, but another thing to remember.

I've never been without central heat. I can tell you, though, that they are much more efficient the fewer levels you have of house. We used to live in a townhouse. The heater was in the basement, then we had two more floors. It was always cold in the upper level, because the heater couldn't push the warm air all the way up very well. Now, we live in a single-story house, with the heater in the crawlspace. It gets warm in here in a snap! And, I don't have to worry about my children touching a hot radiator, or things touching the radiator and getting too hot.

[Radosny Matka]

I LOVE my central heat. We have had it in 3 of the 4 houses we lived in. I prefer it, and we have never had any leaking problems (never heard of that either - I don't see how it could leak as it uses electricity to warm and cool the air - no water involved). I'd be happy to try and answer any specific questions you have.

[kateb]

thanks everyone

Dh and I have done some talking and this system is so unusual in the UK that we're going to look at other houses first, as we'll have problems when we come to sell, it'd be expensive to convert to radiator central heating, etc etc (DH made a big list). Looked a nice house though....