As a business owner, it's your responsibility to keep your employees comfortable while they work. Ensuring they stay nice and warm during the colder months is one of the most important ways to ensure their comfort. If you're considering replacing your current commercial heating system, check out these four common heating systems.

Radiant Heating

Radiant heating is what radiators use to heat rooms. Oil or water is heated in a boiler and then sent through coils. The heat is transferred to the air through these coils. Radiant heating has advanced, however, to remove the need for radiators. Instead, many newer buildings have coils in the walls or floors. This creates an extremely effective form of heating, and radiant heating uses little electricity to heat the liquid, keeping your monthly business costs low.

The downside of radiant heating is that it doesn't work well for cooling. In most cases, your business will need another system for cooling, which can increase your heating and cooling costs. On top of that, radiant heating takes a while to actually warm a room. Radiant heating is also one of the most expensive heating options.

Active Solar Heating

With active solar heating, glass panels are placed on the roof of your business. Liquid-filled coils sit inside the panels, and the sun heats the liquid. When it's hot enough, it travels into the building to heat the rooms in the same manner as radiant heating. As a result, it carries all the benefits of radiant heating, but they are also eco-friendly. The monthly cost of active solar heating is less expensive because it uses free sunlight for heat.

Like radiant heating, however, installing active solar heating is costly. Plus, the system relies heavily on good weather. On days or months where the sun is covered by clouds, the liquid won't heat enough to warm your business. To balance this, you'll still need to install a backup system.

Passive Solar Heating

Passive solar heating is significantly different than active solar heating. With passive solar heating, think of your business like a greenhouse. Every design of the building is crafted to trap warm air during the colder months and block it during the warmer months. Like active solar heating, this is a green option for heating your business, and the monthly cost is little because, again, you are using energy from the sun to heat your business.

The downside to passive solar heating is that it can become extremely expensive. While adding a couple passive solar pieces won't cost much, to get the most out of passive solar heating, you should have your building designed from the ground up. This allows you to maximize your heating results. It's difficult to add this type of heating to an already established building. Plus, because passive solar heating uses the sun, you'll need a backup for those cloudy days.

Forced Air Heating

Forced air commercial heating uses a heating element to heat the air and a fan to force it through vents to heat different areas of your business. This type of heating warms your office very fast, effectively and evenly. These types of systems can also work extremely well to cool your office during the warmer months. They can even filter the air for you, so if you have forced air heating, you probably don't need any other system.

Forced air heating, however, requires a lot of maintenance to keep everything in working order, especially the ducts. The ducts themselves are also a weakness. It's very easy for them to develop leaks, gaps or holes, allowing the air to escape. This forces you to use more energy and money to successfully heat and cool.

There are many different ways to heat your business, and choosing the right one is about discovering your needs and wants. For more information about heating your office, contact a heating provider today and start the conversation.