Hydronic (hot water) heating and cooling methods are resilient alternatives to traditional HVAC systems using outdoor equipment, said Richard Medairos, P.E., of Taco at the 2023 AHR Expo in Atlanta. They are environmentally safe (do not use ozone-depleting substances), interact well with renewables (solar hot water and PV, wind, ground-source heat pumps), include flexible design configurations and are not dependent on weather issues as the equipment is housed inside buildings.
Water is an efficient material to transfer heat, and hydronic systems respond well to building modifications and various controls. Hot water can be distributed through fan coils, fin-tube radiators, panel radiators, radiant floor heating and cooling, active and passive chilled beams and air-handling units.
And hydronic technology is an ideal method of thermal storage.
“Hydronic systems can be combined with other systems to achieve HVAC needs,” he explained.