Hydronic Radiant Heating

December 19, 2008 00:12 AM  BY  STACEY BARRUS

Hydronic under floor heating are the most popular form of radiant heaters. This is mainly because these radiant heaters have been around the longest. This form of heating was first used by the Romans, but there have been significant developments since. In the most recent hydronic systems, PEX radiant tubing has been installed in a concrete mass called Gypsum Concrete or “Gypcrete.” This method works very well in most applications, but there have been developments in the installation process of hydronic under floor radiant heaters that make it easier to install for certain situations. This new development is known as a low-mass or modular board underlayment system. Rather than embedding the hot water tubing in concrete, the PEX tubing is laid in the grooves of pre-cut wood panels. This new method is ideal for remodeling and most new construction projects.

If you’d like to know more about both types of hydronic heating systems, contact the expert staff at warmzone.com.  They can help match your individual project with the best system at the best price. There isn’t a single system out there that is an ideal fit for every project, but there is an ideal system for every project. Also, because of the relationship that warmzone.com has with the manufacturers, they can guarantee the lowest price on the highest quality systems available.


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Radiant Heating Delivers Comfortable and Efficient Heat

December 25, 2008 00:12 AM  BY  STACEY BARRUS

As demands for lower energy costs increase, homebuilders, househunters, and home renovators alike are looking for energy-efficient heating options for houses.  We say they need look no further than radiant heaters for their ideal home heating solution.
In a nutshell, radiant heating is among the most efficient forms of heat available in today’s market. Significantly less operating time is required to attain and maintain the desired warmth compared to furnaces and other, traditional methods of heating, which keeps operational costs to a minimum.

High efficiency boilers or electric radiant floor systems makes radiant heat one of your most efficient ways to heat your home. Combined with a well-insulated home, these radiant heater systems can quickly warm your home and then shut down or wait idle for long periods of time before being called upon by the thermostat to operate.

Radiant Heaters Tip:  Being more environmentally friendly doesn’t have to involve major renovations. Many people waste a lot of energy by not sealing cracks, doors and windows. Checking to make sure a home’s insulation is in good shape and replacing it if it’s not is another good surefire way to stop, prevent, and reverse energy waste. 


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Staying Warm...and Green!

December 25, 2008 00:12 AM  BY  STACEY BARRUS

For anyone who is looking for a great way to save energy, and maximize comfort, then radiant heaters may be the ideal solution. Installing radiant heaters in a home under construction or in an existing home is proven to cut heating costs. It works by putting water lines in the home’s concrete floors or under existing floors and running hot water through them. Radiant heaters help to keep the whole house at a more constant temperature. In this way, our regular heaters don’t have to do as much to keep things warm and toasty during the winter.

You’ll find that switching to Radiant heaters will not only help save energy and lower heating costs, but it will certainly add to comfort as well. That is because it put the heat at our feet, which are generally cold, and offers cooler air near head level, where we are generally a little warmer.

Many times, what first springs to mind when people think of eco-friendly energy and heating is solar power. While solar panels are expensive, there are other eco-friendly ways to cut your power bill. In fact, energy savings can be found right beneath your feet: radiant heaters.

Radiant Heaters Tip: It is reported that many people waste a lot of energy by not sealing cracks, doors and windows; checking to make sure a home’s insulation is in good shape and replacing it if it’s not is another good way to stop energy waste.


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Questions Concerning Home Heating

December 03, 2008 00:12 AM  BY  STACEY BARRUS

When replacing a home heating system, there are a lot of questions that people have in regards to new home heating systems.  Here is a questions that was recently asked.

Q: My 1,200 square foot home used to be heated by a furnace from 1949 that ran at 25,000 BTU. Recently I changed the system to a newer, 7,000 BTU system. I thought this newer heater would be more efficient, but I find that it takes much longer to heat the house than the older system did. Is there something wrong with my furnace or do I need one that has a higher BTU?

A: It’s a good idea to replace old heating systems with newer, more efficient models. These new models can work just as well or better than old systems, but they do work differently. Where old furnaces could be turned on and heat the house within a matter of minutes, new heating systems can take longer. If you want your home to be warm at a certain time, set the heat to go on about 45 minutes prior to that.

