What Is Radiant Heat?

The warmth and comfort we feel from the sun on a cool spring day or in front of a crackling fire on a cold night is radiant heat.  Radiant floor heating uses a very subtle form of this same radiant energy.  Radiant heat gently and evenly warms the surfaces of objects in the room.  The air in the room is warmed when it comes into contact with the warmed objects, the largest of which is the floor.  Heat loss is reduced and the radiant heat remains in the lower part of the room ­ warmer near the feet and slightly less so at head level, creating the perfect climate for comfort.

Why Choose Radiant Heat?

* Radiant Heat is Efficient

In-floor heating is the most efficient means of heat distribution in existence today. In most cases, it requires 20-40% less energy to operate over homes using forced hot air systems. There's no more wasted heat in large rooms, rooms with vaulted ceilings, large windows or garage doors. Desired temperatures can also be controlled on a room by room basis.

* Radiant Heat is Clean and Healthy

Unlike forced hot air and convective baseboard systems, in-floor heating does not circulate dust particles in the air, nor does it promote the spread of pollens and other airborne allergens. The air you will breathe with radiant heat is clean and healthy.

* Radiant Heat is For You!

Radiant heat is quiet - no knocking pipes, noisy fans, or clanging ductwork. Decorate and put furniture wherever you like because there are no vents to block, or baseboard heaters protruding from the walls. It's low maintenance - no belts or fans to replace, no ducts to clean, and no filters to change! And this all adds up to your increased property value!

Bestway Plumbing and Heating 2526 Platte Place, Colorado Springs, CO 80909 Tel: 719-599-0830    Fax: 719-599-4121 E-mail:info@bestwayplumbing.com ©2009 Bestway Plumbing and Heating - All Rights Reserved Web Page Design & Implementation by Timmay!!!

Heating Options

An important decision for every home/business owner is deciding what type of heating system is right for you.  Bestway Plumbing and Heating specializes in the installation and repair of Hydronic Radiant Heat Systems, and Baseboard Heating.   To decide what type of system is best suited to meet your needs, it's important to learn more about your various options.  In order to help you understand the difference between the various types of heating systems, we have created this comparison page that includes the pros and cons of a traditional Forced Air System verses Baseboard and Radiant Heat.


Radiant Heat

	Hot water radiant heat is a network of looped pipes that are evenly spaced under the floor/s of a house or building which carry warm water. This water is usually heated by a boiler or solar panels. Warmth from the warm water radiates through the floors to you and the objects in the room. Since radiant heat travels from hot to cold in all directions (only hot air rises), the tubing can be install in floors, walls, and/or ceilings.
	Hot water radiant heat primarily uses radiant and conduction as the heat transfer medium. The warmth from Hot Water Heatthe warm water, in the floors, radiates to the floor. The now warm floors radiates to the cooler objects in the room thus, heating those cool objects. Due to this method of heating, heat is distributed evenly through out the room, similar to how a light bulb distributes light through out a room. Additionally, the warm floors conduct heat, for example, to bare feet walking across the warm floors or a baby playing on the floor.

Panel Radiators

Hot water panel radiators are placed through out a house or building and hot water circulates through the panel radiator heating the space around the panel. Panel radiators primarily use convection and about 30-40% radiation as the heat transfer mediums. The panel heats the air causing a ‘natural’ convection current very similar to how baseboard hot water heat works. Many older homes and some newer homes are refurbishing old steam radiators for hot water panel radiator heat. These panels work great. Most are large, cast iron, and have a lot of thermal mass. The more thermal mass, equals to a higher percentage of heat transfer is radiant. Higher percentage of radiant heat transfer also means lower water temperature which equals lower energy requirement.

