Modern Hydronic Heating: For Residential and Light Commercial Buildings 3rd Edition

I am a contractor that has been looking for a greener approach of building. I had a friend that was interested in putting Hydronic floor heat in his shop floor, and I decided to invest the money and learn the ins and outs of the systems besides the basics you can find for free online.If you hire contractors, plumbers, or HVAC professionals to install hydronic heat be sure you ask to see previous work, or at least follow up with references. ALWAYS get a signed contract. This subject is very much an exact science to get the efficiency, and longevity you desire your system to have to begin with. I have seen several poorly designed systems that cost more money to operate, didn't work well enough, or even worse, didn't work at all. People think it is only a matter of running pex piping under concrete and plumbing it into a boiler - they could not be more incorrect.Personally I have several contacts of mine that have hired professionals to install under floor heating systems - and failed to do it correctly. The home owner is left with a negative opinion of hydro heating because they trust that the installer did the job correctly, but the heating system is just not what they expected it to be. Truth be told if the contractor had read this book it would work correctly.This book is a text book - full of information and proof of engineering. It is well worth the $170 paid for it. It is chocked with 700+ pages of information that even the season veteran plumbers will look to draw information on for the rest of their careers. If you are thinking about building and installing a Hydronic heating system , I highly encourage you to purchasing the first (nd most important) tool of that installation right here.

I have the 2nd edition which I checked out of the local library. It came with a CD loaded with basic hydronic design tools that work pretty well for being a free program. The 2nd edition is fantastic with lot of practical tips and tricks, along with engineering guidelines and data tables. I was so impressed with it that I bought the 3rd edition as soon as it became available. The only disappointment was that there wasn't an updated CD with design tools included with the newer edition. Other than that the new edition is even better than the old because of the updated information ie: fittings, controls, hardware etc, and the use of vibrant colors. Engineers, students, heating specialist and DIY will love this book.RonAlaska

A very comprehensive book written by someone who knows their stuff, who can write very complex material in a thoroughly understandable manner. I bought this as a homeowner who wants to have a good knowledge of the topic so that I can be an informed consumer when I contract out this work on a home for which I am acting as general contractor. This book allows me to get enough knowledge of all the implications of our particular circumstance because of the breadth of the material offered, and I can read just enough on the pertinent chapters to get all I need. It is also technical enough that if I wanted to do so, I could design the system from start to finish.

This book has a TON of good information. I have an engineering background, so most of this was relatively easy for me to digest but if math is not your strong suit you may struggle a bit trying to apply some of the information in this book. There is enough information in the book to properly design and install a radiant heating system that will work in your house. I would even recommend it to someone who will not do the actual work just to make sure the work is being done right. There was also a good section on the basic function of different types of boilers . I do have to ding it one star for a couple reasons, there are quite a few references to some software that is not included and looks to cost another couple hundred dollars and the author offers no good solution for freeze protection. He says using only water is "risky" and adding anti-freeze to the system is too expensive.

I have always wanted to design and build a hydronic but never had the time or money. Having recently purchased a distressed property with two garage and small ranch that had no heating I decided it was time. HVAC is not my field however I am an engineer. This book had all the information I needed to design and install a single boiler to heat all three buildings. The load calculations where spot on! I turned the system on and haven't had to touch it since. Works flawlessly, is very comfortable even in sub zero weather, and my heating bills for all 3 building are less than the previous owner paid to heat just the house. I'm using wall mount boiler and small repurposed electric heater tank as buffer.

I had wanted to purchase this book for quite a while, but the price kept me from buying it at first.Well, several new projects came across my desk, and I purchased it to design and bid the work.This book is well written and illustrated. I was not only impressed with the author's knowledge of thetopic, but how the information was presented and explained. You could save a small fortune by readingthis book before you design or install a hydronic heating system. I have used other resources for reference,but I have never seen all the information you would ever need, in one resource. This author put a lot of timeinto this book.

Very extensive. Even though I have an engineering background (civil), it also made me realize the wisdom of hiring a pro to put one in my 2,200-sf home. Still glad I bought it, however.

I used this book to install my radiant heat system. I have a working knowledge of heating systems and their application and was hoping this book would help me avoid some of the problems which can bite you in a radiant floor heating system. I found the book well organized, up to date and concise. I am a licensed engineer and licensed mechanical contractor but needed this book to make me feel comfortable with my plans. If you want to learn about all types of hydronic heating systems or , as I did, need to learn about one ,this is a great source of information.