Maintenance for a hydronic system is minimal - the boiler needs an annual check-up, but most modern pumps use water to lubricate the parts and are low-maintenance. PEX is polyethylene tubing that's leak-free, non-toxic, flexible and capable of handling high temperatures. From the manifold, the hot water is sent through a pattern of PEX tubing by a re-circulating water pump. This way, you can heat each area of your home separately from a single programmable thermostat. Your boiler or water heater is linked to a manifold - a system of separate pipes that channel water from a single source into different zones. They also require reflective insulation under the tubes to direct the heat upward. Those with dry installs are less expensive, but operate at higher temperatures because there's no thermal mass to store the heat. Wood has a very high conductivity - think of how quickly wooden decks or benches cool off when the sun goes down.īecause of this thermal mass, systems with wet installs take longer to heat up and need to run longer. Concrete owes its ability to retain heat to its density and low conductivity. The concrete acts as a thermal mass to retain heat so that you have a large, hot block under your floor. The flooring surface - hardwoods, tile or carpeting, goes on top of the subfloor and picks up heat directly from the tubes. Dry installs place the tubes directly beneath the subfloor during construction, without the concrete on top. Wet installs layer either a slab of concrete beneath the subfloor or a thin sheet of concrete between the subfloor and the surface. There are two types of installation - wet or dry. Before the flooring is put in place, your RFH specialist or general contractor will need to install your system. So you've decided that you need a gas-fired boiler system on your newly constructed home. On the other hand, if you're building a smaller home in Florida, you can get away with using your regular water heater. For example, if you have a large home with high ceilings and live in Canada, you'll most likely need a boiler system. Standard furnaces last between 10 and 25 years, while the RFH system will get you up to 40 years' use.ĭeciding which heat source to use depends on how large your house is and how cold it is where you live. The RFH system is more efficient though, and lasts longer. A hydronic radiant floor heating unit with a boiler will run $14,000 to $44,000. A forced-air system for a 2,000 square foot (610 square meter) home will cost about $4,000 to $8,000. The first thing you should know is that it'll cost you more upfront than a standard furnace unit. Let's say you've decided on a hydronic RFH system. You can install hydronic systems in an existing home, but you'll have to tear up the flooring, which is expensive and a lot of work. Are you building a new house or renovating an older home? If it's new construction, a hydronic system is probably the best choice. The amount of power it takes to heat an entire house with an electric RFH system isn't cost-effective, so if you're heating your whole house, then hydronic heating systems are the way to go. When you select a radiant floor heating (RFH) system, you'll choose either electric or hydronic. In this article, we'll cover the pros and cons, costs, and methods of installing radiant floor heating. RFH systems fall into two categories - electric floor heating and hydronic floor heating. It's also better than forced air systems for people with allergies - eliminating blown air can reduce dust mites significantly. Aside from the long-term cost benefits, RFH heating is silent heat, with no loud air ducts or furnaces to deal with. Ancient Romans used hot water pipes to warm floors, and it's been the preferred heating system in Europe since the 1970s. Some people with older homes choose single-room installations, like a kitchen or bathroom, instead of a whole-house system. New homes are the best candidates for a whole-house RFH system, but your existing home can also be successfully retrofitted. More economical to operate than furnaces, RFH can slash heating costs by 25 to 50 percent. Aside from basking in consistent warmth from the floor to the ceiling, some people look for savings benefits with RFH systems.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |