[Greenbuilding] Radiant Heating Question

[Lawrence Lile]

I am just finishing up a house with radiant heating.  I bought materials from The Radiant Company http://www.radiantcompany.com/ and had a local plumber install them.  I was impressed with thier documentation and materials, but underwhelmed by thier tech support staff, whom I found to be rude.  Two other well known companies in this field are Watts Radiant  http://www.wattsradiant.com/ and Warmly Yours  http://www.warmlyyours.com/  all of them will probably do a good job.  You definitely need a plumber with experience installing these, they are more complex than installing regular house plumbing.  
 
I made one key mistake when I put in my floor.  I did not insulate under the slab.  I did insulate the perimeter of the slab.  You need to do both.  Radiant heat is slow, and not insulating under the slab increases the mass that has to be heated up, making things slower.  It also means, at the beginning of the heating season, you will use a lot of energy to heat all that soil one time, an expense I didn't plan on.  
 
That being said, I am very happy with the system.  The floors are warm, that warms the rest of the house.  It is quiet, low maintenance, and wonderful to sit on.  The house "feels" warmer, I can already tell I can turn the stat down a few degrees and achieve the same level of comfort.  
 
Now, depending on where you live, you may still need some kind of air conditioning or dehumidification.  THat means, usually, a ducted air handler (same as a "furnace" without the heat).  Radiant floors are expensive to install, and you still need the AC so you can double the cost of the HVAC system.  Generally, I believe they are percieved as adding a lot of value to a home when it is being sold.  
 
Lawrence Lile, PE, LEED AP

________________________________

From: greenbuilding-bounces at listserv.repp.org on behalf of Gary Viljoen
Sent: Fri 2/2/2007 3:34 AM
To: greenbuilding at listserv.repp.org
Subject: [Greenbuilding] Radiant Heating Question



I am new to this list and in the process of designing our family home to be
built later this year in Hout Bay, Cape Town.

I would really like to install radiant heating (under floor piping
circulating hot water heated by the fire place or AGA stove and/or Solar
geyser)

Can this be done?  Is it difficult to install/run/maintain? Any sites?

Thanks

Gary  

-----Original Message-----
From: greenbuilding-bounces at listserv.repp.org
[mailto:greenbuilding-bounces at listserv.repp.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Golkin
Sent: 02 February 2007 03:51 AM
To: greenbuilding at listserv.repp.org
Subject: [Greenbuilding] Wind-Power Question

Can anyone send me to a site that could teach me how wind power works?
Such as how does the propeller spinning result in electric power being
stored in
a collector of some sort?

Thanks,
Andrew

--
Andrew Golkin
ANG Visuals
(703)898-4430
Golkin at angvisuals.com
www.ANGVisuals.com
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