Well-designed and properly installed hydronic radiant heating systems have earned a deserved reputation for superior comfort. Even so, many people hesitate to use these systems because they can’t just push a button on their thermostats to change the system from heating to cooling. The combined cost of hydronic radiant panel heating, along with a separate central cooling system, often strains the construction budget to a point where something has to go, and that something is usually the radiant heating option. It gets trumped by a lower-cost forced-air system that delivers both heating and cooling, albeit often at reduced comfort.
This doesn’t have to be the case. There are methods for providing hydronic radiant panel cooling emerging in the U.S. market. They are well-suited for use with geothermal water-to-water heating pumps, which can provide chilled water in summer as well as warm water in winter. They also can be used with the growing number of air-to-water heat pumps now available in the U.S.