America's best heating system! The 80s lingers

Solid_Fuel_Man

Found this today above a ceiling. Long since abandoned for fin-tube. Glad it wasn't connected as I cut "a few" holes in the ceiling!

Found the company is still in business, I've worked in a few spec houses from the 80s with ceiling radiant, but never knew it was gypsum panels over the ceiling. Kinda scary.

hot_rod

An electric cable system?

Solid_Fuel_Man

Gypsum panels (5/8") with the very fine wire sandwiched in the red/white/blue paper. The other end has two insulated wires protruding where a piece of Romex is scotch locked on in a flying splice fashion and onto the next panel.

Googled "therma-ray" and found this. Looks like they are still making the same product today.

https://youtu.be/QaAcW2NIKk4

Zman

@Solid_Fuel_Man
You bring back memories. I tore out one of those about 15 years ago. The house had roof leaks that turned the panels into kitty litter. The thin uninsulated wires you describe were just laying in the debris. Since it was the 80's the 240 circuit was on a single pole t-stat. The wire was energized all the time. It was a miracle the house never burned down.

mattmia2

I'm pretty sure switching only one pole of a 240v appliance wasn't legal in the 80's either.

Steamhead

mattmia2 said:

I'm pretty sure switching only one pole of a 240v appliance wasn't legal in the 80's either.

It wasn't. But I've found this too, mostly on 240V boiler-feed pumps where the installer was too cheap to use a relay.

Solid_Fuel_Man

It is still legal on circuits of 250v or less to only break one leg. Most line volt (240v) thermostats only break one leg for operation, but open the other when the knob is in the "OFF" position.

I always assumed electric radiant was some type of cable system which was laid in plaster like the the soft copper ceiling radiant systems of the 50s and 60s.

These panels are made in Fredricton, New Brunswick Canada which is just a few miles from here. I cant imagine how this isnt the worst fire hazard, but I guess gypsum would suffocate/suppress anything. As long as it's still intact @Zman !

JUGHNE

IIRC, a single pole tstat is OK on 240 if a disconnect is within sight or if a permanent paddle lock device is placed on the CB. Device may not be removable without removing the panel door.
2 pole stats are a lot simpler and safer.

Gordy

My brother in laws is still functional. Same comfort levels as hydronic ceiling radiant. Until you get the electric bill in the northern Illinois area.

Home builders in the late 70’s, and early 80’s were sucker punched with all electric incentives.

JUGHNE

Started in the 60's with "Too cheap to meter" thoughts.

Gordy

JUGHNE said:

Started in the 60's with "Too cheap to meter" thoughts.

That was brought on by the atomic age.

Solid_Fuel_Man

Yes the all-electric home! I found this on an old fair grounds doing some upgrades. Google told me that Ronald Reagan was in several of these and this may be his silhouette.

MikeL_2

I recall the oil embargo in the early 70's. Home builders weren't able to establish new oil accounts for home heating; electric baseboard & radiant sheetrock was available & widely installed for several years in new construction. The work we lost Installing hot water baseboard systems was gained back in the 80's when electricity costs rose; we did scores of conversions back to oil for space & domestic water heating....

helene

I just found this discussion. Hope someone can still help. I bought a town home built in early 80s. It uses Therma-Ray radiant ceiling heat. This is my first winter. After the heat got turned on, on some days I could hear from random areas inside the ceilings a noise that sounded like a wire broke. My question is, can those thin wires in the radiant ceiling heating break? How to prevent that from happening? And, is that dangerous? Thank you!

Solid_Fuel_Man

Describe the "sounded like a wire broke". 

Is it still functional, as in still heating? A thermal imagine camera may be needed to sort this out. 

Fur_Trader

Checking in from southern New Hampshire in 2024, my mini-split-AC install crew came up and asked me, "Hey did you know you have electric heat in the flippin' ceiling?" They had never seen that before. So after almost 1 year in this house the mystery of why 2 bedrooms were always hot as heck even when we turned down the radiant baseboard heat is solved.

20240716_093111.jpg

In the pic, the red circle shows how the home builder ran the wires thru the rafters. All were still hooked up, all 3 breakers were still on, one panel over the 3rd "not hot" bedroom had a broken wire. Most panels have an intact thick paper "protector" over the wire splices. I'm leaving them in but have the breakers off and labeled.