FORCED AIR vs. RADIANT

marc

how much more efficient is radiant than f/a. does anyone have test results,actual comparision studys. the homeowners are always asking, what do you guys tell them...how much more efficient are we??? marc

Mike Kraft_2

It Depends:)

Loaded question you got there.Apples to apples is a hard pick here.Two different systems.Comfort is the question.The principles of the two are night and day.

Radiant heats objects.Like the floor,the coffee table,the kids:),surfaces that it contacts.Like panel rads allow hot or warm water to circulate through them.In turn the panel radiates waves to heat the room.In contrast forced air moves air and heats air across various types of heat exchangers.Air movement creates currents.In a constant air scenerio the air moves wether or not it is being conditioned.While not being conditioned air movement will help with several things.Balance of a home,air quality and also chillyness.The stat maybe satisfied and reading 70° but you may feel cold.Do to air movement the moisture in your skin eveaporates and leaves you feeling cold.Radiant won't due that.

As far as effieciency it's not a good comparison IMO.I just can't find it.Forced air will typically be less to install.You may get a 90%+ furnace but you can also geta 90%+ boiler.It's a comfort question really.I guess I didn't answer your question eh?

cheese

Ken_8

Mike's right.

However, on a small (under 100MBTU) load, the radiant tends to be more efficient. Not becasue it's radiant, but because of zoning design possibilities. The more zones - the more control possibilities.

Most people want different rooms to be different temperatures because of day/night and occupancy time considerations.

H/A systems are not conducive to zones when configured in medium to small homes - radiant however is. Even more so is HWBB!

So the efficiency is not the main consideration - but rather which system can be installed with comfort in various locations within the home. Heating rooms that are unoccupied (as is the typical design of H/A systems) wastes energy. Having the ability to tweak each living space allows better an more efficient energy utilization.

With oil and natural gas costs skyrocketing, these factors are no longer insignificant nuances of heating system design. They are critical parameters we need to include in all areas.

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