small Radiant zone off dedicated electric water heater

Joseph_4

Any problems with running 1 small radiant zone off a small 20 gallon electric water heater? Any need for a mixing valve in such a scenario?
Thanks
Joe

nicholas bonham-carter

Will the heater supply enough heat for your zone?
Electric water heaters are very slow to recover. What wattage is this heater, and what are the btu needs of the zone?—NBC

hot_rod

I've done small room radiant with electric tanks, 2, 6 and 20 gallon. Most of the round tanks have 1" screw in elements and you can buy fro 500- 5500W elements to size the tank to your load. So from 1705- 18,755 BTU/ hr.

I add an additional 30lb relief valve, leave the T&P in also.

This was for a bathroom floor and shower wall.

brandonf

> @hot rod_7 said:
> I've done small room radiant with electric tanks, 2, 6 and 20 gallon. Most of the round tanks have 1" screw in elements and you can buy fro 500- 5500W elements to size the tank to your load. So from 1705- 18,755 BTU/ hr.
>
> I add an additional 30lb relief valve, leave the T&P in also.
>
> This was for a bathroom floor and shower wall.

Would that work for snowmelt?

hot_rod

Snowmelt systems can run anywhere from 100- 200 or more BTU/ square foot of area. Depending on how quickly you want to melt.

So a WH with a 5500 watt element (18,700 BTU/hr.) could melt around 180 square feet of slab.

It takes a lot of energy to heat concrete outdoors.