Cooling with The Unico System offers numerous benefits for homeowners from better aesthetics, to quiet, efficient operation, to better humidity removal, to a high standard of comfort with no drafts or hot/cold spots. That high standard of comfort is also available when The Unico System is your choice for central heating. This article will take a deep dive into the three methods The Unico System can use to provide superior heating comfort when the outside temps get chilly or downright frigid.
Method #1: Hot Water Coil
Hydronic or hydro-air heat is achieved when a hot water coil is added to a Unico System air handler. This approach combines the best aspects of water-based radiant heating with a central ducted system. Think of it as having the warm, cozy heat generated by a radiator gently delivered throughout every room in your home.
The water for the hot water coil can be provided by a boiler, an outdoor heat pump, or a combination thereof (often referred to as a “dual-fuel” system). This method can be used to provide primary heat for the whole house or can be used in conjunction with another hydronic heating method – such as under-floor or wall panel-mounted radiant heat systems – to provide immediate supplemental heat during those times of the day or year when firing up the primary hydronic system would take too long to take the immediate chill out of the air.
Method #2: Heat Pump Coil
Heat pumps have become an increasingly popular and efficient method of providing heat across the globe. Once limited to more temperate climates, advancements in technology have led to heat pumps being able to perform dependably and efficiently in harsher, colder climates. This has also led them to becoming the cornerstone of the electrification movement in HVAC for reducing dependence on less efficient or environmentally conscious methods. In fact, many governments (including through the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act) are providing incentives in the form of cash rebates and/or tax deferments for switching to heat pumps for residential and commercial HVAC.
A heat pump coil attached to a Unico System air handler works in much the same way a hot water coil, only the source is specifically an outdoor heat pump. The flexibility with this approach comes from the different heat pump types available in the market – they can be either air based or geothermal based, with heat generated naturally from the earth or a nearby water source like a pond, lake, or ocean.
Like the hot water coil, the heat pump coil is an excellent method for providing superior and highly efficient central heating with The Unico System.
Method #2: In-duct Electric Element Heat
The third method of providing heat involves adding an electric element heater to the plenum (main duct) attached to the Unico air handler – often referred to as electric furnace heat.
This approach is an excellent way to provide primary heating in very temperate climates where temperatures don’t dip below freezing for extended periods of time. It’s also a great way to provide comfortable and efficient back-up or supplemental heat when used in conjunction with a separate primary heat source, like a radiant heat system (radiators, or in-floor, etc.)
Superior Comfort & Efficient Central Heating – No Matter Which Method You Choose
The Unico System provides end users with the flexibility to choose the central heating that best suits their needs without sacrificing the the features and benefits they experience from the system in cooling mode. No matter which method you opt for you can rest assured that you’ll stay warm and comfortable when the outside weather turns nasty and cold.
