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Radiant floor heating

9 years ago

Getting ready to renovate my kitchen and we are removing two walls. My problem is that those walls also have my heating radiators on them. One heats the kitchen the other my dining room. Looking into radiant heating or any other ideas.


Comments (3)

  • 9 years ago

    Radiant, under-floor, heat is a good solution. You could also do toe-space or other hydrocoil/forced air. I'd want radiant under-floor.

    What kind of radiators and what kind of boiler? (What is the water temp set to?) That looks like it is aluminum-fin over copper pipe "convector". Is that what is in the entire home? Is there one zone in the house or more than one?

    The radiant heat might require a lower temperature water than currently supplied to the convectors. If so, you might need a mixing valve to decrease the temperature of the water. It is common practice. On the other hand, if your home is old, and has been improved with respect to energy efficiency (insulation and air sealing), you might have more radiator than you need and be able to reduce the water temp in the whole system. (Warning, you can't do that with an old-school boiler.) That might have already happened if you have a modern boiler. If you don't have a modern boiler, it might happen in the future making the mixing valve obsolete at that point.

    You may need one of two things to make this work. A knowledgable hydronic heat expert can do it. Be careful with a general plumber. Some of them can do it properly, but most, probably not. You could also educate yourself. That would take time, but it is not rocket science.

  • PRO
    9 years ago

    There are other questions to be answered before you can move forward...

    The previous respondent ionized_gw asked some good questions...here are a few more....

    What climate do you live in?

    Is the kitchen floor on a concrete slab or is there a crawl space or a basement below.

    What type of heating system do you currently have?

    I suggest that you talk to 3 or 4 mechanical - heating contractors in your area to get an understanding of what all of your options might be. See if you can find a radiant floor heating contractor in your area as well. Weigh all of the information that you get and make an educated decision as to the right direction to go in.


  • PRO
    9 years ago

    I agree you need to get some ideas from pros in your area. I guess part of the reno is replacing the flooring so this is a good time to check out options