Concrete Hydronic Radiant Floor Heating

There are three major types of radiant floor heating systems.

Concrete hydronic radiant floor heating.

This is about installing hydronic radiant floor heating in a slab floor system. 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. There s two basic types of concrete floor heating hydronic and electric. Due to it s density and low conductivity concrete retains heat very well.

The original and largely abandoned in the west method was used most notably in turkish baths and consisted of a raised floor to allow hot air underneath keeping the floor nice and warm. They can retain heat over time which is ideal for radiant under floor heating. For hydronic heating water pipes run through the top layer of concrete so heat is not wasted below the surface. As warm water circulates through the tubing or as electricity warms the heating elements the concrete flooring turns into an efficient inconspicuous radiator.

Typically radiant heating systems warm floors to temperatures of 75 to 80 degrees f. What is hydronic radiant floor heating. Concrete slabs have plenty of thermal mass. The system works via pex pipe a small pump a water heater and a thermostat.

These are sold in pairs supply and return and include flow indicators flow regulating valves and other basic components. The size of the manifold must correspond to the number of circuits in your radiant heating system. 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. Like sand concrete is an ideal carrier of radiant heat because of its inherent thermal mass.

Radiant heat manifolds designed for use with 3 8 1 2 and 5 8 pex and pex al pex tubing. The final step in preparing for our concrete slab is finished. Concrete embedding your radiant heating system into a concrete slab is one of the most cost effective ways to install it and most energy efficient being that concrete is a great thermal mass.