Can I Use Forced Hot Water to Heat My Little House?

Forced Hot Water

• Forced hot water systems, called hydronic heating, use a boiler to heat water, which is forced through copper tubes. These tubes supply hot water to radiators in some houses, but other homes use a radiant system with the copper tubes placed in loops in the floor or ceiling. Both radiators and floor or ceiling heating is done through the hot water in the copper tubes radiating heat slowly to the room. These systems require a professional plumber to install them, and they are best in regions with cold climates where heating is the primary concern instead of cooling your home.

Advantages of Forced Hot Water

• Compared to forced air heating systems, forced hot water systems produce no dust and do not dry out the air. The heat created by a hydronic system heats slowly, but it will warm small rooms faster than larger rooms. Radiant heating from the forced hot water system does not leave cold spots in a room, and it is ideal if you want even heating throughout a room. To take advantage of this heating, you need to install baseboard heaters or radiant tubing in the floor or ceiling of every room of your house. Rooms without these remain cold. The boilers required for a forced hot water system are related to the size of a house. In a tiny house, you need a smaller boiler, between the size of a suitcase and washing machine. If you choose a forced hot water system, you have the option to install a specialty boiler that heats hot water for your home in a separate compartment.

Disadvantages of Hydronic Heating

• Hydronic heating systems do not have an air conditioner, as forced air heat pumps do. If your area has hot summers, you must purchase a central air conditioner and install the duct work for it or buy window air conditioning units for each room of your home. With a hydronic system, the initial cost can be very high as a retrofit, especially if you want radiant floors or ceilings. It is easier to install the copper tubing needed for a hydronic system in a new construction where the walls are already exposed. You also need to take the same precautions you do with other plumbing in your house during the winter. A power outage can freeze the water in the hydronic copper tubes, causing them to burst.

Other Heating Options

• There are more cost effective options to heating a small house, especially if you live in a temperate climate. Portable space heaters installed in the rooms of your home can be removed and stored away during the summer months. If you have a central air conditioning system that needs replacement in the near future, consider a complete HVAC system that combines an air conditioner with a heat pump. The heat pump uses forced air to heat a home, but it loses effectiveness at sub-freezing temperatures.