radiant floor heat

Rich L.

http://westernwaterlaw.com/

Is this the same tubing you have?

Other factors to consider:

With 140* water and the available tubing do you match the heat loss of the structure? Even though your home isn't that old, how efficient is it? Do you have an ERV or HRV? What are your floor coverings? Carpet needs higher water temps than tile, which may need different than wood, etc. Do you have mutiple zones? Are some areas of your house comfortable while others are not? Are you comfortable in milder weather. What type of controls do you have on your system. Etc.

Generally a staple up system like you have needs the highest temps of any style radiant floor heat application. Depending on your location and the construction of your home I question whether 140* water is high enough.

The good news, done right a radiant heated home is one of the most comfortable homes you can live in. Most always much more comfortable than a forced (scorched) air home.

Good luck, Rich L

Phillip Klein

Radiant floor heat

I have a 5 year old house that had radiant floor heat installed. The installer used Entran hose that he stapled to the sides of the floor joist about 2" from the subfloor. He then installed R-11 insulation in the joist bays about 2" below the hose. The problem is, my floor will not get over 68 degrees when it is only 35 degrees outside and my house is always cold. The mixing valves are set at 140 on outgoing water and return temp is about 132-135.Last year I burned about 1300 gal propane, to be cold. My house is a well insulated 2750 sq. ft log home.
Also, does the entran hose have any oxygen barrier problems.Should I tear it out and replace with pex tubing.
Need advice Phil

SVDW

I would contact the original installer & see what he's willing to do about an under-performing system he designed & installed. After 5 years you may not have much recourse beyond calling in another contractor to fix this. His installation sounds kind of suspect IMHO. Most contractors fasten the tube directly to the subfloor with the addition of metal transfer plates. Then you need 3-6X the r-value of the floor undeneath to drive the heat up. Is the room below warmer than it should be? Lots of factors involved in this equation. Have you called the original installer & had him look at the system? If he did a correct heat-loss & designed the system right it should heat your house. Otherwise it's time to find a Pro to look at your system. Good luck.

Unknown

POOR INSTALLATION

Phiilip,

Watts demands that their onix be stapled directly to the subfloor so that a portion on the heat can transfer by CONDUCTION then insulate with foil insulation so the heat rays are reflected up. See the 2nd page of this brochure.

http://www.wattsradiant.com/pdf/brochures/Onix-Brochure.pdf

Next, see if you can get the design from the original contractor and see what actual design tem should be. If you can not get this higher a local heating professional to redisign and see what you need for supply temp. You may find it needs to be higher.

Bottom line, you need to get in someone to see what surface temp you need for your heat load and that will determine your supply temp. In other words, it;s all in the design. Do the leg work so that your system will work. Otherwise youyare just shooting in the dark.

Steve

martin

Ouput Temps

We did a large log cabin about 14 years ago using entran 3 in a staple up application. As i remember the out put on the mixers were 155. A good portion of this house was doug fir for finished floor.

Glenn Sossin_2

raise water temp

Phillup

I'm sorry to hear of your problem, however, you may be able to improve things a bit. You say your home is well insulated and that your return temps are within 5 - 8 degrees of the supply.

This low temperature difference(delta T, indicates that you probably have very good flow rates , but little absorption of the heat energy carried in the tubing. Clearly, a proper installation would have helped things but it sounds like you could raise the supply water temperature in an attempt to increase your floor surface temp. They are probably in mid to upper 70's now if you can only heat the home sufficiently when the outdoor temp drops to 35F. You probably have room to increase them without damaging your floors.

The problem is, air is not a good conductor of heat energy - it has no mass to it. The tube is heating the air in your joist bay, but not enough to satisfy your heat load. Increasing your supply temp will allow for more heat energy to be transferred/absorbed by the sub-floor/finished-floor.

I agree with Phillup, approach the issue properly. Find out what you are dealing with in terms of heat loss. Then the necessary surface temps can be determined, and the proper corrective action taken. Get an experienced professional. It will be worth the investment in the end.

kevin_61

Plates, plates, plates!!