In Floor Loop Design

ecurbjk

Hi,

Just looking to see if my loop design is correct for a small home we are building.

Attached is a floor plan and the design I created. If anyone has experience with loop design and can provide some feedback it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Bruce.

HydronicMike

Where is the rest of design?
Heat loss?
Loop lengths, and flow rates?
Are these loops in a slab, a build up with warmboard or similar material, or staple up with plates?
What are the floor finishes in each room?
Etc.

On first look the utility room and the bathroom are wrong and will most likely result in uneven heating. And it’s definitely not a good idea to run tubing under the toilet flange.

pecmsg

Heating the closet?

hot_rod

The utility room and hall probably do not need much tube

The runs down and back to the bed room may be sufficient in the hall

ecurbjk

the heat loss is 9,102 btu/hr

runs

Loop

Area

Plotted length

Z1-L1

Office and bathroom

179.0 ft

Z1-L2

Bedroom

182.6 ft

Z2-L1

Kitchen and utility

138.0 ft

Z2-L2

Hallway and mud room

136.2 ft

Z2-L3

Living A

121.1 ft

Z2-L4

Living B

117.7 ft

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

Ideally, you will want to come in and out of the rooms through doorways and not under walls. Nails through bottom plates can snag and penetrate the tubing.

And when you go through the doorways, crowd the tubing together in the middle of the opening to allow for threshold nailing at the ends.

hot_rod

The less 180 turns , the easier to install. Especially on mesh for a slab pour

I typically do the outside walls first, an L shape loop. You could go through doorways also.

Basically I look at the loop lengths every room needs and adjust the loops as you go, getting all the tube required into the space

You will maybe get 6 different opinions, at days end they will all work

psb75

Simplify. Buy a 1000' roll of pipe. Put in 4 loops. Don't zone. One temp for the whole slab.

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

Tube spacing is important. Even when 12" spacing would satisfy the design, I would install at 9" to be able to lower the supply temperature to allow for greater boiler efficiency with a condensing boiler.

hot_rod

For a small job, short loops I would even go 6" on center. 3/8" tube is needed for the best 6" design.

If it is a slab, elevating the tube helps performace and efficiency, also.