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Radiant Floor Project & a Radiator?

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Kungur
Kungur Member Posts: 49
I have started a radiant heat retro fit of my home. I am using the transfer plates system. But I have 1 area, our home office where I do not have access to the underside of the finished floor. This is an area under a run of countertop/desk area where my wife sits. I was wondering about a short length of "radiator" under the desk area. I can snake some pex up to it through a cabinet.

If this is workable what brand of radiator?

Thanks.

Tom

Comments

  • Alan (California Radiant) Forbes
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    Radiator

    Other than decorating the wall, it won't produce any heat with water temperatures below 120°.



    That's the dilemma of going with plates; there's not much else you can do with water at that low of a temperature.
    8.33 lbs./gal. x 60 min./hr. x 20°ΔT = 10,000 BTU's/hour

    Two btu per sq ft for degree difference for a slab
  • NRT_Rob
    NRT_Rob Member Posts: 1,013
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    hmm.

    sounds like the room itself is heated but not the under desk area?



    short radiator would be great for that.



    ven if the whole room is unheated, a radiator can be sized for it. you can size radiators for anything, if you have enough space. that's the big issue usually.
    Rob Brown
    Designer for Rockport Mechanical
    in beautiful Rockport Maine.
  • Nathan_6
    Nathan_6 Member Posts: 40
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    Kick space heaters

    Tom,

    You can use a stick of baseboard if you have enough room like Rob suggested you would just run the BTU output calculations with 120 degree water temp for what ever manufacture baseboard you use and size it for you coldest day that way you don't short change yourself.

    My home is 2x4 construction and 30+ years old and I run a step rest curve and the old baseboard keeps up just fine when it is -30 the system runs at 165F and when it is 40 the system runs at 109F all you have to have is a delta T to get heat out of baseboard.  My home stays a comfortable 70 degrees all the time.

    We just finished a remodel on a home where it was radiant plates upstairs and we used Beacon Morris kick space heaters for the basement zones.  We ordered the heaters with the low temp aquastats that turns the fan on @110 F and off @ around 95.  This way the whole house could operate at the low water temperature of the radiant zones. The kick space heaters are a great way to get alot of heat out of a small unit.

    Best of luck to you
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