Radiant Heat Systems

J.K. Mechanical might be well known for specializing in environmentally friendly heating and cooling - and we're proud of that fact but our goal of keeping our clients comfortable is our primary focus.
When it comes to comfort in the wintertime, it is hard to beat the luxurious comfort of radiant floor heat. In fact, that is what we have in our office and shop here in Willow Street. Not only do we enjoy the comfort and energy saving benefits of radiant heat but we also enjoy the energy savings and (according to the EPA) the most environmentally friendly heating system – Geothermal.

Our knowledge in geothermal systems and radiant in-floor systems have helped us become award winning designers and installers of this combination of geothermal and radiant for our clients too. Read on for some information on radiant floor heat and give us a call to find out how you can benefit from our award winning design team.

What is Radiant Floor Heating?

Radiant floor heating is a superior method of heating your home.

What exactly is radiant energy?

Here is an excellent description provided by the Radiant Panel Association:

Hold your hand over a cup of coffee and feel the heat. The logical conclusion is that heat rises. Logical maybe, but incorrect! “Hot air” rises but “heat” can travel in many directions. That is why you can feel the heat of the coffee cup when you place your hand to the side of it. Radiant energy transfer is caused by a warm surface giving up its heat to a cooler surface.

Consider how the sun (10,000 degrees fahrenheit) heats the earth. The sun radiates its energy towards the earth. The radiant energy is absorbed by the earth and is released as heat.

A radiant floor heating system simply radiates heat upward from the floor to provide optimum comfort and many other benefits.

Benefits of Radiant Floor Heating

In a home requiring a cooling system, the net cost of getting radiant floor heating will be the cost of the radiant floor heating system, less the amount saved by not having a heating unit on your forced air cooling system.

• Natural Waves of Warmth
  Warmth is carried to living spaces on invisible waves of radiant energy naturally.
• Comfort
  No other heating system can come close to the high degree of comfort provided by radiant heating.
• More for Less
  The efficient delivery of radiant heat is more comfortable while using less energy.
• Clean Breathable Air
  No air passes through dusty ducts or dirty fins before reaching the room.
• Even Heating
  Radiant systems gently warm the air, leaving no hot air to rise and be wasted at ceilings. Objects are warmed while cold windows and walls are neutralized by the heated surfaces.
• Silent Running
  The quietest way to deliver heat to your home or business.

How Radiant Flooring Works

Warm water circulates through tubing beneath the floor. This turns the flooring into an efficient, low temperature radiator.

The heat source to produce the warm water is a boiler with a certified efficiency rating (This same boiler can also be used to heat the pool, snow melting, heating a hot tub, or and domestic hot water needs.)

The tubing for a radiant floor heating system is located in one of three places:

• In the concrete
• Under wood subfloors
• On a subfloor of wood, or concrete slab-on-grade – then covered with gypsum.

A home that requires a cooling system will typically have a separate system installed to provide the cooling. The reason is simple: heating is ideally delivered from the ground up, while cooling is not.

Radiant floor heating produces room temperatures very close to ideal: 75 degrees at floor level, declining to 68 degrees at eye level, then to 61 degrees at the ceiling.

Radiant Heating Methods

Hanging in Joist Space

Tubing is suspended several inches beneath the subfloor in the joist space. Insulation is installed in the joist space beneath the tube with a 2 to 4 inch air space between the top of the insulation and the bottom of the subfloor. The air within this space is heated by the tube which, in turn, heats the underside of the subfloor.

Staple-up

Tubing is attached to the underside of the existing subfloor. Aluminum plates can be used to spread the heat evenly under the subfloor. Insulation is placed in the joist space beneath the tubing. A 2 inch air space is usually left between the insulation and the bottom of the subfloor. If aluminum plates are used which significantly cover the underside of the subfloor, the insulation may be pushed up tight against the plates. Obviously, care must be taken when nailing any floor covering from above.

Concrete Slab

Tubing isattached to wire mesh or fixtures to hold itin place until the concrete floor is poured. The tubing ?is embedded in the concrete anywhere from the bottom of the slab to within 2 inches of the surface, depending on the design and installation technique.