Hydronic (hot water) space heating saves energy while optimizing comfort. Small pipes distribute heat throughout your home without the inherent energy losses that come with ducts used in warm air heating systems. Hydronic heat also eliminates the “drafty” environment you have with a warm air system.
How Hydronic heating works
A boiler heats the water and the water is circulated (pumped) to the space being heated through small diameter pipes. Then the heating units, such as baseboard or radiant floor, gently transfer the heat from the water to the space without the use of blowers or fans. A furnace (forced hot air system) works by passing air through the heat exchanger and blowing the air through the ductwork into your home’s indoor spaces. Blowers create drafts…hydronic heat is not drafty. Drafty air is good for cooling you, not for keeping you warm.
Benefits of Hydronic Heat
- Saves energy: No energy duct losses
- Unsurpassed comfort: Hydronic heat is gentle heat and not drafty heat
- Design versatility: There are many types of hydronic heat that will fit your needs
- Clean operation: Does not move dust around like a forced air system, no moldy ductwork
- Good for people with allergies: The clean heat keeps dust & allergic reactions to a minimum
- Easy to install: Heat is moved in small pipes that install easily
How Does Hydronic Heat Conserve Energy?
Heated water is distributed throughout your home using small circulators (pumps), the electricity consumption for most residential circulators is much lower than a 100 Watt light bulb. Electrical consumption of a warm air furnace blower is often 7 times greater. The heat is then transferred to the air in your room through the use of “finned tubing” (baseboard) or radiant floor heat. Small pipes used in hydronic heating system have a lower “heat loss” than warm air ducts. Since the pipes used in hydronic heat are small they are often placed inside the heated space, further saving energy. The small pipes are easy to “zone”, heat where you live and lower the heat in the rest of the house.
Why upgrade to a modern hydronic heating system?
The two prime reasons are improving comfort and improving your heating system’s efficiency. You and your family spend most of your time within your home, give yourself a comfortable and energy efficient heating system. Often the argument for using a warm air heating system is you can add air conditioning to it…however if you locate your warm air registers (outlets) where they should be for heating, they cool the home poorly. And if you locate your registers where they should be for cooling, they heat poorly. Do it right, be efficiently comfortable and heat with hot water “hydronic” heat.