As time goes on, experts are finding more efficient ways to heat our homes. With this in mind, an area of focus in recent times has been hydronic heating. But what is hydronic heating? How does it work? What are the benefits of choosing this solution? Let’s take a look!
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What’s Hydronic Heating?
In a hydronic heating system, the idea is to heat water and then send it around the house to various radiators. However, the difference between hydronic heating and a regular heating system is extended capabilities. For example, many homeowners use hydronic heating systems to also heat floor slabs, baseboards, swimming pools, towel rails, and other areas of the property.
When using a radiant system like this, everything starts in an energy-efficient boiler. With the way that the water is dispersed around the home, each location is normally controlled separately. This means that you can keep the living areas warmer than the areas that aren’t used quite so much. With a tailored temperature in the home, everybody stays happy and you aren’t wasting energy heating rooms that don’t need it.
Cleverly, the pumps continually send new hot water to the areas where it is needed. Meanwhile, the water that has cooled down is sent back to the boiler where it begins warming again.
Benefits of Hydronic Heating
Why should you consider using hydronic heating in your home? According to hydronic heating experts in Melbourne, here are some of the main benefits:
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Cleanliness
Firstly, you might think that all heating systems are clean, but this actually isn’t true. With the blower creating turbulence in standard systems, this can cause the furniture, walls, curtains, and other materials in the room to get dirty. Even with an efficient filter, it’s impossible to prevent all dirt from entering the room. With hydronic heating, heat spreads around the home gently and this means there’s no sudden force or turbulence spreading dirt.
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Efficiency
Compared to systems dependent on electricity, hydronic systems are much more efficient (some sources say up to 70% more efficient!). Why? Because it’s easier to warm up water than air. With sealed systems, emissions are low, and the warmth gets into all corners of the home rather than escaping through windows and doors.
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Durability
There are two reasons why hydronic heating systems are more durable than traditional systems:
- There are fewer moving parts
- The system uses a cast-iron material
With a warm-air furnace, we’re constantly changing the air filters and worrying about all the moving parts. While traditional heating systems are lucky to reach 15 years, hydronic heating systems have the potential to reach 25 years.
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Control
What better way to stay comfortable than to have full control over the rooms that stay warm? Why heat the office and the spare bedroom when nobody is likely to use it? Instead, have full control over where you heat and then save money.
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Humidity
Another reason to choose hydronic heating (in case you didn’t have enough already) is that it’s better for the humidity in your home. When using forced air, this commonly takes moisture out of the environment and leaves those with respiratory problems in trouble. Meanwhile, heat moves slowly and more efficiently to better control humidity in hydronic heating systems.
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Capabilities
Additionally, hydronic heating has more capabilities by heating swimming pools, concrete slabs, baseboards, and more. With heat under the flooring and in the baseboards, you don’t need to keep the heating on for as long because these sources will continue emitting heat even when the heating itself is turned off.
Other benefits include the fact that hydronic heating is quiet, safe, cost-effective, and versatile!