Hydronic Heating FAQs

What is Hydronic Heating?

Hydronic heating uses a boiler to heat up water and create steam. The steam is then circulated throughout the house through pipes and tubes that go directly to radiators, baseboard heaters, or beneath floorboards, releasing the heat in the boiler. Hydronic heating is often preferred because it is quieter and more comfortable than the stale heat of air coming through vents.

Hydronic vs Ducted?

Conventional ducted systems move heat from the roof down. This causes forced air movement and a loss in efficiency. As hot air rises, it is obvious that heat should move from the ground up. Your new hydronic heating system installed by our experts at Craig Price Inc. will typically cost approximately 20% less to operate and even greater savings can be achieved if the boiler is upgraded to a condensing boiler. In addition, your hydronic heating system uses hot water to provide heat. Because the water is continuously recycled the system rarely needs a top off.

What are the benefits of hydronic heating over traditional furnace heating?

With hydronics, heating is much more even which means that it is also easier to control the temperature zones from room to room. You can also use hydronics to heat the sidewalks or driveways around your home, melting snow and ice during the winter instead of having to physically removing it. In addition, you can move your furniture and appliances anywhere without worrying about blocking a vent or causing a fire hazard. Also, radiant heating will use less heat which lowers costs of your heating system.

What kind of air conditioning is used with hydronic heating?

Because a hydronic heating system uses sub-floor tubing, air conditioning must be installed separately. At Craig Price Inc. we suggest a ductless split air conditioning system or a packaged air conditioning system that utilizes ducts.

Does a hydronics heating system cost more to install?

The cost of hydronics installation is slightly higher. However, because hydronic heating is much more efficient and because you can also add zone controls so much easier, it is more cost effective long-term. The boiler uses less energy than a traditional gas or electric furnace. For example, your hydronic heating system will deliver energy bills about one-third less than you are used to.

Geothermal FAQs

What is Geothermal Heating?

Geothermal heating is an alternative heat source that can either take the heat from underground or a large dam that is located on a rural area. Geothermal heating can be used with a hydronic heating system and/or domestic hot water.

Ground or water loops are installed deep in the ground or within a dam, where the temperature maintains a constant level of heat. That heat is used to pre-heat the water that is used in a hydronic heating system. Once pre-heated, the water is pumped into the hydronic heating or a traditional hot water system. When this type of system is installed correctly, hot water can be produced for free.

How is geothermal heat transferred between the earth and the home?

The earth has the ability to absorb and store heat energy. To use that stored geothermal energy, heat is extracted from the earth through a liquid such as water or an anti-freeze solution. It is then circulated in the ground by open or closed earth loops and then transferred to the heat pump or heat exchanger. There, the heat can be used to heat your home. During the summer months the process is reversed, and indoor heat is extracted from your home and transferred to the ground.

Solar Heating FAQ's

What is Net Metering?

Net metering is a billing system that uses a bi-directional meter. That meter records energy taken from the grid and then deducts the energy supplied to the grid by solar energy. This allows homeowners with solar to save money on their monthly electric bills, sometimes even giving them credit for excess power generated!

Will my property value increase if I install a solar system?

Studies have shown homeowners experience a substantial increase in property value by installing a solar system. In fact, this increase can be up to $20,000 for every $1,000 of savings in your electric bill.

Is it true that I can sell excess energy back to my retail energy provider?

If you have the right plan. Your plan should include a 1-to-1 buyback program. Under a 1-to-1 buyback plan, your retail energy provider (REP) will remotely monitor both your contribution to the grid and your total consumption from the grid through a process referred to as net metering. The net balance will be purchased at a predetermined price-per-kWh by either you or your REP. For example, let us say you are on a fixed plan of 12¢/kWh. During a billing cycle in which you use 1,500 kWh and produce a total of 1,300 kWh, you would pay a bill of $24. However, you produced more than you used your REP would credit your account $24.

If the grid goes down, will my home be powered by my solar system?

The short answer is yes! Most solar energy systems installed today are standard, grid-tied systems. 'Grid-tied' simply means that the power the system produces bypasses the building it is installed on and goes directly into the power grid. The alternative is a hybrid, grid-tied system. The difference is just additional hardware. This additional hardware will allow you to draw power from your system in the event of a grid outage. Due to the high cost of battery technology, most solar customers decide against hybrid systems. Craig Price, Inc. offers a wide range of hardware configurations for both standard and hybrid systems.

Radiant Heating FAQ's

Is radiant floor heating practical for a home with high vaulted ceilings?

High ceilings and "lots of windows" are one of the main reasons why radiant heat has become so attractive to homeowners. Because hot air rises, in a forced air heating system all of the usable heat is first sent to the ceiling which may be 10 to 20 feet up. Once the air reaches eye level it has lost most of its energy. If the air is cooler than when it entered, where did all of its heat go?

Radiant heating works just the opposite. Because a radiant heat system stores energy in the floor, all of the rooms' warmth is kept right where it needs to be, on the floor where you are. With a radiant system the ceiling is cooler than the floor which means less energy is being wasted to the outside.

Do radiant heating systems make the floor too hot?

In the past, radiant heating systems were designed in the same way as a conventional baseboard system. High temperatures were used to control the radiant heating system. These high temperatures were too high to be comfortable. The higher the water temperature in the floor, the higher the floor surface temperature will become. In older systems, the floor temperature could exceed this limit, causing the floor to be uncomfortable. Innovation today has eliminated this problem with the latest controls and piping methods. Lower water temperatures are maintained to prevent overheating. Indoor/outdoor reset systems are used to help predict heating needs and to increase response times. Radiant heating technology is becoming more advanced every day. Contact our experts at Craig Price inc. to learn more about your radiant heating system options.

We hope that this page has been helpful to you. If you have any questions or we can assist you in any way, please feel free to contact us at your nearest convenience. Our specialists can be contacted at 530-587-4081.