I have a natural gas furnace installed into my home. It relies on a duct system to carry heated and cooled air between the furnace and the rooms of the house. The conditioned air passes through the ducts, picking up dust, bacteria and other contaminants, and then is introduced via vents cut into the ceilings. These pollutants are circulated throughout the house and breathed in by my family. Because the heat is introduced from overhead vents, the warmest temperature is always up near the ceiling, where it does no good at all. Down by the floor, the air is often rather chilly, forcing me to raise the thermostat setting. The furnace then blasts a tremendous amount of overheated air, continuing to work until the thermostat setting is achieved. It then shuts completely off, creating very unpleasant temperature variations. This process is loud, aggravating and costly. The furnace requires frequent maintenance. I need to replace the air filter every month and hire a professional HVAC specialist to service the equipment every fall. I also need to worry about the condition and upkeep of the duct system. If there is a problem with the furnace, I am always concerned about potential carbon monoxide poisoning. I wish I could afford to tear the duct system and furnace completely out and replace them with a hydronic heating system. I’d like to install a boiler in the basement and radiant heating under the floors in every room. Radiant heated flooring is completely noiseless, requires little maintenance, and the heat originates at floor level. It rises very slowly and evenly, with the warmest temperatures remaining closer to the ground and allowing lower thermostat settings. There are no drafts or cold spots, and radiant heating doesn’t introduce contaminants into the breathing air.