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Common Questions About Heating, Ventilation and Cooling
What is hot water heat?
Hot water heat is used to describe any type of heating that uses water to medium to transfer heat into a building or home. In a typical hot water system, the water is heated in a central location and circulated throughout the building or home through a series of pipes.
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Typically the water is heated by some type of boiler, heat pump or even geothermal heat as it circulates through the system. From the boiler the water travels through pipes to radiators, in floor heating pipes, or plate heat exchangers where the heat is transfered into the building.
The water is circulated through the system through either the use of pumps or a combination of convection and gravity. In a pump system, pumps force the water through the system and maintain a consistent flow. With convection, the water is heated at the boiler located in the lowest part of the system. As the water is heated it rised through the system, and as it cools within the radiators it flows back down to the boiler. This type of flow is not as consistent as using a pump, and will not work if the boiler is on the same level as the rest of the system.