Hydronic Furnace – What You Need To Know About A Hydronic Wood Furnace
A hydronic (liquid-based) furnace is not for everyone. First when using an outdoor hydronic furnace unit, you need to carefully go over the pollution permits and wood burning restrictions that pertain to your town, city or county. Of course if you already have a high efficiency heating system in place you can always install a simple hydronic booster coil which superheats the air in your ductwork using hot water. This increases the heat without any major expenses or modifications.
But if you want to use a outdoor hydronic furnace, you need to be aware of any tricky environment and fire hazard laws for your community. This is why you should work closely with a wood boiler dealer or installer to make sure you are setting off in the right direction when it comes to buying one of these units.
First determine the weather conditions surrounding your home. If you live in a mountainous region, you know that winter conditions can vary greatly. What seems like a slightly, windy wintry day in a city at the bottom of a valley can become bitterly cold and icy for the homes perched on a mountainside just a few miles above town. So the actual weather conditions and heating needs of your home must be taken into account when determining the size and heating capacity of an outdoor hydronic furnace. If you don’t know what you need, then look over your heating bills for the last several years or look at local winter temperature readings.
Now that you have an idea of how cold it can really get around your home, you can start looking at your fuel sources. Yes, before you ever look at hydronic furnace dealer’s store. You need to know how much wood it will take heat your home using a hydronic furnace during a bad winter in your area. If you have access to several woodlots or private forested lands, you need to think about getting the wood from “out there” to “in here”. Everyone loves the warmth of wood fire, but everyone hates chopping wood, and my guess is that you will be no exception.
So you have to think about the time and effort that will go into obtaining cordwood (.i.e. firewood that has been cut and stacked to season). Unless you cut it yourself, you will have to buy wood by the “cord”. Depending on your region or state, the word “cord” is an actual legal term of measurement, usually 128 cubic feet or 4ft x 4ft x 8ft or a long cord of 2ft x 4f x 16ft.
Terms like “pickup truck load”, etc while descriptive are not accurate enough for purchase. When buying firewood you have to think about storage locations, the wood’s moisture content (the drier the wood the longer it burns), the species: hardwood or softwood (softwoods burn hotter but puts out more residues and smoke), and any insect problems or damage.
Once you have nailed down your fuel sources, the next item on your list is looking at the different models and brand-name manufacturers. This is where you take a serious look not only at the size of the unit, but things like the durability and construction of the firebox or combustion chamber and the basics of how it works.
You need find not only a dealer who sells the model or brand of hydronic furnace like Greenwood or HeatMor that you like but also has trained installers. Usually if someone has a problem with their wood firing furnace it’s due to problems with installation. So be willing to pay a bit more for a better trained service team.
