P3. Residential Hydronic System Demonstration > Background

Pre-cooling a residence using a hydronic distribution system has the potential to reduce cooling energy consumption and reduce peak demand by shifting cooling load into non-peak periods. There are few studies comparing the relative efficiencies of conventional air distribution and hydronic/radiant distribution for cooling.

The study was performed in a contemporary house near Sacramento, California that has unique Heating Ventilating and Air-conditioning (HVAC) features which includes radiant floor heating and cooling, forced-air hydronic heating and cooling, and ventilation at night to reduce air conditioning load by pre-cooling building mass.

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