Hydronic heating systems such as steam and hot water radiators have been around a long time, but recent technology improvements have given them a  face-lift. The following are ten important things to think about before installing hydronics in your home.

  1. Hydronics is a fancy word for heating by transferring water through pipes. The heat in the pipes warms up the surrounding environment as it travels through your home or building.
  2. Water is one of the best known conductors of heat, so there is little heat loss when using hydronics to heat your home.
  3. Hydronics can be used to cool your home as well as heat it. But in Canada, we mostly just use it to heat our homes.
  4. Hydronic heating systems give you the best energy source options to choose from, including gas boilers, gas water heaters, heat pumps and solar collectors.
  5. Hydronic heating systems are one of the most quiet options on the market, even quieter than the noise you already hear in your house.
  6. Hydronic heating systems are also one of the most flexible heating systems on the market, letting you set a different temperature for each room depending on your preferences.
  7. Hydronic heating systems help reduce the presence of allergens in your home because it doesn’t use air to heat the rooms.
  8. Hydronics uses radiant heat, which heats up the source objects rather than the air in the rooms. This means temperatures will fluctuate less when using hydronic heating systems and will save you money and energy.
  9. Hydronic heating systems are easy to integrate into the structure of most buildings using small, flexible tubing that can be routed through the framing like electrical cable. It can be used to heat your basement as well as the upper floors in your house or building.
  10. Outdoor hydronic heating systems can be used to heat your roof, sidewalk, or driveway to minimize snow and ice buildup.