Preface: I have been using PV panels for 10+ years and currently have 5 KC-120 panels with Outback Inverter running part of my house. First, when looking at where to purchase PV (photovoltaic/solar electric) panels do not purchase from some retailer who sells them on the side like Northern Tools. You will generally get the best prices from retailers who are selling to the renewable energy crowd/installers and have been around for 5+ years. As far as DC fans see the link below which is to Schaefer Ventilation Equipment. I have both their 8' 466 ccfm and 12' 1649ccfm 12 volt DC fans. For smaller areas I use the 8' fan with two 5 watt PV panels connected to it. Feels like a desk fan on medium when in full sun. With the 12' fan I have a 75 watt PV panel connected to it and it blows a substantial amount of air (its uncomfortable putting your face in front of it). I believe when I bought the 12' fan several years ago it was in the $120 range and is VERY high quality as you can see in the picture. They have full protection all around to prevent anything from hitting the blades which are high-quality aluminum blades. I have these fans connected directly to the PV panel ( you should add a fuse inline for protection). Whenever the sun light hits the panels the fan is blowing, even with some clouds it does move some air. A BP Solar 80 watt 12V solar panel is around $440. So with fan and panel you are looking at around $600. That panel is slightly more powerful then the one I have so you want to verify it is still ok to use with that fan (verify max amperage panel outputs with what fan can safely handle). I have used that combination for several years during the summer months for cooling and have not had any problems. I also do not use any temp controller, I just flip the panel over to expose it to the sun when I know it will be needed. Here is a link that might be useful: Schaefer Ventilation Equipment

Bud, I never said that your intelligence is lacking. I'm saying your familiarity with the product the op first mentioned and that I'm talking about is lacking. There's a HUGE difference between the two. The way these things are supposed to work IS in writing. It's written all over their product information, spec sheets etc. As I said, if you're talking about a cheapie plug in towel warmer, I agree with you, but these things are designed to act as radiators. They are sized and rated in the same way radiators are. They are made by radiator manufacturers. There are other radiator options out there besides just baseboard. That there is a place to hang your towel off of them is in many ways incidental to the true function of the piece of equipment. Actually some of those runtal units are pretty large. The largest electric omnipanel is 5' tall and 2' wide, with hydronics getting even larger. I'm thinking of replacing the 4' section of baseboard in my downstairs bath, which is really not adequate to heat the space, with a runtal onmipanel because I can size it better for the room without taking up more space (and have it replace a towel rack). Maybe it's just because of what a huge splurge my myson was (based on style) but the runtal units seem a good buy for the money (though not as inexpensive as those econoheat things!)

Ive installed Thermosoft floor heating mats several times in the past ( I am a contractor). I donÂt remember any problems with them, even with support. The first time I installed it 5 years ago at my friendÂs house in couple bathrooms and kitchen. It still works fine and he is very happy with his warm floor. Unfortunately, there are no systems in the world that are 100% fail-proof. Anything can fail. Even Toyota, which is one of the most reliable car manufacturers, has recalls... I did have several failures with Suntouch and Warmly Yours in the past, the same with Nuheat. And those are very expensive! I don't know why... But sometimes, the failure happens because of mistakes during installation, which is hard to admit... I had to fire one of my workers after I found that he dropped a very heavy tool on the heating wire, nicked it and continued installation... After such thing the system may easily fail after a few months in that spot... However, I would definitely stay away from Floorheatech ( who also works under easywarmfloor.com, heatingonline.com, heavenly-heat.com, etc). They got "F" in BBB for the reason and I truly had a very bad experience with them several times. I would also avoid Warming Systems, which is a very small company, buying their heaters somewhere in Eastern Europe without UL approval and mostly doing business on ebay... I hope this helps.

xc60, I am also building in Alberta. But I'm not going through a builder. I priced out the the materials, and the extra electrical, and the tile setters time, and I'm looking at about $2000. The difference you were quoted was your upgrade charge. I only know how stock builds work, where the builder relies on conformity to keep their prices low. So any change costs him a lot more than the apparent costs, so even though the tile might cost the same on the sticker in the show room, getting the red instead of the blue is an "upgrade". I assumed it wouldn't be so bad in a custom home, since they aren't trying to save money by doing it exactly the same as the neighbours.