Why A Hydronic System Is Superior to Forced Air

So, what exactly is a hydronic heating system, and why is it superior to the forced air system the neighbours might be using?

A hydronic heating system uses water to heat a home. The technology is actually far superior in a hydronic system compared to forced air. It allows much better control, more efficiency, and it’s generally a nicer heat in the home.  Hydronic tends to be a little more expensive when initially installed but runs more efficiently and gives you more control over forced air.  And it’s quiet – zero noise. New construction will be a lot of forced air, but if you’re re-circulating the air in your home constantly; it’s blowing dust, pet fur, allergens, anything that’s in the air in your home will get circulated in the system and deposited in every room.

A hydronic system doesn’t circulate air throughout the house, so you don’t have to deal with those kinds of issues. A lot of the custom homes you see nowadays get hydronic systems put in, that way people can have radiant floors, towel warmers and luxuries like that. It’s a better feeling heat.

‘Radiator’ by nature of its name means radiation. The energy is radiated from the boiler into the room and surrounding area.  A furnace heats the air in the room, it’s not heating the structure. Older homes in Toronto and other cities will have a lot more hydronics, lovely cast iron radiators, high mass heating systems.  Generally, when you’re sitting beside a rad, you feel warmer, because that energy is radiated from the radiator, and you’re absorbing it.