Heating old churches

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Heating old churches

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Ironman

Excellent!

Jamie Hall

It would seem that the radiant floor idea has been around a long time. A very long time. The great cathedral in Durham, UK (well worth visiting if you're ever on that side of the pond) is heated that way; hot air -- hypocausts -- in the floor of the cathedral, plus a few warm air grilles. It was built between 1093 and 1143...

ratio

My church has a radiant floor, 2½" pipe pumped via a B&G PD-35. Last year, the high limit tripped, it took a week before I started getting complaints about the temp. (My best guess is the inspector "tested" the manual high limit by turning it down until it tripped but didn't get it set back quite high enough.)

In any case, kneeling isn't quite a penitan as you might feel appropriate in the winter. And I've had small children sleeping on the floor during Mass pretty much every year since I restarted the floor.

jumper

I'm surprised that radiant floors work so well for churches. Isn't it a problem that the place has to be warmed up before folks arrive but then high people density overheats occupants?

Jamie Hall

I imagine that it depends a lot on the church. The two cathedrals with which i have been somewhat associated -- the National in Washington, DC and Durham -- are both open and in use almost all the time, with many services every day. Plus, they are big! And solid stone. The warm floors work just fine. On the other hand, the small church with which I am currently associated isn't used thhat heavily -- though it too is open 24/7/365 -- and uses forced air to get it up to temperature for a regular service.