About two years ago, my husband and I moved further north in order to accept a job opportunity. We spent several weeks touring various houses for sale. Between my husband and I, we were fairly particular with what we were looking for. I wanted a larger property, outside of the city, with a big kitchen and plenty of closets. My husband was determined to find a place with at least a two-car garage and space enough in the basement for a workshop. When we finally found the perfect property, we were not happy to discover a boiler heating system. We’d always relied on a forced air furnace, and we expected the boiler to be noisy and inefficient. We ultimately bought the home with the idea of tearing out and replacing the entire heating system within a few years. After our first winter in the new house, the boiler was our favorite thing about it. The boiler is a hydronic system, meaning that it uses water to transport heat energy. Instead of blowing hot air and a bunch of contaminants into the house, the heat is infused into the air. This creates a much more gentle warmth, very even temperatures throughout the house, and optimizes indoor air quality. The system is nearly silent, wonderfully reliable and requires very little maintenance. The boiler is linked to baseboard heaters in each room, which are controlled from independent thermostats. The zoned temperature control allows us to customize comfort and avoid heating empty rooms. My husband and are now hoping the boiler will last for many years.