A hydronic system is a way of heating and cooling your home by circulating water through pipes. This is also known as radiant heat.
For heating, water is sent through piping in the floor or wall as heat radiates from the warm pipes and heats up the room. The amount of heat can also be controlled by a thermostat for your comfort. During the summer months, the process reverses so that cool water is circulated through the piping. This pulls air across our skin cooling us down as it evaporates moisture on our skin and leaves us feeling refreshed and comfortable. A hydronic system provides two major benefits: radiant heat and humidity control. It's an efficient heating system that provides warm air and hot air with radiant heating without a forced air system because it uses central heating systems and heat pumps. Hydronic heating works to provide heated air with radiators that are efficient.
A hydronic system can be used to both heat and cool your home by the process of heating piped water water to a specific temperature. This heated water is then pumped through baseboard or radiator type unit where it transfers heat into the air in your room. When you want to cool, cooler water is circulated through the piping resulting in it pulling moisture from the air. This also has the added benefit of lowering humidity levels which can help with allergies, colds, flu and other common ailments that are associated with high humidity Recovery time for a hydronic system is is good, which means that you don't have to wait long for either heating or cooling temperatures. A hydronic system can recover at rates up to five times faster than forced-air heating and cooling systems. Natural gas, baseboard heaters, HVAC systems, heat exchangers and heat emitters can work at lower temperatures as cooling systems and as an HVAC system.
A hydronic system does not circulate air which means that you are heating or cooling only the heated or cooled water that is situated in your baseboard units, radiator units, or wall convectors. For additional savings consider adding an HRV (heat recovery ventilation) system with your hydronic system for even greater savings. The HRV will recover most of the heat from stale indoor-outdoor air before reintroducing it into your living space.
The hot water that is used in your hydronic heating system comes from one of two places; either your existing water heater or an additional hot water tank. If you are using an existing electric or gas-fired storage tank, heat pump or heat strips to heat your home's water supply, then the heated (or cooled) water will be supplied by the product itself.
If you already use an indirect gas-fired or electric-fired hot water heater, your home is already set up for hydronic heating. The hot water heater can simply be activated to supply the additional heat and then deactivated again when not needed without any negative effects on your existing system.
A heat exchanger uses air filters, which you need to clean and thermal radiation control valves to heat water.Heating and cooling your home directly, resulting in energy savings. In the summer months when you do not want to be cooled down too much, use a fan for air circulation instead of using the hydronic cooling unit. You can also add a hot water tap in any room if desired so that you have an instant supply of hot water available at all times. This is perfect for laundry rooms, kitchens and bathrooms where you want to be able to access a supply of hot water immediately. The heat from the baseboard or wall convector units provides radiant heat which creates a more even distribution of heat throughout your home rather than just heating one area at a time like forced-air heating systems. A hydronic heating system will maintain a more even temperature throughout your home which provides for a cozier, more comfortable environment in the winter months and a cooler environment in the summer months without having to ever turn on your air conditioning unit. In addition, an HRV (heat recovery ventilation) system may be added to your hydronic system for even greater savings by capturing heat from stale indoor-outdoor air before reintroducing it into your living space.
Maybe. The system is easy to install and usually only requires the assistance of a plumber to hook up any hot and cold supply sources that you might already have. Most do-it-yourselfers can easily install their hydronic heating systems with a little pre-planning, research and by following the manufacturer's instructions carefully.
The hydronic heating system itself will require minimal maintenance throughout its lifetime as it does not contain many moving parts (such as fans) which may need replacement over time. However, certain elements such as the boiler or furnace will require periodic servicing but these units are very low maintenance overall when well maintained. As far as the piping is concerned, periodic super-inspections are recommended to ensure that expansion and contraction in the piping is not causing any damage. A cooling system and modern systems have high operating costs when installed. Equipment and boilers are high maintenance. But they use less energy as pet dander in a building, walls, and other forms of living areas with dust and steam.
The initial installation cost of a hydronic heating system can vary greatly from one make and model to another. To determine the answer, you will need to contact local suppliers for quotes. The costs are just part of the equation. There are other considerations to make as well, especially if you want to achieve maximum results and use your hydronic heating system for many years. If you pay $1,000 per year or more for energy costs then chances are that a hydronic heating system will be able to cut these costs.