Central heating is one of the many wonders of today that have provided many people with a constant source of comfort. Instead of needing to rely on the ability to cut wood, as well as the availability of timber, homeowners can simply walk over to the thermostat on the wall and turn it up to get warmer. Local heating was the common way homes were once heated, since the main source was located in one room and heat had to then radiate into the surrounding rooms. Central systems actually spread the heat evenly to many rooms at once, providing a much more even heat.

Circulation of heat is done so through ducts in which the warm air is forced through. This air will then exit the duct through a vent into the room. Cold air is sucked into a different vent and returned to the heating system to be warmed again.

A more controlled heat source also prevents pipes from freezing, which can be a common occurrence in homes with localized heat. There is also a lot less maintenance in keeping a constant temperature, since the machine is in charge of providing this.

Systems that supply central heat can run on electricity or gas. Most of the heating systems that run on electricity are much more costly than the gas-powered models. Electric heating systems are often connected to a central air conditioning unit.

The fan coil that is part of the AC unit heats up and the fan blows this warmed air into the ducts, which then distributes the heat to the rest of the home. Overheating isn't a problem, due to the safety switch incorporated into the system. Not only will this switch turn itself off if it overheats, but also if there is something in the way of the fan.

One of the main concerns about this type of heating is the amount of heat that goes to waste. Unless the house is completely full of people all the time, there are a lot of rooms heated that don't really need to be. From an environmental point of view, this isn't a very efficient way to use heat. People who live in extremely large homes and don't have many occupants will sometimes close off vents in unused rooms.

This will force the heat out of other vents instead. The efficiency for central heaters using gas are between 85 to 97 percent and oil-fired heaters are 80 to 89 percent efficient.

The most common method of central heating includes using fossil fuels, but some people have turned towards using water that gets warmed and circulated through pipes. These can run through walls and under floors in a home, providing an excellent source of heat. While this tends to be more common in European countries, it has been catching on more and more in home construction in the United States as well. Underfloor heating is a much more widely used form of central heat. It is ideal for very cold climates and highly efficient as well.