Radiant Heat….
Everyone we know that has experienced in-floor radiant
heat swears that it is the most comfortable heat they have ever felt…. Very even, clean, quiet and economical. We’ve been planning to use radiant heat for
about eight years and finally have our chance.
The tubing in the slab runs in a loose loop. There are five runs of tube, each 200 feet
long, tied to the welded wire reinforcement.
The tube starts on one side of a copper manifold and
returns to the other side.
Air pressure is brought up to 50lbs to test the
tubing. Ours held pressure for 48 hours
before the concrete was poured.
Concrete covers the tubing…
To heat the upper level the tubing is run back and
forth in the joist bays….
Looks like spaghetti!
and held up against the subfloor
with staples and preformed aluminum
plates.
The heat source is a special water heater. We put it up 18 inches off the floor of the
garage to meet code requirements.
After the water is heated it is pumped into the upper
and lower runs of tube.
Each zone has its own pump.
The water heater has a coil of double walled polyethelene tubing inside the domestic hot water
tank. The heating system water flows
through this coil and picks up heat from the domestic hot water. Heat is released as the water flows through the
tube in the floors.
Here’s a closer look at the “works”. The heating water flows out at the top of the tank, then passes
through a check valve and the expansion tank (small grey
tank). Air escapes through an air
eliminator. Next in line are the pumps. The tank on the floor to the right is the
pressure tank for the cold water from the well.
The tubing stapled up to the subfloor
was also brought up to a pressure of 45lbs/in.
We found two very slight leaks and repaired them and re-tested before
putting up the drywall. In fact, we
operated the heating system for a month before the ceiling was drywalled. You can
see the moisture and air bubbles gleaming in the center at the joint in this
picture.
The water heater is vented through a 3” pvc pipe that runs up through the
upper level and out through the roof.
