Living in a comfortable, energy-efficient home is important to homeowners looking to enjoy their private space while knowing they can find comfort and sustainability without financial strain. Heating your home is necessary for providing a healthy environment and hydronic in-floor heating offers the best solution to providing that well-being.

Radiant Floor Heating:

Hydronic in-floor radiant heating provides even, quiet, draft-free heat in your home. There are no supply and return registers or convection-reliant radiators, and there is less air leakage around doors and windows. The heat is evenly distributed from the floor level, which is where we are allowing the temperatures where people are situated to be heated faster. The other benefit to radiant heat is that it is quiet and operates unnoticeably because it is installed underneath the floor.

Conventional forced heat means air is blown through dusty or dirty ducts which can circulate airborne pollutants throughout your home. With radiant heat, it is dust-free and can contribute to healthier indoor air quality which is beneficial especially to those who suffer from allergies, asthma and other breathing problems.

AMPEX Insulated Panel:

The Ampex Insulated PEX Panel by Amvic Building System has been specifically designed to provide easier, faster and the most cost effective installation and performance for Hydronic Radiant in-floor heating systems. The panel consists of expanded polystyrene insulation molded into a high impact polystyrene film. This combination makes for a stronger, more resilient interlocking PEX panel.

Design Features:

The Ampex panel with its innovative “Lock and Hold” patented design enables the PEX piping to be easily inserted and seated into the panel by simply walking on the tube. This completely eliminates the needs for staples or ties to hold the tubing in place, as done in conventional methods.

The panel nub height allows for 3/8’’ to a full inch of tubing diameter, thus allowing for Pex tubing of variable diameters. The polystyrene film provides flexural strength thereby ensuring less damage to the panel and acts as a vapor retardant.  The connecting bridges in the panel lift the tubing ¾ inch off the floor of the panel enabling efficient heat transfer from the Pex tubing into the concrete slab. Equipped with a wide shiplap interlocking system, the panel provides a stronger grip and makes for a quick, easy and secure installation with almost a 40% saving in installation time.

Installer Benefits:

The design of the Ampex panel makes for a very durable and simple install on the job site. With its easy walk-on installation and without the need for staples or ties, the installation of PEX tubing is greatly simplified, making it a one man job which considerably reduces time and the labor involved.

Because of its strength and stability, plumbers can handle the material with ease, eliminating breakage and waste at site.  The size of the panels also increase productivity and precision when placing the panels on the floor. The 2×4 panels become easier to maneuver, easier to place and easier to identify leveling inconsistencies.

Design Benefits:

Some of the design benefits with a radiant floor heating system include the elimination of baseboards and floor vents (which can obstruct furniture placement), the ability to effectively use floor-to-ceiling windows without compromising interior comfort, and smaller ventilation ducting for greater ceiling heights. Best of all, radiant floor heating is compatible under any type of floor covering — carpet, wood, slate, tile, stone, laminate, and even concrete — making design possibilities endless.

Pex Panel Applications:

Homeowners can have hydronic heating throughout their entire home which can eliminate the need for forced air units, reduce utility bills and create a comfortable and healthy environment for the family.

Typical common living areas in your home where the Ampex panel can be installed include the bathroom, the family room, the garage/driveway, workshops, entrances and even the kitchen.

Snow and ice melting systems with hydronic heating can be easily installed for residential applications such as driveways, sidewalks, stairs, entrances, parking lots, ramps, helipads and much more.

Savings for the Home Owner:

Hydronic radiant floor systems save energy and lower fuel bills since radiant heat performs better at lower water temperatures, enabling you to lower the thermostat. In addition, hydronic radiant heat is more efficient than other systems because it uses moderately low water temperatures to heat your home.  The Ampex panel with its high impact polystyrene film acts as a vapour retardant and provides high energy efficiency. The panel has R values from R10, R12, R14, and R16.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Savers website, radiant heating has a number of advantages over other forms of heat distribution because: “It is more efficient than baseboard heating and usually more efficient than forced-air heating because no energy is lost through ducts. In-floor radiant heating can also help contribute to green building points under two recently introduced national programs: LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for Homes (see A National Certification Program for Green Homes) and the National Association of Home Builders Green Building Program.

With numerous cost saving and energy efficiency benefits, radiant in-floor heating panels are fast becoming the hydronic heating of choice among installers and home owners.