We appreciate our customers’ feedback

Here’s what some of our customers say about Hydronic Alternatives products and team.

I highly recommend working with the Hydronic Alternatives team!

“I recently upgraded my home heating system, which was purchased entirely through Hydronic Alternatives. As a knowledgeable homeowner, I thoroughly evaluated all of my options before choosing to purchase the system recommended by Hydronic Alternatives. I received top notch service and support from the Hydronic Alternatives team during the installation process. The installation included new Hydronic Alternatives integral panel radiators in every room, a condensing propane gas fired boiler, PE-RT tubing and an indirect hot water heater. After our first winter since the upgrade, we are very pleased with the improved efficiency of the new system. In particular, we like the individual thermostat feature on each radiator, making it possible for our guests to regulate the thermostat in their respective rooms, creating a more comfortable, customized experience, without affecting the temperature in the rest of the house. I am of the opinion that the Hydronic Alternatives heating panels are better than radiant heat because not only do they provide the same stable, even temperature throughout the house, which is characteristic of radiant heat, but the Hydronic Alternatives integral panel radiators also offer the added benefit of being able to crank up the heat quickly when you return from a vacation. I highly recommend working with the Hydronic Alternatives team if you’re in the market for a new heating system.”

Peter J

Hydronic Alternatives Has Been a Key Factor in Running My Business.

Hydronic Alternatives has been a key factor in running my business. I have been installing their products for the past 8 years. Their proven methods of hydronic heating are unmatched in the industry, which sets my company apart from our competitors.  With these products comes the most professional and reliable support I’ve ever experienced.

– Alex B, Lakeside Plumbing and Heating

Hydronic Alternatives Has Helped Me Provide Cost Effective and Efficient Heating Designs.

Hydronic Alternatives has helped me provide cost effective and efficient heating designs.

My representative Lou quickly helps me engineer and sell a Job. I don’t think it’s about commissions, I think he has a passion for the trade and conveys it with providing expedient service. After the job is sold, he is also inquisitive and visits the job during and after to evaluate the install. Lou has gained much experience over the years for us to learn from. I am always very enthusiastic to ask him to visit a job. I believe my customers feel at ease because of his confidence with the products he sells and the assistance in displaying all options, bells and whistles.

Hydronic installations used to be tedious and time consuming. The introduction of  PE-RT and various Hydronic Alternatives radiant products have made it much easier to provide an easily installed luxurious, comfortable heat.  Installation of a radiator or a fin tube system used to be a chore. With a basic Integral radiator, a wall unit can be installed, final piped and ready to go within 1/2 an hour.  If the integral radiator doesn’t match the architectural of a design, many other radiators with different accents, shapes, and colors can be chosen to complement a room. Radiant Panel Baseboard is a great alternative and I have used it to hide within the wood base molding of a room. You wouldn’t even know it’s there. It has been effective in designs when radiant floors are not feasible.

Hydronic Alternative’s 3/8 PE-RT allows us to pipe where no one dared before. Installing radiant floors is easier than ever and sneaking pipe into tight confines is as easy as running speaker wires in your house. We feel that Hydronic Alternatives PE-RT is superior in allowing us to access tight bends while still allowing laminar flow. Whoever would have thought you could get so much heat out a small plastic tube.

With a little time in learning navigation through the Hydronic Alternatives catalog, it is simple to provide a design. Their engineering notes help to specify a system that shall work effectively at various high or low temperatures, as long as you know your heat loss.

If you don’t know your heat loss, Lou has always provided a line by line heat loss calculation with his field visit of a new job.

Hydronic Alternatives resources are plentiful whether you’d like to melt snow off a driveway, or keep your bathroom floor warm.

– Andrew M, President, M Heating Corp

Hydronic Alternatives Made My Installation a Breeze.

My experience as a homeowner with Hydronic Alternatives was superb. Not knowing about radiant floor heating, they answered all my questions and explained everything clearly and guided me through the process of design and installation. Steve responded to all his calls, emails and text messages, even when I was stuck on his days off.

As an electrician, working with the professionals from Hydronic Alternatives made my installation a breeze. I cannot wait to take one of the training classes they offer so I can gain more knowledge about their products.

– Marek D., Electrical Contractor, Western Massachusetts

Is that possible?

I converted the two oil fired steam systems in my apartment and rental apartment in 2010. We used condensing natural gas (NG) fired boilers, hot water Hydronic Alternatives Integral panel radiators, and PE-RT tubing for the installation. Comparing 4 full years of NG usage to 4 years of oil use history, I’ve been saving an average of 33% per year in energy (million Btu, or MBtu). This is for heating and domestic hot water, and with a couple of caveats – my house is now more comfortable and evenly heated, and I’ve eliminated the electric spot heaters I needed when I used steam. On top of the Btu (energy) savings, the current price of oil ($2.50/gallon, or $17.86/MBtu), is 28% more expensive than natural gas ($12.90/MBtu). So in dollars I’ve averaged a total 60% savings for the 4 years – actually more since oil was twice the cost of gas for the first 3 years – but I’m being conservative.

