Horse Barn Radiant Heat

offdutytech

Just got asked to bid a horse barn project using radiant heat. The customer was looking for some direction on if the stalls get radiant under them. My initial thought would be no because of bedding or stall mats would insulate the floor in that area. Plus ammonia issues in the stalls. I know the barns we have kept our horse at has compacted dirt floors in the stalls with bedding and no concrete. I am planing on the aisle way, wash stall, tack room, etc. Has anyone done a project similar to this?

mattmia2

i think if yo heated the stalls you would only want the water to be something like room temp, if you heated it enough to provide heating you would turn it in to an incubator.

hot_rod

@Mad Dog_2 probably knows about heat for horses

I did some dog kennels years ago , part of each kennel had radiant omitted. The vet told me the dogs need a cool spot to go to control their body temperature

offdutytech

It's similar for horses as well. Ours is basically a 1400 Lb dog. The barns we have boarded at only have radiant tube heaters and usually keep the inside temp where horses are just above freezing to maybe 40 degrees inside. It makes sense not to heat the stalls, but need to find someone who has done one just to verify.

Mad Dog_2

The heat is really for the humans. Horses generate an amazing amount of heat on their own in a closed up barn. Even in the best-kept stalls, the soil in the horses' stalls can get pungent. Heat will exacerbate it. If they do indeed want to warm the stall footage as well, I'd definitely keep those areas on their own loops to have greater, individual control. Proper drainage of the stall areas is crucial whether its an oat straw bedding on top of soil or more elaborate. Mad Dog

offdutytech

@Mad Dog_2 Thats kinda what I was thinking as well. Just wanted to confirm that and wanted to better direct the customer.

leonz

You should call the Cornell University Large Animal Hospital, Tufts University Veterinary College or Texas A+M University Veterinary College and ask what they use for heating the floors of their surgery recovery wings for the cows and horses they treat to get a better idea of what should be done for heating these spaces.

ethicalpaul

Kind of an interesting twist on your idea of radiant floors in the barn is using the barn as the radiant floor of your house. I saw these in Iceland:

The heat energy gained into the living space is measured in "B-T-Moo"

leonz

WOOF.

GroundUp

I have done several horse barns and dog kennels. As was said above, we would typically only heat a portion (if any) of the stalls themselves to allow for a cool spot and direct most of the BTU output toward the aisles. I did do one stable where the owner insisted that the whole floor be heated, and the manure would cake up on the floor as well as send a ridiculous amount of nasty moisture into the air (from drying excrement). That one got abandoned in favor of radiant tubes after 3 years