In the article below, John Siegenthaler, Principal of Appropriate Designs, explains how air-to-water heat pumps offer new opportunities for hydronic pros. At the end of the article, John runs the numbers to answer the question: “How does the performance of an air-to-water heat pump compare to that of a geothermal heat pump?” John teaches two popular courses each spring and fall: Mastering Hydronic System Design and Hydronic-Based Biomass Heating Systems.
WHO SHOULD READ THIS ARTICLE?
- Engineers designing hydronic heating systems
- Contractors
- Anyone interested in understanding the cost difference between geothermal water-to-water heat pumps and air-to-water heat pumps
THE OTHER HEAT PUMPS
John Siegenthaler
Many hydronic professionals are aware of geothermal water-to-water heat pumps. They extract low temperature heat from the earth using a stream of water as the “conveyor belt.” That heat is absorbed from a buried earth loop, water well, or a pond, and carried to the heat pump’s evaporator. A vapor compression refrigeration cycle then raises the temperature of the absorbed heat, and delivers it to a hydronic distribution system.
I’ve designed several radiant panel systems around water-to-water geothermal heat pumps. Some have been in operation for over 25 years. More are on the drawing board.
Getting Out of the Dirt: Although a properly designed geothermal water-to-water heat pump can provide high thermal efficiency and long life, it’s not a universal solution for all buildings. The logistics and cost of installing an earth loop, or other source of ground water can be formable and expensive. A potential installation has to consider land area, soil composition, ground water regulations, available excavating or drilling equipment, required pipe fusion tools and flushing devices, and long term thermal stability of the soil. Installing a geothermal loop field at an existing building usually requires major disruption of landscaping. In some locations its just not practical, cost effective, or even legal to consider such an installation.
Until a few years ago, geothermal water-to-water heat pumps were about the only readily available option if you wanted to combine hydronics and heat pumps. Today, more options are available. Several companies now offer “air-to-water” heat pumps on the North American market.
In the heating mode, these heat pumps extract low temperature heat from outside air. A vapor/compression refrigeration system upgrades the temperature of this heat, and transfers it to a stream of either water or water-based antifreeze solution.
In the cooling mode, heat is extracted to produce chilled water for use by an indoor distribution system. Heat is rejected to outside air forced through the outdoor unit by a fan.
The most common air-to-water heat pump systems now available in North America have scroll compressors, and are operated with R-410A refrigerant. The Altherma heat pump from Daikin is one such unit. It has a variable speed scroll compressor to modulate both heating and cooling capacity between 20 and 120 percent of its nominal rated capacity. It’s available in two configurations: Monobloc, and Split System.
The Monobloc configuration keeps all components of the heat pump within a single outdoor enclosure. Two pipes carry either water, or a mixture of water and antifreeze between the outdoor unit and the interior portions of the overall system.
A split system configuration uses refrigerant lines to connect between the outdoor unit, and the indoor unit. The outdoor unit contains the compressor, air to refrigerant heat exchanger, and outdoor air fan. The indoor unit contains the refrigerant to water heat exchanger, circulator, expansion tank, controls, and in some systems an electric resistance element for auxiliary heating.
Figure 1 shows the Monobloc configured for a cold climate applications where it’s wise to use an antifreeze between the outdoor unit and a brazed plate heat exchanger inside heated space.

Figure 1
Figure 2 shows a split system configuration.

Figure 2
Both configurations have their pros and cons. For example: The Monobloc configuration arrives with a fully charged refrigeration system. Thus there is no need to connect refrigerant lines and add refrigerant on site. However, in cold climates, the presence of water in the outside piping and condenser presents the possibility of freezing. Although the Daikin Altherma can be configured to automatically operate its circulator and auxiliary electric heating element if freezing is imminent, a sustained power outage during subfreezing weather could still lead to a hard freeze. The compromise is to use an antifreeze solution between the outdoor unit and an indoor brazed plate heat exchanger. This adds costs, and reduces thermal performance, but provides positive protection against freezing.
Because there is no water in the outdoor components of a split system it is inherently freeze proof. However, like any split system, it requires a refrigerant technician to connect the lines sets, and ensure the refrigeration system is operating correctly.
The Lower the Better: Like any heat pump, the greater the temperature difference between the media from which heat is being absorbed, and the media to which the heat is being transferred, the lower the heat pump’s heating capacity and COP (Coefficient of Performance). A typical variation in heating capacity is shown in figure 3. Figure 4 shows a typical variation in COP.