The new heating system made it possible to market my next door apartment as a more upscale rental. After the conversion and some other improvements, I increased the rent of the 2 bedroom unit from $1,100 to $1,800/month. Interestingly, it’s been consistently rented to folks who’ve lived with similar systems in Europe and know about the comfort and efficiency (a selling point since they pay the heat).

The maintenance savings; I was looking at replacing two antique oil fired steam boilers and doing something about the two 1930’s vintage unlined brick chimneys. One of the oil tanks had failed and I’m sure the second was getting ready to follow it. All resolved by the conversion.

The unquantifiable benefits: I’m way more comfortable, the aesthetics of the Integral panel radiators are great, I’ve got tons more space in my basement, and the two church-sized radiators you fixed me up with (one for each of the basement laundry areas) are really elegant for air drying certain clothing. And there’s no doubt in my mind that I can attract better tenants because of the heating system.

So it’s worked out really well for me, and I really appreciate Hydronic Alternatives’ support all through the process; design to final commissioning. Including last year when you helped us convert the three-unit “barn” – that’s been home run as well.

My partner, Mindi, runs that and pays the utilities for all 3 units. The other day while doing her taxes, she said her heating bill seemed to be $3,000 less than the year before – “is that possible?” she asked me.

– Barry S.

It’s Been a Pleasure to Conduct Business With Hydronic Alternatives.

We are extremely happy with the heating system we purchased from Hydronic Alternatives.  Once the temperature is set it never deviates from that setting. The room warms up to that temperature and stays there consistently. Additionally walking on warm floors is wonderful. We are so happy to have moved away from forced air heating and oil. The comfort level of this system is something that we have never experienced.

Additionally, the technology and the components used in the system are impressive. You manufacture quality components and the products you import are of a very high quality. Finding this technology in the United States is elusive.  Having a microprocessor control that monitors the outside temperature, makes adjustments and lowers the demand on the boiler saves us energy; I imagine changing over to gas heating will further reduce our recurring heating expenses.

You will have outstanding growth potential from these types of systems in the commercial, government, and residential sectors. There are so many individuals that need your heating technology; your company is a firm to pursue. It’s too bad you are not going after a public offering. I know several individuals that would be interested in investing in your firm and taking it public. With the energy crisis consistently getting worse I would think your growth potential will keep going higher.

It’s been a pleasure to conduct business with Hydronic Alternatives.  There should be more companies like yours who are willing to bring better technology to the public. The Hydronic Alternatives system has not only improved the comfort level in our home, it has reduced our recurring heating expenses substantially!

– Frank S.

Newland Apartments, Malden, MA Housing Authority.

Malden Housing Authority Brings Cutting-Edge Energy Efficiency to Postwar Apartment Complex

In the broad maintenance garage abutting the boiler house for the Newland Apartments in Malden, Massachusetts, a yellowing and much-handled map traces the path of the heating system’s underground distribution loop, a complex, meandering line that swings like a river’s oxbow from the boiler house, through a network of 62 buildings, and back again. Mark B. and George C., Siemens Project Developer and Senior Project Manager respectively, regard the map with respect; it’s at once the record of an impressive engineering achievement, hastily yet thoughtfully put together in the wake of the housing shortage after the Second World War, and a documentation of a current problem: today, that loop is failing.
“It leaks in too many places,” Mark B. says. Worse, even in the best of times and with appropriate insulation, the buildings on the return portion of the loop never received as much heat as those closest to the boilers’ output. The property owners, the Malden Housing Authority, were faced with an exceptionally expensive rebuilding project that would buttress an uneven—and by contemporary standards—woefully inefficient system for providing heat and domestic hot water.

A decentralized approach to efficiency
Fortunately, Siemens presented a much more attractive alternative. Under a performance contract model, Siemens finances, designs and oversees the construction of a new heating infrastructure; further, Siemens guarantees fulfillment of the Housing Authority’s performance and cost-savings targets, transferring risk from the client to itself.

George C. leads the way through the apartment complex, pointing out the most outwardly visible change in the new design: compact huts, much like tool sheds, that now dot the campus—nine 8’ x 10’ sheds serve single buildings; twenty-seven 8’ x 14’ units serve two buildings each. Inside these sheds—so unimposing that George C. refers to them as “dog houses”–each building gets a dedicated boiler and domestic hot water tank; these replace the three massive sectional, cast-iron, oil-burning boilers in the boiler house, and the house’s 2,000 gallon water tank.

