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I’m building a small residence 600sf (455sf on grade plus unheated garage and 250sf loft) on an older garage foundation. I will be pouring a new insulated slab over the existing due in part to the extensive demo needed for plumbing rough in.
The Basic layout is cabinesque; main floor with an open loft, cathedral ceilings and two dormers. I’d love to put in radiant flooring in the new slab but am wondering if there isn’t a better option given the cathedral thing and the small square footage. Electrical Resistance perhaps?
Thanks!!
Jared
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Dear Jared,
How about a Rinnai or Monitor ?
Warmly, Fred
*don't believe radiant heat is your answer... expense seems like it would be high for such little square footage serviced (ie. only 455 sqft - won't heat the loft zone and would need a separate space heater there). 2 rinnais or monitors. one for below and one for above?i'm picturing a small heat pump for ac and heat, with 1 or 2 ducts run up to one/either side of the loft area.seems like most bang for the buck offhand.this is not my area of strength :-(seems like fredl's though.brian
*Jared - I had just about the same floor plan in a cabin I lived in for 6 years. The Monitor (or Toyo, in my case) was perfect for what I had. I didn't need another one upstairs, either. You say yours is an open loft, I would be more concerned with it being too warm upstairs than not.FWIW, a neighbor used a fuel oil fired instant hot water heater to heat his 16x24 slab. I doubt it's recommended, but he likes it. We'll see how long the heater lasts. I burn 250 gallons of #1 per year in SE central Alaska - can't imagine elec. heat beating that.If you want to look at some elec. infloor heat, look at http://www.infloor.com
*I have an approx 500' cottage i heat with a direct-vent Ecotherm 130. The walls are only r-11, ceiling r-19, and the dial seldom gets off the lowest setting unless it gets in the negative temps outside. It's located near the doorway to the bathroom, so it heats that first, then the living area, then the heat has to take a couple winders up the narrow stairs to the loft sleeping area--perfect! I'm leaning to doing all small direct-vent propane heaters in my new place. Orbis heaters are designed better. The Rinnai's and Monitors must have electricity to work, not good in a power outage. Efficiency-wise, the R's and M's have approx. 10% higher effeciecy ratings than the smaller units, though initial cost is approx. 3 times as high for the larger units. If you use a Monitor with kerosene, you have to site the tank so you get gravity flow, and be sure to have winterized fuel if it freezes.I also like that Ecotherm and Orbis heaters don't take up any floor space, but hang on the wall. No elec needed, and since the gas is under pressure, you can place them almost anywhere.Another option would be overhead radiant panels. A friend of mine used these in her 400' dollhouse of a place and loves it, but i would still rather not be so dependent on electric.
*Dear Splintergroupie,I'm fond of little direct vent heaters, and your Orbis product looks like a winner. Wall hang is nice for cleaning the floor below. Looks quiet and reliable too.We've used a Monitor 30 to heat our place since '83. Upgraded to a 40k btu/hr unit last year so we could raise the house temp more than 70F over ambient without having to baking cookies. I do like the way the output ratchets down to 7k btu. Limitations as you say. But we only had a problem with power once.Also, for the love of my perky new keyboard springs, do you have a favored abridgment for your um--13, 14, 15 letter screen name? Ever, Fred
*Ice storm, Fred? Ummm, we call those "cold snaps"...There's an amazing general store called The Axmen in Missoula where you can get anything for a rural lifestyle from a cattleguard to a metal roof to an Aquastar. Anyway, one of the brothers who owns the place was telling me they got a visit from the Rinnai guy from Japan, whose heaters they sell. The store owner told him one of the reasons folks weren't buying the Rinnai was due to the electric service interruption in rural areas not only stopping the heater working, but also losing the settings. The Japanese rep was aghast that we could suffer such hardship in America! I think i saw something about a battery backup for the Monitor, but i don't know if it only backs up the settings, or if it can be used for the fan. When my boiler took a 3-day vacation recently, i was glad for the ability to reset the house temp with my woodstove, though i could kiss my house goodbye if i started it on fire with the stove--it's almost impossible to get insurance for woodstoves any more."SG" is fine with me. Save the two-fingered typing for the important stuff.