Figure 3

Figure 4
Cardinal Rule: When designing a hydronic system for a heat pump it’s imperative to keep the required water temperature as low as possible. In the case of an air-to-water heat pump, this minimizes the temperature lift between the outside air and the supply water temperature. The lower this temperature lift, the greater the heating capacity, and the higher the COP.
Fortunately their are plenty of low temperature heat emitters available. They range from radiant floor, wall, and ceiling panels, to panel radiators, and even “low temperature” fin-tube baseboard as discussed in my January 2012 column. My recommendation is to design your distribution system so that it can supply design heating load using a supply water temperature no higher than 120 ºF.
There are hundreds of possible combinations for air-to-water heat pumps and hydronic distribution systems. Some general classifications would be space heating only systems, space heating & domestic water heating, heating and cooling, as well as systems that integrate an auxiliary heat source such as a mod/con boiler. Other possibilities include systems with solar thermal input, and thermal storage tanks that allow the heat pump to operate under the most favorable ambient conditions, or to take advantage of time-of-use electrical rates.
Figure 5 shows how a split system air-to-water heat pump can be combined with a zoned radiant panel distribution system, and provide domestic water heating. The heat pump has an internal circulator that can provide sufficient flow through either the “primary loop” that serves the space heating subsystem, or the heat exchanger in the indirect water heater. A diverter valve determines if the heated from the heat pump’s indoor unit goes to the domestic water heating load (which typically has priority), or to the space heating load.

Figure 5
The domestic water tank has an upper element that provides auxiliary heating if necessary. It also serves as a backup in the event the heat pump if off for servicing.
The space heating subsystem is hydraulically separated from the heat pump loop by a pair of closely spaced tees. Downstream of these tees is a pressure-regulated ECM-based circulator that modulates its speed in response to how many of the zone valves are open at any given time.
Figure 6 shows how zoned cooling can be added to the system. This arrangement does not allow the heat pump to provide simultaneous heating and cooling. Domestic water heating is still the priority load. Once it is satisfied, the heat pump can operate in either heating or cooling mode, supplying heated or chilled water.
Some readers may wonder why there is no buffer tank in these schematics. It’s because of two criteria. First, if the Daikin Altherma heat pump is used, its variable speed compressor can modulate heating and cooling output down to about 20 percent of maximum. Second, the zoning is designed so that the minimum zone heting or cooling requirement is matched to the minimum output of the heat pump. If you’re doing a “zones gone wild” system with many small zones, a buffer tank is still a good idea to prevent short cycling.