The distribution of heat and hot water among these dog houses resolves the distribution piping problem by simply eliminating its need. But the bigger accomplishment, the achievement of greater energy efficiency, is fulfilled through the intelligent application of cutting-edge technologies.

“We started with the envelope,” Mark C. says. “We insulated, added weather stripping, and sealed gaps. For the water, we replaced the sink aerators and brought in new shower heads.” By making these improvements first, Mark B. and George C. accurately sized the complex’s heat and hot water needs.

At the heart of the new system, Siemens has installed 212 MBH condensing boilers that provide heat for each building and each of the new indirect hot water tanks. The smaller doghouses that serve one building get one of each; the larger sheds that serve two buildings get two. The latter take advantage of a lead-lag installation that allows a single boiler to provide heat and hot water to both buildings under low-load conditions, such as the shoulder seasons that surround the high-demand winter months.

Inside the doghouses, the new units look deceptively unprepossessing. The water tanks appear a bit wider than usual due to the ample application of insulation. But the boilers, suspended on steel racks mounted to the wall, seem impossibly small, more like a dormitory mini-fridges than traditional boilers. Looks deceive: inside, each element of the boiler has been engineered, not only to work at optimal efficiency, but to sustain long-term performance and facilitate easy maintenance. The Lambda Pro combustion controls “read” flames in real time, and can make instant adjustments to account for variations in fuel quality, combustion air temperatures and changing draft conditions. The heat exchanger, crafted in the highest quality, titanium stabilized stainless steel available, is built for twenty year and more lifespans. All internal parts and connections are readily accessed by merely removing the outer shell, making routine cleaning a snap.

Under the old system, the boilers maintained a primary loop temperature between 160° and 180°F; residents (there are four to six units per building) had no control over their indoor temperatures. The new system, however, simultaneously allows greater overall control of loop temperature while giving tenants the power, via new thermostats and radiator controls, to adjust their home temperatures within a range from 65° to 74°F. Today, outdoor temperature dictates loop temperature on a reset schedule which allows the Housing Authority to adjust for improved efficiency.

Wring out every degree of heat
Cutting-edge condensing boilers bring the potential for great energy savings; the overall design, including the innovative application of complementary technologies, ensure that their potential is realized. Paul Ross, president of Hydronic Alternatives, collaborated with Mark B. and George C., to introduce system components that would collapse the return water temperature as much as possible. In addition to ensuring that the apartments capitalize on the heat that’s created, the reduced return temperatures maximize the condensing potential on the exchangers, driving the boilers to peak efficiency.

“We’re using state of the art, Grundfos Magna3 pumps for circulation,” notes Ross. “These variable frequency pumps, or VFPs, not only reduce electricity consumption by seventy percent, they adjust to pressure and temperature automatically.” By facilitating the lowest flow rate necessary, the pumps also help the system draw more heat from the loop.

Similar “heat sinks” serve double-duty. The doghouses themselves are heated by passive radiators that draw energy from the return water while preventing system pipes from freezing. An additional heat exchanger on the return pre-heats city water before going into the DHW domestic hot water tanks, wringing out more degrees of heat and reducing the energy load for domestic hot water.

Construction began in the fall of 2014, with full conversion anticipated in the early spring of 2015. Given the promises it is contracted to fulfill—for both reduced energy usage and dramatically increased cost savings—Siemens has its reputation and its profits on the line. But Mark B. has every confidence in the project’s success. “We do two things,” he says. “We buy high-end equipment, and we hire high-end installers. The end result is a win for everyone: us, the Housing Authority, and most importantly, the residents.”

– George C. & Mark B.

Not Your Typical Supplier!

Like most homeowners, over the past few years we have renovated our home to suit our needs.  We are energy conscious by nature and that is also my line of work.  With energy prices on the rise we wanted to install the most energy efficient systems available.  We worked with the team at Hydronic Alternatives to convert our heating system to in-floor radiant for the common areas and RadiantPanel Baseboard in the bedrooms.  I would highly recommend working with the team at Hydronic Alternatives since they are not your typical system supplier. They actually listen to the customer and work with them to develop systems and solutions that are both reliable and energy efficient.

– Mark B

Thankful We Chose Hydronic Alternatives to Fulfill Our Hydronic Needs.

