I’m in the planning stages of building a new home in the Dallas Texas area. Our new home will be a slab foundation. I’m seriously considering radiant floor heating as I think it is much more comfortable and efficient than forced air space heating. However, radiant floor heating is an unknown in this area.
I’d appreciate some advice on whether or not radiant floor heating is a good idea in this type of climate and locale. Also would appreciate any referrals on brands and/or contractors.
Thanks!
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Replies
I'm going through this with a client in Carthage, TX right now. Don't yet know how they'll choose. I portrayed it as a decision of comfort...if they liked to walk barefoot all winter, then RFH would be a great convenience. If they didn't care about that, then the install price might be hard to justify for the lesser use they'd get out of it compared to someone more Northern. Cheaper to just piggyback off the ductwork they'll have for the A/C.
I was in Dallas in Feb and it was 32, and I was sure wishing that hotel had had RFH, Once you have it, you're hooked on it.
Thanks for the prompt reply!
I'm willing to pay for additional comfort as I just hate to be cold. Guess I'm just a Texas boy who likes hot weather over cold.
For budget purposes, approximately how much more is radiant heat for the home in Carthage? My home will be about 2,900 sq. ft.
They haven't priced it out yet. I'm the designer and have also installed it in my house, but have only been advising them on technique and manufacturers, and not been involved in pricing the system out with their HVAC contractor. Other guys here know installed prices better.
I helped design and install RFH in a house in San Antonio.
One item to consider...if you put in RFH, you've solved the heating equation. You still need a completely separate AC system for cooling. Instead of conventional AC, RFH is usually paired with a hi-velocity air conditioning system like Unico or SpacePak. At this stage I don't suppose you'd fall over if I told you that Hi-V ac also runs at a 15%-30% cost premium over regular forced air.
When using forced air, the ductwork is shared by both systems. Hi-velocity systems use a somewhat standard-sized trunk line, but that feed supply ducts that are 2" in diameter. The outlets are 2" in diameter as well, so they're less obtrusive visually.
Since dehumidification is important down in your area, Hi-V systems do remove more moisture form the air as it's conditioned.
I wish I could write that RFH is lousy and not worht the added expense...but it is!<g>
I'll be down your way (kind of) in mid-January...down at the Shiner Brewery and a few points south.
Mongo,
For an AC system compatible with RFH, check out http://www.bio-radiant.com/ (Look on their too-busy page for Hydro-Air) and see what you think. We've been researching it, like a lot about it, but haven't pulled the trigger yet on the first project. I posed it to the Carthage folks, but the owner's boyfriend is in the trades, and was emotionally committed to a traditional ducted system.
Anyway, Hydro-Air puts a hydronically-fed fan coil in each room, for a decentralized distribution system. The units fit in the stud wall cavity and include a condensate drain. Units can deliver up to 10,000 btu/h or so. They also prepare the entire pump, valve, control assembly.
Have you dealt with any ductless hydronic AC systems? There's another called Multi-Aqua I believe, but it sits outside the wall.
I have some business acquaintances that build a large custom home (about 4000 sqr. ft.) with RFH about 30 miles south of Dallas/Ft. Worth. Their predominate complaint was given the lack of long term cold weather where it might be in the upper 20s tonight and in the mid 60s or higher tomorrow. They would "fire up" the RFH and the next day or two no heat was needed. However because of the retained heat in the slab, they had to crank-up the AC to cool the house down when it would not normally be needed. The problem being that in the Dallas area it doesn’t seem to get cold enough for extended periods to make the system worth the expense. They have said that they would not do it again. They do however, love the system when they can really use it for longer periods.
I've never heard of them before. Thanks for the link. I sent out for a packet. I wonder how well those systems dehumidify. If you do pursue that route, and you remember, drop me a line. I'd like to see a real-world application.
Split-ductless systems are used up here. Not nearly as common as standard whole-house AC, but they are used. When they are used, it's normally for an addition, a great room, or a sunroom, but I've never seen "whole house split-ductless."
Again, thanks for the link.