Hydronic Radiant Floor Heating In Concrete

The most cost effective system for medium to larger homes is hydronic since the amount of power it would take to heat a whole home with electric would be substantial.

Hydronic radiant floor heating in concrete.

For hydronic heating water pipes run through the top layer of concrete so heat is not wasted below the surface. There s two basic types of concrete floor heating hydronic and electric. The system works via pex pipe a small pump a water heater and a thermostat. Radiant heating system design or installation mistakes that must be avoided.

Water tubes or electric cables are easily embedded in concrete slabs. Separated radiant heat zones are controlled by one thermostat and served by a manifold which distributes the flow of warm water to the individual circuits of tubing within each zone. Our next system is called hydronic radiant floor heating and it is by far the most popular type of floor heating. The final step in preparing for our concrete slab is finished.

In all you can expect to pay anywhere from 6 000 to 14 000 to install a hydronic radiant floor heating system. As warm water circulates through the tubing or as electricity warms the heating elements the concrete flooring turns into an efficient inconspicuous radiator. Like sand concrete is an ideal carrier of radiant heat because of its inherent thermal mass. They can retain heat over time which is ideal for radiant under floor heating.

If in concrete the heat lasts longer because it warms the concrete mass which once heated will hold the heat better than air. Hydronic radiant floor systems pump heated water from a boiler through tubing that is laid underneath your flooring. It s why we have furnace filters to capture any dust or allergens. Hydronic radiant floor heating systems use a boiler to heat up hot water and a pump to circulate the hot water in plastic pipes installed in a concrete slab.

If you don t have a boiler you ll need a safe place for one. While it was done as a new house was being built in my last house i poured a concrete floor on top of a wood framed floor system and could have put radiant heat in that as well. The workers in the photograph at page top where our concrete slab. This includes the system itself and the cost for a dedicated water heater or boiler generally 360 to 1 000 for a 50 gallon water heater or approximately 6 000 for a boiler.

Typically radiant heating systems warm floors to temperatures of 75 to 80 degrees f. Radiant floor heating is also much cleaner. Due to it s density and low conductivity concrete retains heat very well. The pipes embedded in the floor carry heated water that conducts warmth to the surface of the floor where it broadcasts energy to the room.

Concrete slabs have plenty of thermal mass. This article explains how to avoid some fatal mistakes when installing radiant heat in a concrete floor slab by describing an incompetent radiant heat floor installation along with an explanation of why things went wrong and how to avoid these errors.