Replies

1. 
   Trevor_Lambert | Apr 19, 2020 11:34am | #1

   What is the purpose of the intermediate step of hydronic heating? Seems pointless.

1. 
   user-7660704 | Apr 19, 2020 06:16pm | #3

   Sorry, I wasn’t clear. We’ll be keeping hydronic heat. We’ll add ductless minis down the road for cooling.

1. 
   Trevor_Lambert | Apr 19, 2020 06:23pm | #4

   The ductless minis are probably capable of covering the entire heat load of the house, so the hydronic heat system will be a rather expensive redundancy.

2. 
   Jon_R | Apr 19, 2020 03:52pm | #2

   I suggest finding the best local person you can, having them fully document their proposed system (drawings, exact equipment choices, etc) and then having someone remote check it. Also post it here.

3. 
   rhl_ | Apr 19, 2020 07:06pm | #5

   I dont know the answer to your question for a local contractor, but, i recommend you pick up the book "Modern Hydronic Heating" by John Seigenthaler, i found it very informative, and it helped me understand which plumbers were better than others.

   Also, you can purchase prefab "radiant" panels for the primary secondary pumping in a modern heat system. When we did an Oil to Gas conversion we paid a plumber a lot of $$ to build this piping. It is good, but far less compact and was far more expensive than it can be purchased for online.

   Overall, you just need to know the heating/cooling loads of each space you plan to heat and cool, but a radiator for that space, and run a pair of pipes from a manifold at your boiler per radiator.

   You can't go wrong with Caleffi Manifolds, ECM pumps, and a prefab primary secondary panel system that you buy online. Hook up a heat source, and basta.

1. 
   user-7660704 | Apr 21, 2020 06:48am | #6

   Thanks, Ryan. I picked up a copy of the book and will educate myself more fully before proceeding. Also, thanks for the advice on the prefab PSS panel systems–I didn't know those existed.

4. Expert Member
   Dana Dorsett | Apr 21, 2020 11:31am | #7

   Nate Adams' EnergySmart Ohio (http://energysmartohio.com/) company is based in the Cleveland, and would likely do a FAR better job at getting the room by room load (and radiation requirement) numbers than 99% of HVAC contractors out there.

   Read/watch some of his HVAC and comfort discussions here:

   http://www.natethehousewhisperer.com/home-comfort-101.html

   http://www.natethehousewhisperer.com/hvac-101.html

   http://www.natethehousewhisperer.com/hvac-102.html

   Nate's shtick is all about optimizing comfort with a whole-house approach, not limiting it to JUST the HVAC, which often fails to deliver comfort if overlooking correctable deficiencies in the building envelope. Check out some of his more involve retrofit case studies:

   http://energysmartohio.com/case-studies/

   Nate seems to prefer right-sized heat pump systems rather than hydronic systems, and shies away from point-source heating/cooling with mini-splits (which are usually obscenely oversized- too oversized for either comfort or efficiency when the "ductless head in every room" approach is taken.) But the room by room heating & cooling loads are well within their wheelhouse, and it's not rocket science to size the room radiation from a Manual-J (or I=B=R) load calculation if going hydronic.

1. 
   user-7660704 | Apr 26, 2020 11:07am | #8

   Perfect. Thanks, Dana. I was not aware of Nate's company and will reach out to him.