Another important factor is whether your home is “weather-tight.” Make sure all doors and windows are properly sealed. If not, you may be losing heat at the same rate your heating system is producing it. Check with a heating contractor who can tell you whether the new unit is sized correctly for your home’s square footage.


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What's Your Plan This Winter

October 26, 2008 00:10 AM  BY  STACEY BARRUS

Winter weather is on the way. Start thinking about heating system solutions for the coming winter months or spend the season shivering and wishing you’d planned ahead. Leaving decisions like this to the last moment (for example, when your furnace up and dies in the middle of a brutal Nor’easter) causes unnecessary stress, expense, and, most obviously, a freezing cold house.

Whether you are building a new home from the ground up, preparing to replace your heating systems are using electricity instead of natural gas or heating oil. Not only does this cut down on heating costs, but it is also more efficient and eco-friendly as well. Radiant heating systems are quickly replacing traditional furnaces.

Heating Systems Tip: Choosing the best heating systems for a new home or to add supplemental heat to a cold spot in your home now takes a little homework. The radiant consultants and designers at Warmzone have been trained in all of the latest heating systems to properly assess your project and prescribe a system that will add value to your home within your budget.

 


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What Kind of Radiant Heaters are Best for Your Home?

December 28, 2008 00:12 AM  BY  STACEY BARRUS

Are you having a hard time deciding which radiant heat system is right for you?  We know, it sometimes can be hard to narrow down what kind of radiant heaters to install. There are dozens of products available to purchase, and there are even more companies telling you that their product is the best.

For many homeowners, electric cable heating systems, often called line- or high-voltage systems, are gaining popularity and are ideal for heating smaller areas like bathrooms, kitchens, and sun rooms. These systems are comprised of a thermostat and a heating cable. These radiant heater systems are oftentimes less expensive, and give the ability to customize a layout that will heat every square inch of your floor.

Every available radiant heater cable system is equally effective, so when determining which system to purchase, you should look at the warranty of the product, along with the ease of installation. Some cables must be embedded in a separate layer of concrete or mortar, whereas other systems can simply be installed in the thinset. Most radiant heater cable systems can only be installed under tile. However, on others, if the cable is embedded in mortar or concrete, any flooring can be installed on top of the concrete.

Radiant Heaters Tip: When heating smaller areas, it is nearly impossible to beat the simplicity and price of an electric cable radiant heating system. 


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LX, TX Cable, Whats the Difference?

November 03, 2008 00:11 AM  BY  RILEY PETERSON

Danfoss offers a myriad of cables for all kinds of projects, but figuring out the differences can be pretty tricky. I won’t go into technical details here, rather go over some basic differences that will help you choose which cable to use for which project.

Danfoss LX Cable Interior Cable, best for tile, marble, and slate flooring A thin 3/16-inch diameter electric radiant heating cable made specifically for tile installations. Because of the thinness of the cable, it can go directly into the tile thin-set (thin-set must not be more than ¼” thick or else it will crack the tile).
Danfoss TX Cable Interior Cable, tile, marble, hardwood, slate A thicker ¼-inch diameter radiant heating cable, made to be installed directly into concrete slab. The thickness of the cable makes it more durable to withstand heavier concrete pours.
Danfoss GX Cable Outdoor Cable, concrete, asphalt, brick pavers A thick ¼-inch diameter radiant heating cable, made for use in outdoor driveway, walkway, and sidewalk snow melting. Heavy cable built to withstand concrete pours and hot asphalt.

All of the Danfoss products give you the option of choosing between individual cable in lengths (it comes on a roll) or in woven mats, which has the cable rows pre-spaced and makes installation much quicker and easier. The only difficulty with the radiant mats is that it works best with rectangular areas; however, the mat can be cut to accommodate corners and custom layouts. (Just don't cut the heat cable!) If you have a complicated, odd shaped area to heat, you may be better off with installing the individual heating cable.


