Concrete Floor Heat Boiler Systems

Radiant heating system design or installation mistakes that must be avoided.

Concrete floor heat boiler systems.

This article explains how to avoid some fatal mistakes when installing radiant heat in a concrete floor slab by describing an incompetent radiant heat floor installation along with an explanation of why things went wrong and how to avoid these errors. This is the best choice for new construction and areas receiving new slabs. Embedding your radiant heating system into a concrete slab is one of the most cost effective ways to install it and most energy efficient being that concrete is a great thermal mass. Remember since you will only have 1 chance to pour the concrete slab you will only have 1 chance to put the pex tubing in it.

The most cost effective system for medium to larger homes is hydronic since the amount of power it would take to heat a whole home with electric would be substantial. The workers in the photograph at page top where our concrete slab. They re ideal for whole house heating but professionals suggest installing them during the home s construction because they can be difficult to retrofit if the home isn t already outfitted with the proper equipment. So even if there are no existing plans for the radiant floor heating or a snow melting system installing pex tubing in it may turn out to be a good decision.

Basic materials for radiant floor heat installation in a slab. There are two types of radiant floor heating electric and water based systems. Electric radiant underfloor systems use electronic cables that run under the floor to give off heat. These wires are often sold on a pre assembled mat which makes it.

You can save energy and create a healthier more comfortable living environment by having the floor itself distribute the heat from the ground up via a radiant in floor heating system. Since most conventional boilers are designed to produce super hot water 185 degrees radiant floor company builds what we call split manifolds for multiple zone closed systems that use radiant floor heat in combination with standard baseboard radiators fan coils cast iron radiators or any other hydronic heating device that requires super hot temperatures. Hydronic floor heating systems use hot water pumped through plastic tubing laid out in a serpentine pattern to heat the floor. Due to it s density and low conductivity concrete retains heat very well.

For concrete floor radiant heating systems the warm water tubing or electric heating elements can either be embedded within the slab on grade anywhere from the bottom of the slab to within 2 inches of the surface depending on the design and installation technique or fastened to the top of a concrete subfloor and then covered with an overlay. Heating your home with a forced air furnace isn t your only option when you have concrete floors. Both provide heating in a room from the floor up for consistent efficient warmth.