Hydronic Heat Pumps with Ecowarm RadiantBoard

We are all familiar with electric air to air heat pumps which provide forced air heating and cooling…sometimes referred to as mini splits. These air-to-air heat pumps have been used for whole house and spot cooling and heating combined with an electric heat pump water heater providing the domestic hot water.

There is also very efficient air to water and geothermal heat pumps (Hydronic Heat Pumps) that generate hot and chilled water for hydronic systems plus more efficient domestic hot water supply. All these types of heat pumps can cut electric heating, hot water and cooling energy very significantly opening the door for being powered by reasonably sized solar systems or as cost-effective alternatives to propane and oil fueled systems.

In the past few years, with the development of inverter technology, air to water heat pumps can provide warm water at low ambient air temperatures, boosting their geographical range and popularity. Combined hydronic heat pump systems offer the comfort of radiant heat and more economical hot water generation than a stand-alone heat pump water heater.

Geothermal heat pumps can make sense in applications where land is available for a ground loop and rebate programs exist.

Hydronic heat pumps are central to any hydronic heating Net Zero Energy strategy as solar electricity can power these systems.

Additionally, as a high efficiency boiler may be 95% efficient, a modern hydronic heat pump can be 350-600% efficient due the magic of refrigerant changes of state and modern compressors. That means that the use of an electric hydronic heat pump can be, and often is, more cost effective than gas or oil.

Ecowarm can heat a typical space using 90°F–105°F water temperature for floor systems and using wall and ceiling configurations in the 80°F–95°F range. Look at the heating capacity chart above to see what a difference that makes for a hydronic heat pump capacity and efficiency! Ecowarm. A perfect match!

Not all radiant system distribution is equally efficient or effective for use with hydronic heat pumps. Far from it. Some types of radiant floor distribution require very high temperatures!

Another bonus — Ecowarm requires a lower supply water temperature even for ceiling and wall applications!

To meet the worst-case heating design load, the designer may choose supplemental heat in cold climates with either electrical or gas fired sources or over size the heat pumps using a buffer tank to reduce system cycling or use multiple heat pumps and stage them to activate according to demand. A couple of manufacturers have internal electric backup, others use buffer tanks with internal backup electric elements and others provide design solutions using gas backup to address these peak load conditions.

Air to Water Application Guide

Air to Water Heat Pumps: Different Configurations

Some manufacturers supply the heat pumps alone and other offer more packaged solutions with pump modules. Some include the entire heat pump and pumping module located outside and others with the condenser outside and the evaporator and pumping inside.

Some are variable speed and other on/off heat pumps. Some offer buffer and indirect hot water tanks with some having backup electric elements in the tanks.

It is often a good design practice, particularly when using multiple or intentionally oversized heat pumps to employ a buffer/separator tank.

For a wide range of information and diagrams regarding air-to-water heat pumps refer to the Caleffi Air-to-Water Heat Pump Application Guide written by John Seigenthaler or click here to view additional HSC Schematics diagrams.

The company below has years of design experience with air to water and geothermal radiant systems.

Monterey Energy Group: David Knight