Articles Tagged with ''hydronic heating''

Opened in 2020, the new Wasilla police headquarters has the latest technology to supply heat and keep walkways free of ice — critical components where sub-zero temperatures and five feet of snow are common in the winter. Both the hydronic radiant heat system and the snow- and ice-melting (SIM) system consist of 5/8-inch diameter PEX barrier tubing installed in circuits in concrete slabs.

Government planners, taking their queues from politicians and advocacy organizations, have steered the future of energy supply away from fossil fuels and toward renewably-sourced electricity. It’s happening on every level from the feds right down to local city councils.

I love all the advances taking place in the world of hydronics, but I’m still seeing plenty of steam systems out there in our older cities, so knowing about dry steam will help you if you’re replacing a steam boiler. The dryer the steam is, the better you’re going to look to your customers.

Many legacy hydronic heating systems use a fossil fuel boiler to supply fin-tube baseboard heat emitters in some areas of a building and lower-temperature radiant panels in other areas. 

The site offers information on the benefits of modern hydronics technology, as well as links to publications and training.

I began my career in the HVAC business in 1970 as a truck driver for an AC/refrigeration wholesaler. I stayed there just six weeks because my father — who worked for a manufacturers’ rep — told me there was an opening for a clerk at the rep. It paid $110 a week, which was $10 more than I was getting driving the truck. Plus, I’d get to work with him as my boss.

Although I’ve worked with hydronic heating for four decades and designed systems around just about every possible heat source, I would be hard-pressed to predict what might be available as hydronic heat sources 25 years from now. 

I have heating (plumbing, fire suppression, etc.) shops in New York and New Jersey. This is very much steam country, and we repair and replace steam boilers and systems all week long and have been for decades. All that is fine, but what I find incredibly odd is the polarized perception of the automatic water feeder.

Water-to-water heat pumps, supplied from geothermal earth loops, represent a growing sector of the hydronic heat source market. Most current-generation models can produce water temperatures up to about 125° F, perhaps a little higher if you’re willing to push the compressor operating envelope.

 All boilers that burn hydrocarbon fuels such as natural gas, propane, oil or wood produce water vapor as a byproduct of combustion.