My daughter has an 1860 house with hydronic heat installed in the 1970s. Upstairs are baseboard heaters. Downstairs, it’s under the floor. I’m told that the pipes are probably imbedded in thinset. Part of the building has a cellar and I don’t see pipes under the floor.
The house also has AC so there are forced air ducts everyplace.
At one point, we thought we needed a new boiler. I wondered out loud about abandoning the hydronic heat in favor of two heat pumps. The HVAC guy said no. He said that the heat pump would wreck the old building.
I just don’t understand. With a heat pump, I can add a whole house humidifier and better control humidity. The hydronic system circulates 150 degree water. Heat pump is much more gentle.
what am I missing?