We added a family room with hardwood floors on the back of our house 2 years ago, and there is an unfinished basement workshop underneath. I was concerned at the time that there were not enough heat runs, and the room does feel cold. We were considering installing a radiant heat floor–I see that there are electric and hydronic options. We do have a cold water pipe that runs to the addition (and supplies an outside tap), but running an additional line from the hot water heater would involve tearing up part of the finished basement’s ceiling (which can be done, but I would love to NOT have to do it). My questions are:
Is one significantly better than the other in terms of cost, installation, and upkeep(I am thinking that electric would be more expensive to run, but hot water would require either a larger or an additional water heater).?
Can programmable thermostats be used with the systems?
If we used a hydronic system do they make them with smaller hot water heaters just for that system (thinking that we could then just supply it by branching off the existing water pipe–plus our hot water heater seems to be barely big enough for our current needs let alone to be used as a continuous heat supply)?
Any practical comments or suggestions are appreciated!
Jennifer
Replies
There is a wealth of information both here (advanced search on any combination including radiant floor+) and on other sites on this topic. Not quite as simple as you are assuming, but still very do-able and I think quite interesting.
Are you planning to DIY this, or hire a HVAC contractor?
BTW< welcome to BT
At this point we are just seeing what is involved--my husband works in construction so I think he could do most of it, although we would probably sub out any plumbing and/or electric.
If you do not have a current hydronic heat source except your DHW heater, the question is, how big of a load are you servicing? It's a basement.. is it insulated? How cold is it now and how big is it?
I tend to think pipe lasts longer than electrical heating elements, personally. But that doesn't mean hydronic is feasible for every project.
setback usage depends on how often you use the space, how deep of a setback you want, and how the radiant is installed. High mass radiant doesn't set back as well as lower mass radiant installations.
-=Northeast Radiant Technology=-
Radiant Design, Consultation, Parts Supply
http://www.NRTradiant.com
The unfinished basement workshop is about 21x16--I guess I'm not so much interested in heating the workshop as heating the floor of the room above the workshop--we use the family room alot, but I know that I find myself going somewhere else to read when it is cold outside because the floor is so chilly. That part of the basement is not currently insulated, and it is a poured concrete foundation.
Well if you're just doing a single room like that, I would think electric would be a decent choice vs. installing a new hydronic system just for that room. It's either that or a cheap dedicated water heater, perhaps, if your water temp requirements are low enough (that is effected by the way you install the pipe).-------------------------------------
-=Northeast Radiant Technology=-
Radiant Design, Consultation, Parts Supply
http://www.NRTradiant.com
Thank you so much for your input, you've been helpful!
I didn't really understand the third part of your reply--what did you mean by setback usage?
You talked about using programmable thermostats. If you use high-mass radiant (concrete) or if you have a very well insulated room with a low heat load, such thermostats aren't worthwhile unless the room is unused for more than a day at a time. If you have higher loads and/or lower mass radiant then using a prog stat can be a good choice.-------------------------------------
-=Northeast Radiant Technology=-
Radiant Design, Consultation, Parts Supply
http://www.NRTradiant.com