Baseboard

Hot water baseboard was and is very popular method of heating a house or building. Baseboard is installed throughout a home or building usually on exterior walls and under widows. Baseboard typically requires about 170-190 degree hot water. Cool air, by natural convections currents, passes over the hot baseboard thus, heating the air. The air then rises to the top of the room where it cools and ‘falls’ to the floor. Due to this movement of hot air, the heat is ‘banked’ down from the ceiling. This ‘banking’ of air is called thermal layering, meaning the ceiling area is the hottest area and the floor is the coolest area. The hot ceiling is just wasted energy.

Forced Hot Air

Forced hot air is the type of heat most people are familiar with. This is mainly because most tract home builders have been installing this type of heating for years. This is due, largely, to the cheap cost of installation. This is starting to change with the adoption of the national building code in most parts of the United States, a more health conscious clientele, and rising utilities costs. Forced hot air utilizes a furnace to heat the air then fans blow the hot dry air through a network of duct piping which distributes the hot air though out the building or home. Hot air fills the room heating the ceiling and ‘banking’ the heat down from the ceiling. This medium for heating is almost strictly convection. This heats air not objects.

Bestway Plumbing and Heating 2526 Platte Place, Colorado Springs, CO 80909 Tel: 719-599-0830    Fax: 719-599-4121 E-mail:info@bestwayplumbing.com ©2009 Bestway Plumbing and Heating - All Rights Reserved Web Page Design & Implementation by Timmay!!!

Compare Radiant Heat to Forced Hot Air

1.  Hot water radiant heat is efficient.

      Hot water radiant heat is 25-40% cheaper to operate than forced hot air.

1. Radiant heat doesn't create air movement.  This means radiant heat occupants feel equally comfortable at 4-6 degrees lower temperature than with forced hot air.
2. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 1 degree of reduced air temperature equals a 3% reduction in energy cost. This means 4-6 degress equates to a 12-18% savings.
3. Water transfers heat 75% more efficiently than air.  Water has a specific heat value of 1 where as air has a specific heat value of .24 - .25.  Specific heat is the amount of heat per unit mass required to raise the temperature by one degree Celsius.
4. Radiant heat heats objects, but does not heat air.  Therefore, radiant heat heats where people live, from the floor to about 6-7 feet above the floor.  With radiant heat, tall or vaulted ceilings do not waste heat.
5. According to ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning) forced hot air experiences a 20-40% heat loss through the duct work distribution.  Radiant heat has minimal heat loss through supply and return pipes.

2. Hot water radiant heat is the most comfortable heat to date.

     Radiant heat offers unsurpassed comfort level.

1. Radiant heat heats the objects around you and not the ceiling.  Thus, the warmest area of a radiant heat system is the floor.
2. Radiant heat warms cold objects, this in-turn evenly distributes the heat through out the room.  This means no hot areas by a duct vent and no cold areas by the floor or return air vents.
3. The average relative humidity with radiant heat is 30-40%, which is ideal.  Forced air blows dry, hot, dust filled air thus requiring expensive humidifiers which can harbor mold and fungus.

3. Hot water radiant heat is very healthy. Since radiant heat has no fans blowing dirty air, a house with radiant heat has clean air. Radiant heat is non-allergenic and often prescribed to people with allergies. The American College of Allergist reported that polluted indoor air either causes or aggravates half of all respiratory illnesses. Since the air is clean there is no need for expensive air filtration systems. In buildings that require air exchange, the system only needs to be sized to meet the air exchange requirements and not the heating requirements.  This reduces the size and cost significantly.

4. Hot water radiant heat is quiet. Radiant heat has no loud fans blowing air creating air velocity noise.  No noise of a large furnace firing up.  No noise of ticking duct work as it expands and contracts.  Radiant heat is silent.  Bestway Plumbing guarantees silent operation and no ticking of pipe when using Watts radiant heat Onix pipe. Forced hot air, traditionally, is cheaper to install than radiant heat.  This however is changing with the adoption of the National building code, which imposes stricter regulations on forced hot air.  The installation cost is now very comparable.

