Efficiency Comparison (Tube vs infloor)

Terry

I have a customer leaning 60/40 towards radiant tube heaters in a semi-large Shop.

I have been asked what the difference of over all efficiency would be of the Tube HEaters vs Infloor.

*The Infloor is a 90+% condensing Boiler running low temp (no mixing).

Anyone have an idea (or where one may find this info?)

thanks in advance,
Einsiedler in Edmonton

Ron Schroeder_3

If you are referring to radiant overhead heaters

you have to remember that they run at extremely high temperatures, high enough for the heat exchanger tube to glow ornage hot. At best the AFUE combustion will be somewhere around the 84% mark. Actual practical efficiency will be much lower as installed conditions almost never match test conditions. Additionally, overhead radiant tubes cast heat only where there is no shadow. Think sunlight instead of infrared. Shaded surfaces are cooler than irradiated ones.

A 94% efficient condensing boiler runs at much cooler temperatures and gives off much cooler exhaust. Additionally, this cooler heating is already at floor level where it is needed most. No shading can occur because you are not trying to irradiate the floor from above.

Radiant tube heaters are interesting from a purchase perspective and because they require no modifications to the floor. They are less labor intensive to install. They also help use up all of the excessive natural gas and LPG deposits. Seems like a winner to me.

hr

What is the shop used for?

If it is for equipment repair, by far, the radiant floor heat will be the most comfortable, and possibly more efficient.

The overhead heaters never get the floor below the trucks as comfortable as radiant floor.

Operating costs will be driven by the efficiency of the boiler used. Condensing, modulating boilers are excellent, and very efficient, at low radiant temperatures.

Waste oil boilers are also very common for equipment repair shops.

Overhead infared heaters usually do come in quite a bit cheaper if the slab insulation is not included in their bid

hot rod

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Constantin

I'd consider the intangibles...

... such as the speed with which a shop heated by a large thermal mass like a floor slab reheats when the doors are opened in the dead of winter, how much more comfortable and productive the employees are, how more difficulty volatiles have at making a bad day worse.

There is a reason the airline industry heats its hangars with floor heating, and it's not because they've good oodles of excess cash sitting around to burn.