You are not authorized to post a reply.
|
 Prev Next
|
| Author |
Messages |
|
jasv
Registered Users
Posts:1
 |
| 03/07/2006 9:40 PM |
|
I am a do it yourself radiant heat fan. Although I am in Southern Cal, I installed radiant heat in my home because of alergies.
I am in the process of buying a vacation home in the mountains and I want to retrofit raidant heat in the driveway which I am pretty sure I know how to do. I know I would need an isolated closed loop with glycol.
The problem is the home has about 25 steps that are pretty difficult to climb when there is snow on them. They are made of wood that is about 2 inches thick. Any tricks or advice on using radiant heat on these steps?
What insulation do I use? How do I traverse from one step to the next? Anyone have any experience with this?
Jasv |
|
|
|
|
|
|
mattmarbos
Registered Users
Posts:3
|
| 03/10/2006 12:51 AM |
|
Watts-Radiant has a prduct called "Onix" tubing. It is an EPDM rubber type tubing that could be stapled right to the underside of the steps. Unlike pex tubing, it can be installed on 4" centers ( pex would kink if pulled that tight). Also the Onix is more durable and easier to work with. It is more expensive than pex but the time and frustration saved will be well worth the extra expense. As far as insulation goes- I would use a foil faced insulation board stapled along the risers which will help reflect the heat back up to the treads. You might want to also invest in a "cheap" pole mounted sensor that will sense temperature and precipitation to help keep the fuel costs down. Go to www.wattsradiant.com to find out more. Let me know if you need more info
MDM |
|
|
|
|
Unregistered
Registered Users
Posts:2321
|
| 03/10/2006 10:54 PM |
|
Thanks for the advice. I will look at the website. It sounds like the right approach.
|
|
|
|
|
NRT.Rob
Registered Users
Posts:386
|
| 03/14/2006 12:59 PM |
|
Do they make large diameter Onix? you want 5/8" minimum in a snowmelt, and quite possibly higher if you want regular length loops. The "1/2" 300' loop" rule of thumb people use for heating does not apply to high-flow, high-glycol snowmelt systems.
always run counterflow spirals in snowmelt. Never run wider than 9" o.c..
always insulate underneath and on the vertical edges. figure out what the runoff is going to do. perhaps heat the drain.
I concur with matt that precipitation sensing is great, but I am not sure what the "cheap" statement is about.. nothing cheap about them? depends on what you're looking for from a control system. If you don't mind waiting, you can do a manual control system with soft start, turn it on when needed, maybe with a timer so you can't forget to turn it off. Or you can do the full on fancy idle mode precipitation sensing full auto system.. or in between. Cost spread is about $2k-$3k in components between the different methods, not insignificant.
Of course, that'll pale in comparison to lifetime energy use for a snowmelt. didn't your dad ever tell you to close to door because he didn't want to pay to heat the outside? ;)
-=Northeast Radiant Technology, LLC=-
www.NRTradiant.com |
|
-=Northeast Radiant Technology=-
NRTradiant.com |
|
|
|
| You are not authorized to post a reply. |
|
|
|
ActiveForums 3.6