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What About Radiant
Heat?
If you've ever had
radiant heating in your home, you can't go back," vows Tom Schefer,
manager of LeDuc & Dexter's newly formed Hydronic Department. By
going back, Schefer is referring to central or forced air heating,
which is found in most homes. "Radiant heating has no fans, there's
no dust, no pollen and it's silent. It's like standing in sunshine,
the heat radiates directly to you. It's total comfort."
In effect you are standing on the heating element, the floor, where
the heating tubes are embedded. Most new construction uses a
lightweight concrete over pour on the tubing layout to create a
heated slab floor. A boiler heats the water, which is circulated
through the tubing by the manifold box or boxes. The floor is heated
and in turn the entire room receives the radiant heat that rises
evenly from its source. Thermostats and timers can control the
temperatures of rooms or sections of the home while other areas or
rooms are set at a different temperature or can be shut off entirely
with zone valves or actuators.
"Radiant heating is very energy efficient," says Schefer, "it's more
expensive to install than forced air heating but there is a 25%
savings in energy cost to operate an average sized system. It would
cost about $20,000 to install radiant heating throughout a 3,000
square foot home with 6 thermostats to control it."
About 50% of the local residential radiant heating market is in
remodeling and retrofit projects. Baseboard and under floor systems
are used for these applications, such as the quick-track method,
which is prefabricated plywood with a groove through it and an
aluminum reflector under it. Typically it is laid on top of the sub
floor with tubing and it replaces an over pour. The quick-track
method can also be used in new construction when the structural
environment will not support a concrete slab. The quick-track method
is actually more expensive than the over pour method.
Most of the radiant Hydronic heating systems are being installed in
custom homes. Schefer and his Hydronic Department are presently
starting a high-end residential project in Rutherford in the Napa
Valley that employs a geothermal radiant heating system, which heats
well water to supply the heating source.
In the end, of course, it's not any one of the many innovative
methods or systems that sells the idea of radiant Hydronic heating.
The selling point is the level of comfort that the system delivers
to the homeowner. As Schefer reminds, "Once you've had radiant
heating, you'll never go back." |
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