Can You Combine First Floor Radiant Hearwith Radiators

This illustration compares radiant floor heating and the uneven heat distribution from a radiator system.

Can you combine first floor radiant hearwith radiators. In a hydronic radiant floor heating system plastic tubing distributes hot water around the house from a central manifold like this one. Radiant floor heating 1 can either use heating coils electric or plastic pex tubing carrying heated water hydronic to warm your floors. The 20 000 you saved could have been invested in air sealing measures high performance windows thicker insulation or a pv array. My own home has radiant heat and it s luxurious.

For instance i like lower room temperatures at night. I have a 1910 home w an unfininshed basement that would provide access to retrofit to radiant heat on the first floor. You may be able to use the existing radiator piping to some extent but a number of other changes will be required. The first floor is not working the ceiling on the ground floor is decorative exposed beams etc.

Heated floors and radiators distribute heat differently. The second floor of the home is a combination of radiator and baseboard. A simple fire in a fireplace produces radiant heat as does a fireplace insert a wood stove portable electric heaters electric quartz heaters radiators connected to a central boiler etc. The existing radiators will likely perform quite nicely at lower temps.

Because the radiant heating runs under your entire floor it is typically run at a temperature similar to a hot summer day around 85 degrees fahrenheit. If you re using mixing valves you also need a temperature gauge downstream from each valve so that you can monitor the temperature of the water in the floor system. As some areas take much longer to heat with radiators and other areas are overheated hot and cold spots reduce desired comfort levels. If you do need mixing many new boilers are capable of this as well.

If you had realized that fact in time you could have saved 20 000 or more and left out the boiler and radiant floor heating system. I am wondering if i can link in aluminium radiators to the existing first floor loops. The complexity of the system adds to the cost and air conditioning must be added separately. Hi i have a wet under floor heating system on ground and first floor ground floor is fine.

Radiant heat sources in a home can take many forms. In a perfect world the new heaters or floor radiant will be sized to operate at the same low temps.