Articles by John Siegenthaler, PE

The constant variation in loads means water temperatures along the primary circuit could vary over a significant range. How do you properly size a heat emitter if you don’t know what the supply water temperature might be, depending on what other loads are active?

The term radiant heating makes most people think about warm floors. Although it’s true there are many excellent applications for radiant floor heating, it’s not the only type of radiant panel that can deliver excellent comfort. 

This system demonstrates how modern hydronics technology can be used to harmonize the operation of two high-efficiency heat sources — one renewable and the other conventional.

If you’ve never tried a radiant ceiling panel, I urge you to do so. I’ve used this panel construction on several projects and have always been delighted with the installation method, performance, and lack of problems. 

Modern biomass boilers are as different from earlier-generation wood-burning boilers as smartphones are from their rotary-dial predecessors. 

The boiler can be configured to provide supplemental heat when the heat pump can’t quite keep up with the load. This allows the heat pump to be sized for 50 percent to 75 percent of design load while still providing the majority of the total seasonal heating energy requirement.