John Siegenthaler, P.E.

An installer sets up a zoned distribution system. To keep it simple, he uses the same size piping for the headers and all the distribution circuits. The heat source is a low-mass copper tube boiler with high flow resistance.

An installer who is used to boiler replacements may view the mechanical room aspects of changing from a boiler to a geothermal heat pump the same as a boiler changeout; just swapping out one “box” for another. Unfortunately, this can lead to some significant operating problems.

An installer pipes up a system using a conventional gas-fired boiler to supply heat to a low-temperature radiant panel system.

Due to the high price of fuel oil, a contractor is hired by a building owner to install a wood-gasification boiler to supplement the oil boiler. The building’s distribution system consists of a three-zoned air handler with hot water coils.

Hydronic cooling also works in smaller buildings.