When my wife and I were looking for a heating system to make our dream home as comfortable as possible during the cold New England winters, we knew we wanted to go with a hydronic radiant system. As a sort of do it yourself contractor with lots of building experience, but little experience in the design or installation of a hydronic heating system, finding the right company to go with was difficult. Thankfully my plumber and I ended up choosing Hydronic Alternatives as the supplier of all our hydronic needs. Our system was fairly complex involving radiant flooring panels, hydronic baseboards and radiators. We are more than happy with the consistent warmth and comfort provided by our system and the efficiency of the design that Hydronic Alternatives came up with. Their knowledge and willingness to work with my plumber and I in the design and even the installation of my system far surpassed anything I could have expected. We have and will continue to recommend Hydronic Alternatives as a go to source for heating needs to our friends and families.

– Robb L.

The Quality of the Hydronic Alternative System Was the Right Choice for Us.

With our first heating season behind us in our new home and entering into our second, I felt compelled to reach out to you and express how pleased we are with the system Hydronic Alternatives provided. From our first meeting to design the system all the way through the installation you and your team were professional and extremely supportive of this installation. The recommendation of using a mixture of different types of radiant heating along with the flat panel radiators for the second floor bedrooms was spot on.

During our first heating season after our initial commissioning we found that the system required no adjustments, it just maintained a perfect level of comfort. The in slab system in the basement made for a great place to come in out of the cold with all the wet gear and by morning everything was dry and warm. What impressed us with the Thermal Board system was on the first floor, its quick response to the changing outdoor temperatures with little temperature swing of the space. This is unlike our radiant floor system in our previous home where we had some of those issues.

It is often that we have visitors to our home and all have commented about the comfort level of our home. They loved that fact that they could walk on the tile floors and their feet were warm, we also like that feature of the system. Controlling the heat in the guest bedrooms with the thermostats on the radiators worked out well as a way to save propane and set back the rooms not in use.

The quality of the Hydronic Alternative system was the right choice for us and we are thrilled with how little fuel we have used for the size of our home. We will and have recommended this system to others, thank you again for all the help.

– Steve D.

The Support From Hydronic Alternatives is Unmatched.

Whether it is using their radiant floor heating systems, radiators, and all associated materials to make it work, we have always been satisfied with the result. Their low temperature heating system design gives my customers the most comfortable home possible with the least amount of energy to operate. The support from Hydronic Alternatives is unmatched, whether calling to ask a question or having a rep on the job site. It’s the only company that the rep calls or contacts me once a week to see how things are going and if there is anything he can do for me. They make my job much easier. They are always looking outside the box to make products better and more efficient. I look forward to continuing my association with Hydronic Alternatives.

– Shawn N., GAS-TEC Hartland, VT

This Really Has Been a ‘Set It and Forget It’ Installation.

Now that we have had the radiant floors up and running through most of the first winter in our new home, I wanted to let you know just how pleased we are with the entire system and with the job you and Paul Ross did designing and packaging the components. The system is so quiet and invisible that I check the readouts every morning just to affirm to myself that it is up and running (in spite of the fact that the house is always comfortable). In the four months it has been operating, we have had to make exactly zero adjustments to the initial settings and our propane usage has been well below what we had expected based on the size of our home.

We have had two separate visitors to our house who used-other radiant floor systems in their own homes, and both experienced overheating and slow response time.  To date, neither has been an issue with our system and the temperature holds within four degrees of the set point regardless of external conditions. This really has been a ‘set it and forget it’ installation.

We were impressed with how few modifications we had to make to your design layout during installation of the floor tubing and the quality of the Viessmann and Thermal Board components was above anything we came across during our research into competitive products when we were designing the house.

Thanks again for your professionalism and responsiveness. If we had it to do over again, we would do it exactly the same way.

– Allen & LeeAnne

We Have Cut Our Fuel Bill by 30 Percent!

After purchasing our second home in Wilbraham we quickly found out how evident it was that the contractor cut corners on the heating and cooling system, especially after having Hydronic Alternative’s radiant and panel radiation in our previous house designed by your group, and wanted to thank you for your continued support on our recent home purchase.

Having our major living space situated over the garage and having a 22ft wall of glass on one side we quickly found out how uncomfortable it was with a basic forced warm air system. After sitting with you and designing a new hot water system with hydronic Thermal Board radiant floor system, hydro-air and panel radiation, we created a comfortable living environment throughout the entire house even under the coldest outdoor temperatures.

We have had many comments on how comfortable our house is from friends and family, especially in a space that when the outdoor temperatures dropped below 30 degrees it was extremely uncomfortable without raising the thermostats up to 75 degrees which resulted in high utility bills. With the new system we have more zone control allowing us to turn down areas when not in use and overall we cut our fuel bill by 30%.

Having worked with you with you and your team on the design and installation of our heating for two of our houses, we want to thank you and want you to know we made the right choice with you and your company.

– Brian & Susan