Radiant heat questions

7 years ago

Hi all. I am building a 2200 sq ft home that I would like to
have radiant heat in. I am planning on installing this in all of the
lower level (concrete slab) and upper level garage. I am considering 3
zones.

I am my own contractor and building this with the help of my father
and uncle. My uncle is a licensed plumber and electrician but has no
experience with radiant systems. He would feel more comfortable if we
got someone who's installed these systems before to help with the hook
up.

My question is, how difficult is it to install the radiant lines
throughout the home and get everything plumbed back to the manifolds?
Basically everything that would need to be done to pour my slabs. Once
we get the house sealed up I can find someone to help us bring the
system to life.

Do I need to know exactly what I am doing for a boiler/water heater/
heat pumps etc before I install the in slab portion of the system?

I have considered using an online store for the in slab supplies and
design layout. Does anyone have any experience with Blueridgecompany? I
spoke with them on the phone and they seem pretty knowledgeable. My
friend has used their pex with good results. I believe it would be 1/2
in O2 barrier line in 1000 ft rolls. Substantially cheaper than my
local stores. Is all pex of good quality?

Thanks for any tips and insights.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

mushcreek
7 years ago
Although this is a great forum, I think there are better places for such technical advice. I don't have any experience with radiant heat, but there is a sub-forum for it on greenbuildingtalk.com. That is also a great site for any energy-related building questions.

I strongly advise that you research this thoroughly, as house-building technology is a fast moving science these days, and it would be a shame not to take advantage of the latest technology. Don't trust other contractors to be knowledgeable; some of them (at least around here) are still firmly entrenched in the 1960's. I designed and built my own house (and I'm not a professional), and the comfort and energy savings just amazes me after having lived 60 years without ever having lived in a fully insulated house.

My guess is that the best radiant systems are designed to be fully integrated, so just installing PEX, and then cobbling it together afterward may not yield the best results.
neonweb US 5b
7 years ago
We installed our own pex lines, then paid for a HVAC contractor to install and hook it all up...sounds similar to what your planning. Pex is crazy easy to install, and we stubbed it out in the mechanical room then he did everything from there on. Having the hvac person on board before we started was helpful in verifying what we planned to do. The only change we made was to increase the mechanical room size slightly to accommodate everything, but there were plenty of other things that go into the system, like the questions you asked, so I would suggest having your HVAC person on board, and do all your research before you start.
Related Discussions
hydronic radiant floor heat questions
Q
Comments (7)
If Thermal Track is made by a couple of companies, that explains it. The brochure I have shows an aluminum face and their recommended installation for tile is cement backer board over the Thermal Track, then an iso membrane on that and tiling on the membrane. Warmboard itself does "allow" you to thinset Ditra directly to the Warmboard, but Schluter won't warranty an installation like that. Schluter recommends a transition material between the Warmboard and the Ditra. Warmboard used to have a bit of double-speak on their website and in their literature. Not sure if they are still that way. They first tell you to install in accordance with TCNA guidelines, etc, or IAW the manufacturer's instructions, etc, but then they give you shortcuts around those guidelines and say "they've never heard of a failed installation" when taking those shortcuts. For those not familiar, the big difference between Warmboard and Thermal Track is that Warmboard in an of itself is a structural subfloor and radiant track combined into one material. Thermal track is installed over an existing subfloor. I installed Warmboard when it first came out. Nice product, but not worth the $$$ or added steps required during installation or in protecting it after the installation. At least not in my book. Mongo
...See More
Radiant heat install questions, help please
Q
Comments (9)
We had Nu-Heat installed. Our tile guy likes working with their mats (more of a fabric-like mat), and DH was very impressed with their cust svce/tech support when he spoke with them prior to our decision to go with their system. Only regret is NOT adding a second "dummy" sensor as a back-up in case the original sensor fails (if only beekeeper's wife had posted that before we ordered/installed our floor heat!!!). DH said "Duh! How did I NOT think of that???" PS we love our heated bathroom floors--wish we could afford to heat the entire ground floor of our house too, now!
...See More
Radiant heat or induction heat Range THAT is the question!
Q
Comments (5)
Radiant uses heat 'ribbons' or elements under the glass. It works just like the old coil top ranges. Turn it on high and you'll see the glass turn cherry red. If anything spills, it will burn onto the glass. Induction heats the pan itself. The glass doesn't get as hot. Spills stay on the glass and can be wiped up. The only time anything can burn on is if you purposely pour sauce on the glass UNDER the pan and let it sit there and burn. But it will take a while.
...See More
Geothermal, in floor radiant and ?
Q
Comments (8)
If you have a well-sealed home, you will NEED fresh air circulation to avoid suffering from "sick building syndrome", which is very bad for health even if you don't have allergies. I have allergies, too, and was plagued by pollen, dust, etc. in our old homes. For our new home we have a geothermal system using forced air for heating and cooling. We included a HRV in the system, and we filter the air with an Aprilaire 2200 pleated media filter. We change the air in our home every 2.5 hours. This ensures there is no build-up of off-gas contaminants from furniture, finishes, building materials, etc. If you don't have a well-sealed home, and it is new, you got ripped off. Homes built to modern codes and standards allow very little air infiltration -- nowhere near as much as you need to avoid sick building syndrome. You need air changes for health. You will need to move cooled air with air ducts. There's no other way. Since we needed ducts to distribute cooled air, we decided to go with forced air heating as well, at the suggestion of our builder. We were skeptical it would be comfortable and nearly dust-free, but the builder and the HVAC supplier did a great job of designing and installing a well-designed system. The only change I would make is to install a split system with separate controls in the basement, and I would use radiant heat in the basement. Our basement is completely below grade, and the characteristics of our home (heat loss, heat gain) mean that the basement heating and cooling needs are very different from the rest of the house. Our main and upper floors are great -- even with forced air, the temperatures throughout our main and second floor remain within 2F, no matter what time of the day or year, and no matter how sunny or cold it is outside. This is a revelation for us -- we couldn't believe that forced air and a 2 story foyer could give us that kind of temperature uniformity with some south facing rooms on the second floor getting direct sun for ~ 8 hours per day, and some north facing rooms on the main floor getting no sun at any time. It shows what good design can achieve. Relief from allergies requires a lot more than stopping dust circulation. "Living" creates dust, and it will circulate whenever you move. We tried to remove the sources of dust, so we have no fabric window coverings, have carpet only in our home theatre, and use hardwood and tile in all other rooms. (We have a few area rugs for decoration). This combination has worked very well for us.
...See More
User
7 years ago
Radiant heating as an efficient and comfortable choice is not suited to all climates. If you live where AC is necessary in summer, have mild winters, or have wildly variant temperature swings from day to night, then radiant heating is a poor choice for your home v
PRO
Springtime Builders
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
I agree that radiant floors are a tough decision for homes that also include air-conditioning. Heat pumps that provide AC also heat, so your radiant floors would be a completely different mechanical system that is arguably unneeded.

If you are building to international level building codes (2012, 2015 or current IECC) then there is the argument that radiant floors are less comfortable because of thermostat response delay. Most people's experience with their comfort is in leaky and poorly insulated homes. If you are going to build an inefficient home that performs at less than prescriptive code levels, they make more sense to include.

If you decide to go through with it, be sure you involve the mechanical contractor who will be installing the manifolds and appliance. Include a Manual J load calculation to get a better idea of tubing layout.

Radiant heat questions

Comments (4)

mushcreek

neonweb US 5b

Related Discussions

User

Springtime Builders

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US