Properly sized radiators do not need to be scalding hot, that's the problem. In the UK people used to run their boiler at like 80c and burn their arse on a radiator getting into the bath. A larger radiator can run at much lower temps which is not only better for a condensing boiler but also for a heat pump. Even a high
Floor systems should ideally be running at about 35c flow temps, but if the floor area is not sufficient for the volume of the room and it's insulation then higher temps will be needed. The two we have on site are run at 35c for 8 months of the year (could almost certainly go lower) and bumped to 40c in the winter as it's needed to maintain the temperatures we have set in the rooms.
I think you have told me this before and legit almost swayed me on getting one haha, it's def something I should research more. Really I just need a one room solution (I just need like 6 or 7 degrees warmer in one room), the rest of the house is fine as far as heat goes, but that kind of sucks because I'm going to be spending hundreds of dollars regardless of what I do for just one room to be as warm as I'd like it.
I've never had an issue with mine. It tends to keep up with the temp just fine (I don't go too high in winter), but the efficiency drops and uses more electricity.
In case it changes your mind, I'm also in the New England area and my heat pump has handled it just fine (with minimal gas backup usage). I'm in an older house that the previous owners added ducting to - it can be done, although I don't know what it cost them. You're right about the electric costs, though. But I think you'd still come out ahead compared to the cost of heating oil if you're using an older burner.
i have gas so it's not as expensive as oil thankfully. but i'm currently in a 1918 built triplex with radiator heating. so the cost of turning it into a properly insulated ducting system would be 10-20k by itself. then another 10-15 for the heat pump with back up gas and another 15-20k for solar if i want to make it cost effective like yours. so you're talking about close to a 50k investment to save maybe a hundred bucks a month
Yep. We're still on oil over in NE Jersey. Gets cold enough here some weeks. Doing any of this would take forever to recoup the costs.
Obviously I don't know your house or situation, but that seems really not very smart of them.
So many questionable decisions in this house 😅 The previous owners added on to the house in a major way, cutting through the old foundation and extending it in the back. I think that's when they added the ducting. My house is one story, so they ran the ducts in the basement, popping up in various places around the house. It works, but the ducts are below the floor joist, so it cuts into the ceiling height in the basement.
