Ceiling Radiant???

Maine Ken

Anyone have any experience w/ ceiling radiant? It has been suggested recently and I don't know anything about it.

Thanks,

"Maine" Ken

Gordy

Have it in my home Ken.Love it, Love it.Built in the 50's.Hydronic not electric.Very even heating.

kevin coppinger_4

Downeast Ken....

I installed on system a few years back...it worked ok...people stayed warm but the whloe idea of warm floors in the point to radiant...it uses less tube and requires higher water temps.Wirsbo talks about it in the CDAM book but as an alternative...kpc

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Maine Ken

Thats what i thought. Sometimes you should go with you gut. I thought I would ask first, before I try to talk down the idea.

Thanks.

Maine Ken

Ceiling Rad from the 50'S? or retrofit? Is it the only source or supplemental?

Steve Minnich_1

Ken

Radiant heat is radiant heat. It need not come from below. There are entire subdivisions in the Chicago area with "radiant ceiling" homes. 50 year old systems working relatively well too. I think its just easier, and with more options available, to install RFH because of construction methods.

I've installed radiant ceilings in applications where it was just not possible to install radiant floor heating. I've also used it as a second stage of heating where the first stage of radiant floor was not enough to meet the heat loss.

It works. And well, if properly designed.

Steve, Radiant Comfort Systems

Mark Hunt

I've installed it


Sometimes to get more radiant surface working for me, and a few times when there was NO alternative.

I have also replaced boilers in homes in our area that had copper tubing in the ceiling. Those homes were built in the '50's.

It works. Heat goes to cold. The "shadow effect" is something you need to be aware of, though I have never had it become an issue.

Radiant in walls is also a viable option.

Mark H

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Maine Ken

Any good sources for literature, design etc...

I don't want to short sight something.

Joe_51

installed at our house

I opted to install radiant ceiling and wall in our upstairs of the house we are building,Ceiling and walls require lower temps. for the same btu output.In some cases it can be easier to install.Now if I could get that boiler hooked up.... here is a pic of it installed in our bathroom shower

Cliff Brady

Tubing

How does the tubing stay in the plates on the walls and ceilings?

Unknown

Hydronics Institute

Ken,

Hydronics Institue/IBR even has a drawing of this. great system 3/8 copper in brown coat of plaster. Works GREAT! I actually had to "match" this syet in an addition/renovation here in Blue Bell a few years back.

I know of quite a few of these systems still fully operational.

110F supply water, 90-100F surface temp, 40 BTUH/sq ft.

With a heavy carpet on the floor the floor surface temp is actually warmer then if we had used radiant floor :-)

Just for the record, I like hydronic radiant ceiling so much that I installed it in my own bedroom and WOW was it ever nice. Quick response, even temp, no hot head.

See (1) the CDAM produced by our friends at Wirsbo for current construction manual (2) RPA Standards (3)IBR Installation/design manual.

wheels

Joe_51

omega

the plates are omega shaped and the pex is pinched in the trough .....I;ve seen plates that didn't have the omega shape( I think these fall into the low cost/ homemade stye plates, They won't work and I wouldn't want to even ue them on the floor. May work for staple up jobs though...

Gordy

No Ken its not a retro its original and functions fine,its just as Steve has described above.Home is a ranch 2400 ft2.Radiant is copper tube 3/8" dia. 6" O.C. imbedded in the plaster.Basement is radiant floor 1/2" dia. 12" O.C. Lots a copper about 4400 lin.ft worth, I would have loved to watch the installers.No supplemental heat.System is parallel piped one zone,one B&G series 100 circulator,one T-stat. Operating temps vary, supply after mix down, temp has gotten as high as 115* with return temp in the low 90's just depends on how cold it is outside and how long the call for heat is. Max recommended supply temp is about 120* to keep the plaster on the rock lath.no problems with the plaster on the ceilings either. Original boiler replaced in 1993 got 42 years out of the old one.Replacement boiler was a WM no problems with that yet.The thing about this system is that its simple one pump one t-stat no zone valves.