Added Benefits of Hydronic Heat
With a hydronic system almost endless hot water can be supplied from the boiler,
all year round with an indirect fired water heater or a tankless heater. Indirect water
heaters do not have a separate fuel supply, such as a gas pilot light, but rather use
the hot water generated by a boiler to heat domestic water. Our tank-within-a-tank
design allows hot water produced by the boiler to circulate in a steel outer tank which
wraps around an inner stainless steel tank, radiating heat through the walls of the
inner tank, keeping a steady supply of hot water on hand.
If there are space constraints, a tankless heater, which is simply a coil through
which tap water is circulated, can be installed in your boiler. In both cases, during
the summer months when the heat in your home is shut off, the boiler operates at a low fuel
level, about the same as an ordinary hot water heater.
A hydronic heating system also permits the installation of a snow-melt system.
Pipe coils may be installed under sidewalks and driveways. Hot water is circulated
through them, and snow is melted as fast as it falls. Hydronic systems can also be
easily adaptable to heating swimming pools, greenhouses and separate garages.
Hydronic Heating Systems Are Cleaner
Heating systems, in themselves, do not create dirt. Dirt results from cooking,
air infiltration and tracking it in from the outside. However, warm air heating systems
create turbulence because they operate with a blower. Rapid agitation of the air causes
dirt particles to be deposited on walls, furnishings, curtains and drapes. Even filters
cannot effectively control this situation, inasmuch as they trap only larger particles of
dirt.
With a hydronic system, heat is gently circulated uniformly and without sudden
on-and-off cycles that create turbulence. This fact, plus the fact that a hydronic
system operates at relatively low temperatures, allows you to keep a cleaner home.
Hydronic Systems Are Quiet
With a warm air system, heated air is conducted through sheet metal ducts that expand and
contract as the air temperature rises and falls. This results in noise from the heating ducts.
Another major noise factor with a warm air system is the sound of the blower when the furnace is
operating. Hydronic systems are noiseless.
Hydronic Systems Are More Durable
A hydronic system will ordinarily serve 25 years or more, both because of the material used and
the minimum number of moving parts. A warm air furnace, which has far more moving parts and requires
frequent changing of air filters, will normally last 10 to 15 years, with major repair a possibility
at some point before maximum life is reached.