Concrete Radiant Floor Heating Design

Many radiant floors most using copper tubing buried within concrete slabs were installed and used success fully in the 1960 s and 70 s.

Concrete radiant floor heating design. 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. How does radiant heat work. When radiant heat cannot reasonably provide all the heat for a structure make provisions for supplemental heat. There s two basic types of concrete floor heating hydronic and electric.

Simply adhere the mats to the concrete slab or wood subfloor and press the pipe between the knobs either by foot or by hand. The workers in the photograph at page top where our concrete slab. 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. 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.

Due to it s density and low conductivity concrete retains heat very well. See hiring a contractor. Qualified system installer the company who designs the radiant floor heating system may also install the system. Radiant heating system design or installation mistakes that must be avoided.

Relied upon radiant heat for over 60 years. In fact it was servicemen returning from world war ii who first spread the word about underfloor heat to their fellow americans. Above all when you are unsure seek out the answer from an. The design and layout of concrete floor radiant heat is often complex and typically should be done by a certified radiant heating professional rather than the concrete contractor.

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. Basic materials for radiant floor heat installation in a slab. If you are doing radiant floor heating pay close attention to the floor coverings and floor assemblies. Look for a track record of satisfied customer.

The system works via pex pipe a small pump a water heater and a thermostat. While it was done as a new house was being built in my last house i poured a concrete floor on top of a wood framed floor system and could have put radiant heat in that as well. Qualified system designer like any mechanical system a qualified experienced designer should design radiant floor heating systems. Slab insulation methods calculating heat loss tubing options system options and much more all written in easy to understand language for the homeowner with pictures and diagrams.

But they all suffered from. These need to be integrated into the design process. Knobbed mats like uponor s fast trak are becoming a more widely used option for radiant floor heating due to their ease of use.