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Heating & Air Conditioning

replace hot water radiators with hydro air??

16 years ago

I am in the process of renovating an old house in New England. In the process, we are putting in central air. Though I did not anticipate changing the heat system, my contractor has suggested putting "hydro-air" for heat (which I guess is a type of forced hot air but not as dry since it is still powered by the same boiler as the radiators) in the second floor of the house and replacing the radiators (which are hot water). He is making this suggestion since we are already creating the ducts to accommodate the AC. He is suggesting that we keep the radiators on the first floor (which would be a different zone for AC anyway).

Does anyone have any thoughts about whether this is a good idea and/or the advantages and disadvantages of doing this? I have no idea if this is a good or bad decision.

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Comments (5)

kframe19
16 years ago
I have to ask...

What is the contractor's logic for replacing the radiators on the second floor, but not on the first?

I don't personally see much logic for it.

Is your radiator system already zoned(upstairs/downstairs), or is this an attempt to get zoning?

One thing I really love about radiators (even though they take up a lot of room) is that they radiate heat for a LONG time after the system shuts down.
jason_s
Original Author
16 years ago
Now they are talking about "hydro-air" on the first floor as well. The contractor (and the architect as well) have said that hydro-air isn't the traditional forced air system from a furnace and so isn't as dry, etc.
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Agree with tiger dunes. If I could afford it, I would get rid of central air for heat. Radiant heat using radiators is more efficient. The large cost of heating may be related more to a lack of insulation than the efficiency of the radiators. If you suffer from allergies, you will prefer radiant heat. If the style of the radiators are a concern, depending on whether they are water or steam boilers, more contemporary options exists for the radiators. Many who can afford it, put in radiant floor heat in their homes. I am putting in electric radiant heat in my bathrooms. Mini splits will also prevent the major construction to add ducts for air conditioning. You can also have backup heat with the mini splits. Good luck!
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You are going to use existing radiators? One pipe system or two-pipe? Does your steam system work well (silently, no leaks, even heat)? I don't think that steam is well-suited to temperature set-backs. Is that what you like to do? You have natural gas? If no gas, a heat pump might be a good bet. New England is a climate-diverse area if you are in the extreme part wrt cold, a heat pump might not be appropriate. I think, hot water can give you a more efficient boiler compared to steam. The end efficiency of the hydronic heat boiler depends a great deal on the overall design of the heating system. You must have sufficient radiation to bring down the temperature of the return water to condensing temperature. If your system as a whole can't deliver this, don't install a condensing boiler. It is the wrong tool for the job and will not function well. You might stick with steam if your system can't support an efficient hot water boiler and you don't want to spend a lot to install new rads or ducts. Lastly, finding good steam workers can be tough. If there is a youngster in your area that can handle your system until you die, you will be in luck. There are lots of boiler people at terry love.com and at heatinghelp.com (the wall). Beware, there are lots of steam chauvinists there that will not budge for an efficiency argument. condensing boiler explanation
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You need to make sure that whichever HVAC contractor you choose does a legitimate (ie, not fudged) heat load calculation. It's a calculation that considers a number of factors specific to the size of the home, its rooms, and its construction and not the least of which being where your home is located, to determine how much heat needs to be produced to keep the home comfortable when it's cold outside. Rule of thumb and rough approximation were used in the past and rounded up with the result that other than homes built by conscientious tradespeople like in the last 10 years, most homes have waaay larger heating and cooling equipment than they need. More isn't better, oversized equipment produces less comfort at greater cost than when the right sizes are determined and installed. Again, good luck.
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mr_havac
16 years ago
He's right, its nowhere near as dry as when the air is passed over a gas or oil fired furnace heat exchanger. And with an outdoor reset control on a hydro air system you can save considerably by adjusting the heating water temperature to the load.
fsq4cw
16 years ago
Seeing as youÂre renovating and have ducts already, why not invest in a geothermal heat pump system and leave behind the volatility of fossil fuel prices? You wonÂt have the low humidity problems as well since geothermal is a low temperature heat source. You can probably heat your home for about 1/3 the cost of a fossil fuel system, heat your DHW and have A/C as well Â all from 1 integrated system instead of 3 separate systems. Zero emissions, no service contracts. ItÂs a no brainer!

IMO

SR

Here is a link that might be useful: geoexchange.org
mr_havac
16 years ago
fsq4, reread the post, he doesn't have the ducts already. Ductwork is expensive, highly unlikely some renovation budgets can include a top of the line system. Well drilling in some areas can be outrageously expensive.

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