We are in the process of renovating and old house in Virginia Beach, VA. Due to all the bad news about the rising costs of natural gas and electricity … we are looking for the most efficient alternative heating system. We have recently received information on a system called Hydro-Sil out of Fort Mill, SC. Has anyone had experience with this company or this type of heating system. It is a “zone heating system” that uses individual free standing baseboards. They are hydronic heaters filled with a silicone fluid.
We are very hesitant on trying new heating systems because we used to live in Steamboat Springs, Colorado and installed a radiant floor heating system called “Therma Floor” because it sounded so practical. Well, we ended up replacing our entire system because of problems. We don’t want this to happen again. Thanks for your input.
Replies
Hydro-Sil is nothing more or nothing less than electric baseboard heating.
It should do a good job of heating if it is sized properly. But in most locations the cost of operation of resistive heating is very expensive.
Yes it is 100% or near a 100% efficient. But that just means that all of the energy that you pay for is used to product heating. But that energy is much more expensive than other energy.
Thanks for your response. Would you have any other suggestions? A couple years ago we thought natural gas was the BEST ... now, who knows ???
What was wrong with the Therma-Floor?
It was the "original" therma-floor back in the late 70's ... it was copper screen sandwiched between the subfloor and carpet/tile etc. It was found to be a fire hazard because the heat broke down the particle board or plywood and lowered the combustion rate. So, we ended up replacing the system!
I am curious about your comments on Thermafloor... isn't that just the lightweight concrete?
What color was the tubing?
I am going to make a guess it was ORANGE RUBBER.
Am I right?
Check with your power company to see if they offer Thermal Storage Heaters and the off-peak rates that make them economical to use. Here (southern Colorado) you can get off peak rates that are less than half the day rate (for residential). Those rates are for all power used during those hours (not just the power to the heaters), so you can put a timer on an elec water heater, do your laundry late evening, etc. if you want to make even better use of the cheaper power.
If you aren't familiar with them, TSHers feature a super insulated box filled with a type of ceramic bricks. When the rates are low (I think it's 9pm to 6am) the resistance elements heat the bricks. There is a thermostat on the unit which you set like any other for the room temp you want. The unit simply kicks on a small fan which blows heat out the bottom front of the unit. Here from Nov. to March there is an additional off-peak rate period from 2pm to 4pm so that if the weather is really cold the unit can "recharge" before evening.
I know several people who have this type heater around here and eveyone loves them. The brand name sold here is Steffes. We will be installing them in the new home we are just beginning.
PS - The company claims that, although the units are not meant as air purifiers, they are hot enough inside the box that the air circulated through the bricks is purified by all pollen, spores, etc. being burnt up as they pass through.
Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a carpenter to build one.
Edited 7/6/2003 11:32:30 AM ET by Hasbeen
I'd stick with natural gas, if that's an option.
It may be high for a year or 2, but market forces will eventually bring it back in line.
King Mongut of Siam had 9,000 wives. Before dying of syphilis, he was quoted as saying he only loved the first 700.