newcomer to radiant heat

Kyle_4

I'm a newcomer to the world of radiant heating. I am in the very early stages of building my home, and I want to incorporate radiant heat if it is practical for my area. I have questions about radiant systems:

1. What are some sources for basic design information such as pump sizing, tubing sizing, loop lengths, etc.? Preferably sources that are don't have a vested interest in selling specific products.

2. In the deep south, is radiant heating practical due to our moderate winter climate?

I would hate to invest in a system only to have to shut it off after one heating season due to my bad choices up front. My home will have an insulated slab on grade, cellulose insulation in the walls (R-22 total) and ceiling (R-30), and quality windows/doors. There is about 2400 sq.ft. of living space and another 750 sq.ft. of workshop area that I would like to heat.

In my area, I have yet to meet anyone that is using radiant heat in a home, and I do not know of any professional installers. I have done some research, and I believe that the installation is within my capabilities. It's the selection of components and the layout of the system that concerns me. Any help would be appreciated.

Luke Lefever_3

Find a manufacturers rep, supply house, installer, designer or something in your area. Someone who may, in fact, have a vested interest in a particular brand of pipe/control/boiler/etc. You will want to have access to repair parts, and advice down the road. It doesn't make sense to have a system full of parts that are unique in your neck of the woods. If you find the right person, they can help you with the heat loss calculation, layout of loops, sizing of pumps, control strategy, etc. Maybe you know all this and your post was a solicitation towards finding this person. One thing I will say is whatever you do, don't buy from RadianTec. I've seen too many people that had no business installing radiant, but were convinced otherwise by RadianTec. Just my $.02.

Luke Lefever
Lefever Plumbing & Heating, Inc.
Elkhart, IN
1-800-201-8709

johnnyd

information

I was in your shoes about 3 years ago and ended up with a very sucessful radiant floor heating system, researched and sourced entirely from forums like this one. If I had it to do over, I would start by reading a book or two that seem to come highly recommended...click on the links to books offered by this organization.

John_82

Go to www.infloor.com, click on downloads & under the resitential water area click on the design & installation guide. Read that and it will give you the basics of radiant heating & how to calculate the number of circuits you'll need, how to get the propper flow & head required by the pump, etc. These are all great things to have an understanding of when thinking about doing radiant. The basics get covered in this guide, and you'll be able to get an idea of what to think about, regardless of what brand you end up using. One nice thing about radiant heating is that it lends itself to modulating condensing boilers that have high efficiencies and the idea of constant circulation. If your climate is moderate in the winter and you have radiant heat, you might want to think about spending the extra money and getting a condensing boiler. As radiant doesn't require super hot temperatures, and the design temp isn't going to be real cold you'll save a ton of money in fuel over a conventional cast iron boiler. I think radiant is a home run for you. Definately find a rep or sales guy at a supply house & give him a complete set of plans to your house. Let thme know what type of floor (hardwood, tile, carpet, etc.)you have and if you have any area rugs. Then an accurate heatloss and radiant design (budget & tubing layout) can be done. The cost of a radiant job is a whole lot more vs. scorched air or baseboard, but the ecomfort level is unmatched. Don't get discougared by stickershock. If you go radiant, you will be satisfied!

John_82

Go to www.infloor.com, click on downloads & under the resitential water area click on the design & installation guide. Read that and it will give you the basics of radiant heating & how to calculate the number of circuits you'll need, how to get the propper flow & head required by the pump, etc. These are all great things to have an understanding of when thinking about doing radiant. The basics get covered in this guide, and you'll be able to get an idea of what to think about, regardless of what brand you end up using. One nice thing about radiant heating is that it lends itself to modulating condensing boilers that have high efficiencies and the idea of constant circulation. If your climate is moderate in the winter and you have radiant heat, you might want to think about spending the extra money and getting a condensing boiler. As radiant doesn't require super hot temperatures, and the design temp isn't going to be real cold you'll save a ton of money in fuel over a conventional cast iron boiler. I think radiant is a home run for you. Definately find a rep or sales guy at a supply house & give him a complete set of plans to your house. Let thme know what type of floor (hardwood, tile, carpet, etc.)you have and if you have any area rugs. Then an accurate heatloss and radiant design (budget & tubing layout) can be done. The cost of a radiant job is a whole lot more vs. scorched air or baseboard, but the ecomfort level is unmatched. Don't get discougared by stickershock. If you go radiant, you will be satisfied!

John_82

Go to www.infloor.com, click on downloads & under the resitential water area click on the design & installation guide. Read that and it will give you the basics of radiant heating & how to calculate the number of circuits you'll need, how to get the propper flow & head required from the pump, etc. These are all great things to have an understanding of when thinking about doing radiant. The basics get covered in this guide, and you'll be able to get an idea of what to think about, regardless of what brand you end up using. One nice thing about radiant heating is that it lends itself to modulating condensing boilers that have high efficiencies and the idea of constant circulation. If your climate is moderate in the winter and you have radiant heat, you might want to think about spending the extra money and getting a condensing boiler. As radiant doesn't require super hot temperatures, and the design temp isn't going to be real cold you'll save a ton of money in fuel over a conventional cast iron boiler. I think radiant is a home run for you. Definately find a rep or sales guy at a supply house & give him a complete set of plans to your house. Let thme know what type of floor (hardwood, tile, carpet, etc.)you have and if you have any area rugs. Then an accurate heatloss and radiant design (budget & tubing layout, manifold location) can be done. The cost of a radiant job is a whole lot more vs. scorched air or baseboard, but the ecomfort level is unmatched. Don't get discougared by stickershock. If you go radiant, you will be satisfied!

Unknown

I'll make this simple. If you're in the deep south, no, radiant is probably not what you are looking for. It's not real comfortable when it's off, and when it's on it won't really be *warm*. it'll probably still feel cool to the touch.

Maybe you're in the mountains or something which would affect that, and I'm not sure what you mean by "deep south", but I just spent a week in east texas where the heating season is about 12 days a year. It's a waste of money to think much about heating in that case. It won't be on enough there to make a comfort enhancement worth much, nor to make efficiency much of a motivator.

Perhaps your area/site is different though. Are you in the mountains or somethng?

hr

My suggestion

would be a dry system. In a mild climate or area with wide temperature swings I find a quick responding system works much better.

I've found that to be true here in SW Missouri, as the plate and tube systems respond and offer a more customer friendly installation.

Or just consider a floor warming system in bathroom areas maybe the kitchen area if it is tile.

Texas and other deep south areas seem to have a lot of tile on slab construction, a great market for dry, maybe even electric under the tile applications.

I worked a radiant booth when the NAHB (homebuilders) show was in Dallas for two years. The local builders, designers, floor covering and homeowners were very interested in products to take the chill out of floor in their concrete slab homes.

Radiant ceilings would be another good option for a quick and easy to install in select rooms, system.

hot rod

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