Radiant floor / Discussions

...floor rather than chest height air temperature thermometers means they can react more quickly. It is mostly hydronic radiant systems (water or glycol) that overheat, whereas electric wire heating systems shut off instantly. Also air heated radiant floors don’t overheat as much as liquid hydronic under floor heating due...

...flooring would I need with a heated floor, it's new constrution. A heated floor can have a detrimental effect on some types of flooring, but there are many options. Is this a concrete floor? The easiest way is to just to polish it, a polished concrete floor is durable and affordable, and there is no problem if its heat...

...radiant floor system? Thank you. If you install only 2 inches of insulation under a slab with radiant heat in a cold climate, you will be dumping tons of heat into the ground for no reason. You would be far better off financially to add a few inches. We have built several demonstration homes in different regions of Que...

...radiant floors and have a few questions: What is the cfm on such a system  (per loop or run)? What temp is run through the system? Are there any other providers of such systems than Legallett in the USA? Thank you for your help,  Marty Legalett supplies air heated radiant floors with electric or water coils. The air fl...

...floor is not insulated and you want to fix that and perhaps install radiant floor heating, I’d be more inclined to do that on top of the existing floor. That of course would depend on having enough head room that you could spare a good 6 inches. And don’t get me wrong, even that isn’t an easy undertaking, and it does c...

...radiant floor system uses a sealed, closed-loop system, in part, to control moisture in the tubing and therefore mold growth. In Ecohome’s new demo house, did Legalett also build the Solar Air Panels to ensure a continuation of its closed loop system? In the last article about this latest demo house, it was stated tha...

...floor, it really depends on how much heat you are looking to inject, whether its just to melt snow and keep it above freezing, or if it is intended to be kept at a comfortable temperature of humans.  I would point your attention to the solar air heated radiant floor that we just built for our new demonstration house. i...

We're soon building a slab on grade foundation for our new cabin in Montana and I've decided to sit it on a 4" EPS foam insulation so the slab will retain some passive solar heat from the south facing windows in winter, avoiding having to put too much heat in to keep stuff from freezing. There's a bed of compacted grav...

...radiant floors for backup heating, so a ductless mini-split heat pump is sufficient. It also depends on what you call comfortable - if you want to bring the temperature down to sub-arctic levels throughout the house, then a ducted system would probably serve you better. If you just want to remove a portion of the heat ...

...floor consists of concrete and insulation (radiant heating tubes, mesh and rebar of course) but not wood. A wooden structure would sit on top, above grade where it can dry properly.  If you are chemically sensitive then there are any number of materials that may go into a home that might cause you health concerns. We b...

...radiant floor heating, or the air system that Legalett uses. I am also wondering how much rebar should be in a slab on grade floor and if it's okay to have the perimeter touching the ground without any insulation beneath it?  The most cost-effective system to deliver in-floor radiant heat would in your case depend on h...

...floor, invites moisture problems as it can cause warm humid air to condense and put you at risk of mold and mildew forming. Here is a our page all about radiant floors as a starting place - Radiant floor heat - Air heated, electric of hydronic, which is best?  Even in the appropriate climate it is a fairly complicated ...

Hello, I’m designing a FPSF in Southern Vermont (AFI 2300).  I want to fully insulate the radiant slab by including 4″ XPS under the footings but this seems to conflict with the FPSF principle of relying on heat transferring through the footing to stabilize the ground temp.  My next thought was to use the FPSF design g...

...radiant in floor.  I have several questions about the merits of each option, and would appreciate advice. 1. Cost - I know a slab is cheaper but having a basement that we can finish allows for a smaller footprint with less walls and roof material.  Is there a big difference in cost?  2. Access for mechanical - I can't ...

...floors? Or, do you want a heat pump for the lowest bills? (Heat pumps are 3 times more efficient). And to help you pick the best heating system for Passive House, here are a few pages to check out : Radiant floors heated with air tubes       Choosing the Best Wood-Burning Stove or Fireplace Heat pumps - what they are ...

...radiant floor I would personally want to see the utility bills to know what a winters worth of heat would cost.  And a last piece of advice - don't be instantly leery of it simply because it is a slab. As long as it is in good shape, I would consider that an asset compared to a basement.    

...radiant floor heated with air tubes rather than hydronic, and those tubes will be fed with air warmed by a solar air-heating panel, so we are using the floor as a thermal battery to store solar heat. Here is an air heated slab on grade radiant floor DIY install video. 

...radiant floor and an air source heat pump". Can you post more details on which systems were used? For example, is the ASHP being used to heat the fluid in the radiant flooring? If not, what system was used for that? Also, what system was used for domestic hot water? Thanks The radiant floor is heated with an electric b...