I live in Glenview, Illinois and it gets cold in my area a lot.
I don’t know how I would get by without a proper heating system. AC I can do without, but heating is a must when you deal with snow and ice constantly. For years I relied on our home’s old boiler system to get by. We had giant grates spread out through the living room floor and a boiler in the basement. The boiler then heated the air that rose up through the grates. It was sufficient for the icy winter weather in Illinois, but not all that attractive looking. I eventually covered up the grates and called a HVAC business to hook up piping to the boiler. I now have radiant heating throughout my home. Pipes are hooked to the boiler and underneath my floorboards. Hot water from the boiler flows through the pipes to create a heating effect. Due to it being water and not air based, it is silent in operation. No heated air rises to the ceiling and gets wasted. It also doesn’t allow for cold spots in the house and is quite energy smart. I love that I can have sleek floors in the house. I actually choose to go with hardwood floors. Since I live in a cold climate, I figured I would be doomed to have carpet forever. Since the floorboards are heated, having wood floors doesn’t make a difference. I no longer need to wear socks or slippers in the wintertime too. It feels classy to have a heating system out of sight.