John Siegenthaler, P.E.

I’ve written many PM columns discussing how air-to-water and geothermal water-to-water heat pumps can be combined with hydronic delivery systems to deliver efficiency AND superior comfort. This combination is a great solution for many consumers.

There is a growing interest in adding air-to-water heat pumps to existing hydronic heating systems. While I support their use, I do not recommend replacing a perfectly good cast-iron boiler that still has a long service life.

A problem is developing with the transition to electric heating: peak demand. Learn how air-to-water heat pumps tackle seasonal needs but struggle during extreme cold, leading to reliance on electric resistance heating.

Discover the major flaws in a proposed heating system and learn about a makeover approach to eliminate the issues.

Find out about piping options for retrofitting an air-to-water heat pump into an existing hydronic system.

Like most people, I have opinions and beliefs about our current energy sources, and specifically how they play into the future of hydronic heating and cooling technology.

Hydronic-based heating and cooling systems stand ready to offer plenty of design and performance benefits. One of them is the potential for thermal storage.

System COP is a more relevant metric of geothermal heat pump performance since the owner is paying for the electrical energy to operate the heat pump and the circulator, and their operation is always simultaneous.

One of the best things about hydronic heating is there is virtually no limit to how piping systems can be customized. One of the worst things about hydronic heating is that there is virtually no limit to how piping systems can be customized.

The goal is to keep the system COP as high a possible as the operating conditions of the heat pump change. The logic behind maximum COP tracking is to continually look for an earth loop flow rate that improves the system COP.