Heating Systems: Hydronic vs Forced-Air vs Mini-Split

Which is a better heating system: Hydronic, Forced-Air, or Mini-Split? Quin Williams of Williams Plumbing breaks down the pros and cons of each system.

0:00 Introduction
0:26 Hydronic Systems
2:25 Forced-Air Systems
4:26 Mini-Split System
6:54 Summary

Williams is the Northwest’s largest plumbing and civil contractor. We offer a comprehensive line of quality plumbing, civil construction, HVAC, green energy, consulting, and service solutions to meet the needs of just about any building project.

Williams Plumbing & Heating, Inc.
2131 Industrial Dr.
Bozeman, MT 59715
[phone]

[willplumb]

What's your favorite heating system?

[srenhansen]

For professional working in the trade ( I a plumbing wholesaler) from Denmark, it's interesting to see how things are done in other countries. Forced air heating is not common in Denmark. It was used a bit in some late 70's houses. I have only seen it once live, as my cousin has in her house. Most houses in Denmark is heated with hydronic systems, by floor heating or radiators. I have a pellet stove in my house, but oil and natural gas is faced out in favour of air to water heating pumps as best retrofit solution

[chinhnguyen]

Straight to the point and very clear. Pros and cons of all systems are on point. Thanks for putting this video together. This saved me so much time on google, wikipedia, and browsing through my books.

[sopdadope]

I used to have Forced Air w/ an oil furnace but not have a Fujitsu mini-split system and a hydronic system with cast iron radiators. Absolutely love the mini-split for A/C and heat down to around 25 degrees Fahrenheit. Any lower than that and it doesnt quite have the muscle to keep the house toasty. Thats where we let the hydronic system take over and its really the best of both worlds. I didnt miss either the noise or smell from the old oil burner.

[davestvwatching]

The house I live in has hydronic heating with baseboards, not as fancy as in floor heating but it is quiet and fairly well distributed. Heat registers go across 3 walls in a room. There is noise in the rooms over the oil fired boiler. Big con is no AC except window units or maybe mini splits if they were installed. The house is from the 1950s and I wonder if the hydronic systems were more popular back then.

[rainmaker]

I would choose radiant hydronic over any other heating source, everyday of the week, love it!

[chwynd]

Hvac is my favorite, cheap easy to maintain if it breaks its easy to find someone to fix it, good luck finding a hydronics tech around Seattle area

[joshuastull]

Another pro of forced air is its compatibility to pairing with a heat pump for cooling. Forced air fits well with water to air geothermal systems and solar thermal too

[dmdcykey]

This was very-well presented, straightforward, and easy to follow. New to your channel but I must say you have a true talent for this kind of presentation, I was properly impressed.

[JBrodo]

Thank you for this! We are buying our first home and I wanted to learn about the heating system a home could have.

[shadowxxe]

in the Uk hydronic systems are standard in all homes forced air is practically unheard of. most homes will be equipped with boilers fitted within 10 years and maintenance is either covered by your landlord or by your gas company companies like SSE offer full boiler down cover also dry heat isn't really a problem in the UK because its winter and its 5C where i live but humidity is still 88%

[ericharding]

Great informative video but you dont mention radiant baseboard heaters which I am looking in to

[AvgDan]

A con to hydronic systems is not just humidification but also de-humidification if you're in the south, meaning you've only solved the heat issue and need another setup for cooling.

[AbyKaby]

It seems you didn`t mention another advantage of the hydronic systems it consumes around 150-300 watt for the heater and circulation pump, therefore it is very easy to organize a battery backup for it. In case of emergency a couple of 100 ah batteries will keep the system running for almost 24 hours.

[markh.]

Another Pro would be if you have solar panels and are under 100% KW usage, the all-electric mini-split system's electrical usage can be diverted to the panels- this is also a benefit of ducted HP/split system.

[michaelsalotto]

A well - done concise and easy to understand tutoral on the pros and cons of heating systems. Thanks!

[PLATINUMU]

My 36000 btu mini split performed excellently with temps around 9 farenheit 😎👍

[jammybiggs]

"Take my strong hand!!" "NO!! Give me your Other hand!!". 😆 J/K.
All jokes aside you have some awesome & informative videos. Keep up the excellent work.

[monty]

When you talked about Hydronic, you only cover heating. What about cooling using a chiller system?

[davestvwatching]

I like the floor mounted consoles for mini splits. More homeowner and less industrial.