hydronic forced hot air?

18 years ago

I've got a HVAC problem and builder friend said hydronic forced air may be a solution.

I live in a 2200 sq ft two story colonial outside of Boston. The house was originally heated by a ground water heat pump(water from well). The heat pump was original to the house (28 yrs) and noisy uncomfortable and unreliable. I'm not interested is resurrecting it. I want to heat with oil (no gas available) and cool with split central air.

I've got ductwork throughout the house and they appear to be properly sized for a 4 ton heat pump but it's centered in the middle of the house. I've got a good chimney with an extra flue but the supply and return plenums are a full 24 ft from the chimney.

Is it practical to install a boiler near the chimney and run the hot water the 24 ft to an air handler? I'm looking for an efficient system and nothing so unusual or exotic that it can't be serviced by a typical repairman from the local oil company.

I'm sorry for the long post bur will appreciate any opnions or experiences. Thanks.

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Comments (3)

fsq4cw
18 years ago
I know you said youÂre not interested in resurrecting your geothermal system Â but a lot has changed in 28 years! If you still have access to a suitable supply of ground water you could have the most efficient source of heating and cooling. With todayÂs energy costs why would you want to pay 4 times as much for energy and lock yourself into a source of energy that fluctuates daily? A hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico or an attack on a refinery in Saudi Arabia, a fire in refinery in Texas or a terrorist attack on a supertanker in the Malaccan Straights or the Straight of Hormuz and your home heating cost goes through the roof!

At LEAST look into replacing your water source heat pump before making any final decisions.

IMO

SR
PRO
WF Smith, Inc.
18 years ago
I completely agree with SR - the new geothermal heat pumps are so incredibly efficient. Oil prices are already pushing $4/gallon where I live and my customers are being quoted almost $5/gallon to lock in a price for next winter.

The WaterFurnace Envision series is very quiet, will improve your comfort in the house and will be very reliable if installed by a good contractor - make sure you opt for the cupronickel for the open loop application. Your total cost would probably be in the same ballpark as the boiler system with hot water coil.
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dhenryp
Original Author
18 years ago
My well was one of the reasons I don't want to replace it. It can't reliably supply the volume of water that was needed - 17gal/min winter and 10 gal/min summer.

Back to my original question; is a forced hot air hydronic system a good idea (assuming I don't want a ground water heat pump)?