Figure 6
Just like the circulator that ships with some boilers, the circulator in the monobloc heat pump (or within the indoor unit of the split system) is only designed to move flow through a modest amount of external piping. Be sure to check its “net” flow and head ratings when designing the system. Larger systems, those with high head loss components, or those with hydraulic separation of subsystems (such as in figure 5 and 6) may require additional circulators.
Likewise, the expansion tank housed within the heat pump may have to be supplemented with an addition tank depending on the total volume of the system.
Running Some Numbers: Here’s a common question when people are introduced to air-to-water heat pumps: How does the performance of an air-to-water heat pump compare to that of a geothermal heat pump? The answer will vary with many factors such as load, climate, type of earth loop used, local soil conditions, design water temperature of the distribution system, and available credits / rebates.
The following is a comparison I ran for a modest home in Syracuse, NY. The performance results were obtained using software from a manufacturer of air-to-water heat pumps, as well as a manufacturer of geothermal heat pumps.
Example house: 36,000 BTU/hr design load at 70ºF inside & 0 ºF outside temperature
Location: Syracuse, NY (6720 heating degree days)
Total estimated heating energy required: 49.7 MMBTU / season
Average cost of electricity: $0.13/kwhr
Distribution system: Radiant panels with design load supply temperature = 110ºF
AIR-TO-WATER HEAT PUMP OPTION:
Based on software simulation, a split system air-to-water heat pump supplying this load has a seasonal average COP of 2.8.
Estimated installed cost = $10,600 (not including distribution system)
GEOTHERMAL WATER-TO-WATER HEAT PUMP OPTION:
Based on software simulation, a water-to-water heat pump supplying this load from a vertical earth loop has a seasonal average COP of 3.28.
Estimated installed cost = $11,800 (earth loop) + $8750 (balance of system) = $20,550 (not including distribution system)
Deduct for 30% federal tax credit (geothermal system only): ($ -6165)
Net installed cost: $14,385 (not including distribution system)
Annual space heating cost:
AIR-TO-WATER HEAT PUMP (COPave= 2.8) = $676 / year
GEOTHERMAL HEAT PUMP (COPave = 3.28) = $578 / year
Difference in annual heating cost: $98 / year
Difference in net installed cost: $3,785
Although the geothermal system has a higher seasonal average COP ( 3.28 versus 2.8 for the air-to-water unit), its significantly higher installed cost, even factoring in the available 30% federal tax credit, makes for a long payback on the additional savings. Assuming the cost of electricity inflates at 4 percent per year, it would take 24 years for the lower operating cost of the geothermal heat pump to cover the higher installation cost. I’m not convinced that’s an acceptable return.
JOHN SIEGENTHALER, Principal at Appropriate Designs, is a mechanical engineer and graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a licensed professional engineer, and Professor Emeritus of Engineering Technology at Mohawk Valley Community College. “Siggy” has over 32 years of experience in designing modern hydronic heating systems. He is a hall-of-fame member of the Radiant Professionals Alliance and a presenter at national and international conference on hydronic and radiant heating. John is principal of Appropriate Designs – a consulting engineering firm in Holland Patent, NY. The 3rd edition of his textbook – Modern Hydronic Heating – was released in January 2011. John currently writes about hydronic heating and solar thermal system design for several trade publications.
MORE RESOURCES:
- Read: Heating with Biomass: It’s Not Just About the Boiler
- Free Lecture: Low Temperature Heat Emitter Options in Hydronic Systems
- Combo Course Deal – Save $300: Mastering Hydronic System Design and Integrated HVAC Engineering
- Free Lecture: Achieving Hydraulic Separation in Hydronic Systems
- Free Course: High Performance Building and HVAC 101
- Master Hydronic System Design in 10 Weeks: Mastering Hydronic System Design
Great article John! I was curious as to which software application did you use to model average efficiency for each of these systems? Also, which geothermal heat pump model did you use for the analysis? The reason I ask is because the average COP (3.28) seems a little low.
Thanks.
John sent a reply in an email to me..
Hi Brian,
I used manf. software for both. The air-to-water heat pump performance was based on Daikin Altherma software. The geothermal heat pump performance was based on ClimateMaster software. Both heat pumps assumed identical distribution systems that require 110 ºF supply water temperature at design load. Both based on Syracuse, NY location. No attempt made to “skew” results either way.
John
John,
Thanks for the reply.
The reason I was curious is because the published COP for ClimateMaster’s TMW036 with a 30F minimum entering loop temp and a 110F load supply temp is approx. 3.3 (assuming 9 gpm load and source, 105F ELT).
I’m not familiar with the air source equipment you referenced, but it seemed odd to me that the seasonal average COP for the geo unit would be lower than the COP under peak heating conditions. It guess it may be worth asking ClimateMaster about the underlying assumptions in their software.
What I find most irritating is the incredibly poor heat exchange designs used in geothermal applications.
For my own system, which is 6:1 heating to cooling, (near Minneapolis, subsoil temp 56F) I’m installing tubing in walkways, driveway, and patio designed to pump only when surfaces are warmer than the subsurface–collecting heat during the warm part of the year and storing it underground. This system will not depend upon heat absorbed from the surface above the ground loop, but will push the heat into an insulation capped storage area underground.
The pumps for the outside surfaces will be run on demand before/during snowfall to melt snow, and the house system will run using the same subsurface store.
The system isn’t exactly geothermal, nor exactly a stored heat system.
Roof collectors can add to this, though I intend to use a multi-tank drain-back storage system for hot water/preheat.
My ERV system brings air in through a shallow buried pipe to avoid exchanging with sub-zero air.
Hello John! We are developing thermal treatment solutions for various biodegradable materials such like coconut shells, saw mill waste, forest residues, MSW & sewer sludge. Simply we are interesting almost all biodegradable materials to be carbonized. at our process we have large excess thermal power to be released without employing any useful application . As we having a tropical climate throughout the year , we don’t have much more thermal applications from this thermal energy like americans, europeans do. I would like to know can your technology address the demand of space cooling in tropical climate , by employing thermal power to be released from carbonization process? kindly reply me on gopathi@sltnet.lk
thank you
Gopathi Balachandra
John, I have a McQuay water source heat pump. I’ve been looking into the 30% tax credit for Geothermal heat pumps and everyone I ask say I have something different. I finally got a quote for a Trane T1GX as an possible replacement for my system and it’s on the list of eligible HVAC units. The description of the Trane T1GX says “Geothermal / Water source heat pump”. So I’m confused. Is this one and the same (with interchangable names)? or is this some kind of combo unit.
I have reached the same conclusion. It gets even worse compared to natural gas heating, where current National Grid (in Syracuse) rates are $0.28/therm for supply and $0.40/therm for delivery (lowering to $0.08/therm after the 1st 50 therms of the month).
And with only 25% of NY electricity being produced from renewables, along with the geothermal heat pump COP of around 3, and about 30% off the heat burned in a power plant resulting in useful electric output, there is little overall fossil fuel savings over a natural gas furnace.
Great article, thank you for the information.
Typo:
In the “Getting Out of the Dirt:” paragraph; 2nd sentence: should be “formidable” instead of “formable”.
Thank you for the article and the idea. Could this work with cast iron radiators? I live in MD, 4500HDD, and a house with design load of 25400 BTU/H.