Installing Radiant Floor Heating Isn't Easy
These radiant-floor-heating pipes go into the concrete slab and keep it toasty warm.
(By Tim Carter -- Tribune Media Services)
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Q: DEAR TIM: I have an opportunity to convert my home to radiant floor heating. A complete renovation is in progress, and I'm convinced radiant floor heating will be the best for me. Can the average homeowner successfully install such a system? What do I need to know to ensure my radiant floor heat system is installed correctly? Is one radiant floor heater better than the other? -- Victoria B., Holderness, N.H.
A: DEAR VICTORIA: Hot-water radiant floor heat is amazing, whether your floors are wood or masonry. The floor sends out low-level infrared rays through the air to heat your body and any other solid objects in the room. No heat is wasted in the air. By contrast, forced-air heating systems are woefully inefficient. They warm the water vapor in the air and blow these molecules through the house.
You should forget about installing radiant floor heat yourself. It's extremely complex, requiring enormous skill and talent. You want a seasoned installer who can prove he's installed countless systems. The calculations, flow rates, BTU heat-loss calculations and engineering required to get a residential system to work flawlessly are difficult. Installing the equipment and piping is another skill set entirely. Focus your energy on interviewing several pros; talk to past customers and decide which pro will do the best job. Going with the low bid could be an enormous mistake.
Radiant floor heat starts its life in a boiler. Modern radiant floor heaters, or boilers, are highly efficient and amazingly compact. Don't restrict your budget here. You want a superb boiler, so ask the installers who makes the best one and why. Search for reviews on the Internet.
Water is heated in the boiler and sent into a piping system that recirculates it through interconnected loops. One of the magical things you can have with radiant floor heating is a system of individual zones. My house has seven zones, each controlled by its own thermostat. A zone typically is a grouping of two or three rooms, usually connected. For example, in my basement, a bedroom, large closet and a bathroom are on one zone. The other four rooms in the basement are on another zone.
The water is pumped to each zone by separate recirculating pumps, one of the few moving parts in a common radiant-floor-heating system. High-quality recirculating water pumps can last many years.
To make sure your system is installed correctly, ask lots of questions as you interview installers. Ask how they do their calculations to ensure that there will be enough heat on the coldest winter days. Discuss which plastic radiant-heat piping will provide years of service. Ask how the piping will be protected so it will never get punctured. Inquire about insulating concrete slabs so you don't bleed heat to the outdoors. Many boiler manufacturers also have good tips on their Web sites.
Make sure your installer puts all the promises in writing. Take many photos of each step of the installation, especially those parts of the piping that will be covered and never seen again. Inspect the work to the best of your ability as you take the photos. Make sure your installer gets a permit and that the inspector gives the job a seal of approval.
Tim Carter can be contacted via his Web site, http:/
© 2008 Tribune Media Services
