Hot air systems basically take cool air from part of your house, heat it up in a panel, and put the air back inside. The air passes through a sealed panel around heat plates that are exposed to the sun. The passing air picks up the heat off the plates and delivers it to where the outgoing duct is placed. These are a simple way to heat up your house in the daytime. The circulation is controlled by a thermostat connected to a small fan or blower. During the day the cold air in your house is then slowly heated up by a small amount of electricity used to run the fan. These systems were originally marketed towards business's and people who are home all day and can take advantage of heating up a space during the day.


At Blast, we find they work very effective when people are or are not home also. We have been installing simple air systems on ground level outside a basement window, then circulating basement air through the panel and back to another part of the basement. This constant circulation all day during the winter heats up the basement and that heat slowly rises to warm the rest of the house, thus taking a bite out of what your backup heat unit must do.