Having adequate living space is critical for many homeowners. Rather than investing in a new home, many people opt to expand their existing property by constructing an addition. While a home addition can give you the extra space you need, heating this new square footage can be a challenge.

Here are three things that you need to think about when it comes to heating a new home addition in the future.

1. Determine if your existing heating system is large enough.

Before you decide if you want to have your existing heating system support your new home addition, you should determine if the system is large enough to accommodate the added space.

Consulting with a knowledgeable HVAC technician will allow you to determine if the heating capacity of your furnace can support an addition. You may find that you need to install a more powerful heating system before you can incorporate your home addition into the system heating your original structure.

2. Consider a standalone heating system.

If you and your HVAC technician determine that your home's existing heating system doesn't have the ability to support your new home addition, you may want to consider installing a standalone heating system to service the addition rather than invest in a new furnace.

You can opt for a wall or floor mounted heating unit, or you may want to consider the benefits of adding a gas stove to the design of your home addition. These stoves can produce a significant amount of heat and they don't require vents, making them a great option for heating a home addition.

3. Place your home addition on its own separate heating zone.

When you want to maximize the efficiency of your existing heating system after you construct a home addition, you should place the addition on its own separate heating zone. A zoned heating system has the capability of increasing your comfort level while simultaneously decreasing energy costs by reducing the temperature in areas that aren't used as frequently within your home.

Placing your new addition on its own separate heating zone will allow you to control the amount of heat being sent to the new area, maintaining the efficiency of your home's heating system.

There are many things that you need to consider when adding space to your home. Be sure that you carefully consider how you will heat your new addition to ensure the living space is comfortable in the future.

For more information, you will want to contact Bill Rhiner's Plumbing, Heating & Cooling.