Radiant Cove Heat

---

Radiant cove heaters warm the floor and objects with radiant energy, which in turns heats the air.  Available in lengths from 2-feet to 12- feet; each comes with a wall-mount thermostat for individual control.  Since cove heaters are mounted on the wall near the ceiling, they don't interfere with furniture placement, nor do they pose a threat to children.  Cove heaters are considered one of the safest electric heating sources, there is no danger of clothing or blankets accidentally being thrown on them.  Call Mick's Electric Inc. in Rapid City for questions 605-348-2335.
Benefits include:

• Clean - No fumes, no vents required and no worry about carbon monoxide.
• Temperature Controlled:  it can be manually operated from a disconnect switch or controlled with a thermostat.
• Easily installed -- overhead radiant heaters can be suspended just like fluorescent lighting fixtures to focus heat where needed.  Use singly or in a group to heat a small area or an entire building.

Benefits of Electric Heat Pumps:

• Long-term operating cost advantages
• Year-round comfort and energy efficiency
• Single system for heating and cooling
• Easy, dependable operation
• Low Maintenance
• Clean, healthy environment

How it works:
What makes the heat pump so efficient is the way it operates.  Instead of burning costly fuels such as propane or oil, the heat pump moves heat without a flame.  It does this by extracting available heat from the outside air and transferring or "pumping" it inside your home.  During the summer the heat pump reverses this operating extracting heat from the air inside your home and pumping it outside.

The way the heat pump operates can be explained without getting too technical.  Two basic physical principles are at work in the heat pump:

• Movement of heat from a hot object to a cool object.
• A pressurized gas allowed to expand becomes cool.To achieve year round comfort, the heat pump uses the same basic components as the refrigerator:  Coils to carry refrigerant gas, a compressor to increase the pressure of the gas, and fan to circulate air.

During the winter a fan pulls air over the outdoor coil which extracts heat from the outside air.  Even through winter air feels cold to us, it holds a great deal of heat.  The compressors pressurize the gas in the coil, raising the temperature even higher.  The heated gas moves inside your home to the indoor coil.  A circulating fan blows air across the indoor coil and through heating ducts, the heat is drawn from the gas in the indoor coil and transferred to the air in the ducts.

During the summer this process is reversed automatically by a valve or switch on the heat pump.

Like any other machine, the heat pump will perform best if it is properly maintained.