We are building a new house and were thinking about getting radiant heat inside the concrete patio outside. They suggested we need a 'BOILER' and a Tank. That is fine but the next suggestion was, "well if you have a boiler - you'll use that to heat the water instead of a traditional water heater. AND if we're going that, we may as well use this boiler for heating our house instead of the traditional forced air heating.
Is this really an option? And if it is, is it a good one? I hate putting all my eggs in one basket - i.e. the Boiler... but if it's the way to go to save $, I'll do it. My worry is that this boiler will do a good job on the patio but fail at the other jobs: heating the house and the water. Any thoughts or suggestions? Thank you in advance. Laurie

Laurie,

The type of heat you are referring to is called Hydronic radiant. This has been used in big cities for nearly a hundred years in buildings, going to wall mounted radiators.
It has been used in floors AND radiators in Europe for many years as well, mostly post war.
It is clean, unobtrusive, comfortable heat, and very cost effective.
Heat exchangers are used to transfer heat from a heating system to potable water, and if you do this there are pro's and cons as you have noted.
If the boiler malfunctions, not only do you not have heat, but you don't have hot water either, but in an electric house, you would suffer the same in a power outage.
So is it an issue?
Maybe.
The boilers of today are compact, efficient and modern, but more expensive than a central air heater or furnace.
The pro's are that they are cleaner, (No allergens and dust blown around) they are absolutely quiet, (No roaring air!) they take up far less room than ductwork, and can be nearly 95% efficient (or better)
A bit more expensive initially, but possibly the better choice in the long run.
Here is one thing you can't do with hydronic heat:
Say you come home and the outsided temps have dropped and for whatever reason, you had the thermostat set wrong, or off, and you want heat right away.
Hydronic will possibly take many hours to reach your target temp.
In that case forced air would win!
What will best suit your needs and lifestyle?

Boiler is the way to go unless you live in a climate where air conditioning is needed. Where are you?

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Originally Posted by Laurie mcdermot

We are building a new house and were thinking about getting radiant heat inside the concrete patio outside. They suggested we need a 'BOILER' and a Tank. That is fine but the next suggestion was, "well if you have a boiler - you'll use that to heat the water instead of a traditional water heater. AND if we're going that, we may as well use this boiler for heating our house instead of the traditional forced air heating.
Is this really an option? And if it is, is it a good one? I hate putting all my eggs in one basket - ie, the Boiler....but if it's the way to go to save $, I'll do it. My worry is that this boiler will do a good job on the patio but fail at the other jobs: heating the house and the water. Any thoughts or suggestions? thank you in advance. Laurie

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This is the style of system that I have been using in my home successfully for 30+ years. Make sure you hire a knowledgeable person for the design and install.