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Adding a Heating Source to Your Home is Easier than You Think

December 11, 2008 00:12 AM  BY  STACEY BARRUS

Have you ever gone on a ski vacation for the weekend and stayed at a little ski lodge? A lot of the times, they’ll have a huge fireplace in the main room with smaller bedrooms up in the loft area or second-story. But the problem is that when you’re in the main room with the roaring fire, you’re often overwhelmed by the heat and retreat to the bedroom, where it’s far chillier. You see, many vacation or weekend homes weren’t built with air conditioning ducts with which to deliver the heat to the different rooms of the house. However, there is a solution to adding heating to homes that have not been built for traditional forced air systems: radiant heaters.

As opposed to warm air systems (such as a forced air unit heaters), radiant heaters deliver the source of heat to the floor level, not the ceiling. Radiant heaters or radiant energy is the oldest form of heating used to provide comfort and is the basis for all heating systems.

Additionally, radiant heaters also offer more comfort than forced air heating by heating the atmosphere from the ground up. Since heat rises, the heat will be more evenly distributed, providing a much more comfortable atmosphere.

Radiant Heaters Tip: Radiant energy is totally pure radiation and is absorbed by an object without physical contact with the heat source or by heating the surrounding air, as is the case with convective, forced air systems. 


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Radiant Heaters

November 11, 2007 00:11 AM  BY  WARMZONE

Radiant heaters, as opposed to warm air systems (such as a forced air unit heaters), deliver the source of heat to the floor level, not the ceiling. And since warm air rises, heating the floors proves to be the most efficient means of heating living areas.

Radiant heaters or radiant energy is the oldest form of heating used to provide comfort and is the basis for all heating systems. Radiant energy is totally pure radiation and is absorbed by an object without physical contact with the heat source or by heating the surrounding air, as is the case with convective, forced air systems.

Under floor heaters were first used by the Romans. Initially the preserve of the rich, under floor heating became increasingly commonplace in public buildings and villas, particularly in the colder regions of the Roman Empire. The Roman system was based on hypocausts, comprising ducts that underlay the floor (itself built on raised brick piles) and flues that were built into walls. Hot air or steam from fires circulated up through this system, warming the floor and walls, with heat passing into the rooms.

More specifically, the floor was laid out as series of concrete slabs acting as radiant heaters supported by columns of layered tiles, with a furnace at the bottom of one exterior wall. By placing the fire here, the draught would take the radiant heat under the floor, and up through the walls to radiant heater chimneys located in the corners of the room.

Today we recognize the brilliance of the Romans and Koreans as early adopters of radiant heating, as the technology is still a desired method for delivering comfortable and efficient heat in our homes. Now we have radiant heaters using electric resistance cables that are constructed of highly rated materials and feature manufacturer warranties of up to 25 years.

 

About Warmzone
Warmzone provides consumers with energy-efficient, radiant heating solutions for homes and businesses. Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, Warmzone's electricians and radiant heat experts will help you determine the best radiant heating solution, ranging from electric heated floors to large commercial snow and ice melt projects. Send us a plan or drawings and we'll be happy to provide you with a FREE estimate and options for your roof heating and ice melting project.


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What Do You Know About Radiant Heating?

December 10, 2008 00:12 AM  BY  STACEY BARRUS

Recent research by Wavin Plastics into the publics perception of under floor heating systems has revealed more than a third of house buyers would include this type of heating in their top five wish list of luxury items when buying a new home.

While findings show that awareness of under floor heating systems and its benefits are high, only a tenth of the population have actually lived in a property which has such a heating system. However, 37% have experienced the comfort of these heating systems either by visiting a home or hotel which has the system installed.

There are many benefits to under floor radiant heating systems, such as warmth without the dryness of central heating, comfortable to walk on with bare feet, as well as being very energy efficient.Many times, once people have experienced how fantastic radiant heating systems are they want them in their own homes. More and more people are realizing the benefits of radiant under floor heating.

Surprisingly, these radiant floor heating systems are now very affordable.There is virtually a system out there for every budget.If you’ve always dreamt about the possibilities of having floor heating, but always assumed it was too expensive, you should contact the staff at warmzone.com about economical floor heating solutions.


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