Radiant & Hydronics

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Plumbing & Mechanical Chief Editor Nicole Krawcke moderates a discussion on all things radiant with our incredible panel of Radiant All-Stars.

In 2024, the North American air-to-water heat pump market saw significant expansion, with nine new offerings introduced at the January AHR show by companies new to this category. By year's end, at least 18 companies either have or plan to offer these pumps in the U.S. Read the list of these companies as of mid-2024.

The two photos below were from the same project. Flow is upward through the vertical pipe in Figure 1. Without any more details being described, can you spot at least two problems in each photo?

Air-to-water heat pumps are becoming popular in the hydronic heating industry due to their energy efficiency and sustainability. Chris Decato of U.S. Boiler Co. notes a rising demand driven by their cost-effectiveness and reduced carbon footprint.

Last fall, we assessed a boiler replacement project for a town hall. Three out of four existing rare condensing cast iron boilers were inoperable within two years, and seven out of eight boilers failed within 10 years. During our visit, we meticulously examined various aspects to identify any potential issues.

Air-to-water heat pumps and water-to-water geothermal heat pumps provide warm water for space heating, domestic water heating, and chilled water for cooling. Switching a hydronic heat pump system from space heating to cooling and vice versa seasonally is relatively simple. The system operating mode is changed at the thermostat or a dedicated system mode switch with heat, off, and cool settings.

Both floor heating and snow melting showed significant growth in the Rocky Mountain region but snow melting saw the biggest increase as it grew from 38% of all sales in Q2 2023 to 54% in Q2 2024.

Dairy farming is vital for rural communities and household nutrition. Durable materials like REHAU PEXa plumbing systems are essential for dairy barn construction. Three WRC dairy barn projects feature these systems.

The Pass Life community near Summit at Snoqualmie ski resort struggles to keep up with snow removal due to quick snow accumulation. Traditional methods like shoveling and snowblowing are insufficient.

I attended a conference hosted by the Building Performance Association and presented on air-to-water heat pump systems. Many professionals were interested in heat pumps, especially ductless air-to-air systems. One person mentioned the difficulty of finding qualified installers for air-to-water heat pumps and noted the higher cost compared to ductless air-to-air systems.