Heat Exchanger help?

Brad_10

I am doing a 3200 sq ft house with radiant heat in a gypsum base.(or whatever they use for the base, gypcreet?)
Do I need a heat exchanger to get bad air out and good air in?
I am somewhat of a penny pincher and I want to get the most out of my propane fuel and am willing to spend a little up front to save allot in the long run.

John Madden

Bad Air / Good Air ?

Are you talking about air quality in the building or air in the radiant heating system? If you are talking about building air quality. Then yes you should install an air to air heat exchanger. It will affect your heating cost to a small extent, but the benefits far far outweigh the small cost of operation.

Now if you are talking about air in the radiant floor heating system, that's a different story. If the tubing being used in the system has an oxygen barrier, and is properly installed, with the balance of the piping being leak free, you shouldn't need to isolate the distribution system from the boiler system with an exchanger. However if you intend to use regular pex tubing without oxygen barrier, or any other tube that has no oxygen barrier, you MUST isolate the boiler from the distribution system. Without doing so you will damage the boiler and reduce it's life span to next to nothing. Check the boiler manufactures specifications and follow their recommendations. Doing so you will be able to avail yourself of warranty service. Anything done in a system contrary to manufacturers spec. will void warranty.

Mike T., Swampeast MO

Note that if you're in a climate with a lot of summer heat (and particularly humidity) you should use an Energy Recovery Ventilator instead of a Heat Recovery Ventilator. The ERVs cost more but they work with humidity as well as just heat. If you use a HRV in a hot, humid climate you're throwing away all of the energy it took your A/C system to remove the indoor humidity and replacing it with air just as humid as outside.

Brad_10

This is for air quality.I am using oxygen barrier tubing.
I am sealing my house up real well.That is why I have concerns about air quality.I live near Seattle where the humitity really isnt a problem but it can get quite cold.
So a heat recovery system is a good idea it seems.
Any suggestions on where and what type to buy and is there any remote chance I could do the work myself? I am handy with tools and if I have to buy some duct tools I would if there is a savings in doing the work myself.
By the way I subscibed to the Journal of Light Home Construction web site and the articles on these systems make them sound like an owner installation would be possible.

Max Schultz, Warsaw, In

Covering hot water heated floor

My daughter and son in law wish to pur laminate flooring in the lower level of their home. The floor is currently covered with a Mosaic floor tile. They said that they had heard from friends that when they had carpeted their floor they had experienced a "heat loss" due to the insulating affect of carpeting and the underlay. They were wondering if laminate flooring along with the required underlayment would cause the same affect in their home.
Thank you in advance,
Max Schultz
Warsaw, In

Max Schultz, Warsaw, In

Covering hot water heated floor

My daughter and son in law wish to put laminate flooring in the lower level of their home. The floor is currently covered with a Mosaic floor tile. They said that they had heard from friends that when they had carpeted their floor they had experienced a "heat loss" due to the insulating affect of carpeting and the underlay. They were wondering if laminate flooring along with the required underlayment would cause the same affect in their home.
Thank you in advance,
Max Schultz
Warsaw, In