Much of the housing stock around the USA is a little outdated. Thrown together to cope with big increases in population over the years, this has been highlighted by the recent news that Baltimore schools were closed due to heating. Whilst public building quality and private have important differences, the principles remain.

For homeowners looking to overhaul their heating systems, technology has come far. It’s important to make sure you find the right system to create a livable environment without being overly intrusive, ultimately preserving or raising your property value.

Biofuel Systems

Older heating systems, particularly central heating, rely on boilers powering heated water around pipes in the house. This can be time consuming to install, noisy and produce dangerous emissions such as carbon monoxide. Consuming fossil fuels, they can also hurt the environment, but do a good job of heating the home. They also require planning, to fit the radiators into useful spaces for distributing heat around the room. Technology has come on leaps in bounds in recent years to utilize biofuel powered heating systems, tying together renewable fuel with zero odors and bringing the fireplace feel back to living rooms and areas.

HVAC Innovations

Cooling the home is a particularly energy-intensive cost, and noisy, to boot. Developers have sought to disguise the look of ACs on the outside of houses for years, building thicker walls – counterintuitive to cooling – to try and hide them from home owners and purchasers. With a nod to the well-established power of solar panels, an Australian company has combined smart solar panels with air conditioning to intuitively moderate temperatures in the house – in a way that is neutral to the electricity grid. This has the double whammy of adding value to your home through future proofing and solar panels, which remain desirable.

Home Automation and Augmented Learning

Whilst not a direct technology in terms of the physical process of home management, homes integrated with innovative new AI systems are set to become par for the course over the next decade. The result for well-managed, livable and environmentally responsible homes is obvious; AI will be able to learn your habits, preferences and patterns, and attune the house specifically to your and your guest’s requirements.

Making the home livable whilst ensuring future profitability is a challenge every homeowner faces. The trends in technology towards smart temperature management and shrinking technologies to fit home mean that the process is becoming easier and with more easily accessed variety.