A: The question I asked during the webinar was not very clear. We have a water based heating system with radiators and a boiler fueled by gas. We also have an air-sourced A/C system with small tubes running throughout the house (a UNICO, high velocity system) without the hanging of mini-split systems in each room. Is there any way of using an air sourced heating system to heat the hot water in our radiator based heating system (either through the existing boiler or directly to the hot water circulation system)?
Hi Alan, yes is the short answer, you can connect an air-sourced heat pump to a water radiator system. These are sometimes called hydronic systems. But the long answer is a bit more nuanced. These type of air-sourced heat-pump to hot-water systems are made by Jaga, Daiken and Spacepak and other manufacturers. I have never used one so I have no particular recommendations. The hot water in a boiler-driven radiator system is typically at 140F. Air-sourced heat pumps have a hard time getting the output side (whether it is air or water) above about 110F. So your radiators will no longer have that piping-hot feel (which may be good or bad – I have nearly burnt myself on hot-water radiators before). This means that it will take longer to heat your house up from cold – like when you come home from a winter vacation. But, as long as the heat output is matched to your heating load your rooms will stay warm, it will just take longer to get warm compared to what you are used to.
Are you thinking of using the UNICO high-velocity system with a heat pump so it would heat in the winter as well as give you AC in summer? We have a similar system in our rental house and I would consider replacing it with a heat pump if such a system exists. Let me know if you find one. Note, if you do this you will need to insulate the attic on the sloped part of the roof plus the gable ends and add window inserts to improve the insulation on any windows in the attic. If you don’t do this, the heat pump will be leaking heat into the attic in winter (no matter how well you insulate the ducts themselves) and this is not only wasteful but it will melt the snow on the roof which can lead to ice dams and water leaks into the house.