5. Radiant heat does not ‘pressurize’ the house or building and does not have pressure differentials causing cold air infiltration and hot air loss. Forced hot air increases cold air infiltration due to the ‘super’ heated air passing the cold exterior walls. This increased temperature differential causes an effect that draws air in through any cracks or gaps in the lower portion of the house and pushes hot air out from the upper portion of the house.

6. Radiant heat does not use unsightly duct work. Forced hot air ducts and vents are unsightly and obstructive.  When running duct work, most often ceilings need to be dropped.  Interior decoration must take into account where hot air vents and cold air returns vents are located.  Radiant heat uses no duct work and is practically invisible to the home owner.

7. Radiant heat can be zoned so each room has its own thermostat.  Most people who have radiant heat like having the bedroom zones separate from the bathroom zones, with the bathrooms usually warmer than the bedrooms.  In addition, having the kitchen on a separate zone is advantageous while cooking.  Zoning forced hot air is usually accomplished via one zone per furnace.  Most smaller houses have one furnace and one zone while larger houses have 2-4 furnaces and 2-4 zones.  With radiant heat, each room can have its own zone.

8. A boiler used for radiant heat can be tucked away in a very small closet rather than a large mechanical room which is needed for a forced air furnace.  The size of mechanical rooms for a house heated by forced air must be far larger than a house with radiant heat.  Large houses that used to require 2-3 furnaces can now be designed with much smaller mechanical rooms thus allowing for larger finished square footage.  (See Photos)

9. Radiant heat and boilers are very low maintenance.  Munchkin boilers only require annual servicing.  This annual service is just to check and make sure everything is working properly and retune the boiler for optimal efficiency if needed.  There are no costly filters, belts, fans or fan motors that need replacement.  Additionally, there is no duct work to clean nor costly air filters to replace.

10. Historically a hot water boiler will last 40-80 years or more.  Munchkin boilers have all stainless steel heat exchangers and have controls which can be upgraded as new technology and new controls are developed.

In-floor or Staple Down Method   Radiant Heat ready for concrete pouring. This method is commonly used in new construction homes Radiant heat warms objects in the room. and commercial.  Also, occasionally used in extensive remodels.  This method is one of the most comfortable, even, and efficient systems available to date.  Tubing is stapled down directly to the floor, then light weight concrete is poured to cover the pipes.  This concrete adds significant amounts of thermal mass.  Thermal mass reduces spikes of hot and cold and maintains an even temperature throughout the year; warm in winter and cool in the summer.  In addition the light weight concrete gives floors a very solid feel and insulates noise from other floors.  Most any type of flooring can be used including hardwood, stone, and carpet.   Staple Up Method   Radiant Heat for the floor above. This method is commonly used in new construction homes and, large and small, remodels.  Staple up is a slightly more cost-efficient method.  Tubing is stapled up to the bottom of the sub floor between the floor joists.  Foil faced insulation is then placed in the joist below the tubing.  The water in the tubing heats up the space between the sub-floor and the foil face insulation which then heats the floor above.  The foil face on the insulation reflects the radiant heat waves back up to the floor above.  Almost any type of flooring can be used including hardwood, stone, and carpet.   Ceiling and Wall Heat   Radiant Heat in the ceiling, providing heat for this floor. This method is commonly used in new construction homes and, large and small, Radiant heat applied within a wall. remodels.  With this method, pipe is stapled to the ceiling or wall.  Since radiant heat travels to cold objects, the heat on the ceiling travels down to the cold floor, heating the floor and other objects in the room.  This method works great for remodels and retro fits.  Also this method works great in rooms with extreme heat loss.  The and floor, wall, and/or ceiling heat are combined to heat the room adequately.

Bestway Plumbing and Heating 2526 Platte Place, Colorado Springs, CO 80909 Tel: 719-599-0830    Fax: 719-599-4121 E-mail:info@bestwayplumbing.com ©2009 Bestway Plumbing and Heating - All Rights Reserved Web Page Design & Implementation by Timmay!!!