We finally broke ground and will be laying ICF blocks shortly.  In the basment, I am planning radiant heat and still considering the options.  It will be finished with two bedrooms, one bath and a living area for my two boys, total finshed area is 1600 sq ft.  I am leaning toward one zone for the entire area.  I realize I will need multiple runs of 1/2 inch pex, but is there any reason to add multiple zones? 

 As a follow up question to my first question...

Since I will be installing radiant in the basement slab, should I follow through and put radiant in the entire house?  It is a simple ranch with a walk out basment, ICF from the footers to the rafters.  The first floor will be wood I-joists with wood floors throughout the house except the wet areas will be tiled.  I am planning to heat the main floor with forced air, but I keep leaning back to the radiant since I will have it in the basment. 

My location is rural Kansas City, the house will be all electric and wood will contribute sunstantially to the heat in the living/dining/kitchen area.  My reluctance with radiant on the main floor is the use of a wood subfloor and the associated loss in effeciency. 

If I go with just basement radiant, I plan to use a 40 gallon electric water heater as my heat source.  If I go with radiant through out the house, will two 40 gallon tanks suffice?  I have already decided against an open system, dhw will be provided through a tankless unit, brand yet to be determined. 

Lots of questions, all answers and input welcome.

Dug 

Dug,

I'm new to this too, so no expert. I'm thinking that a large area is going to require several loops. Might as well make the loops have dedicated rooms. By using a manafold with valve control,  manual temp balance and or shutting off a room is an option. You just have to make sure the thermostat is in an area that will always be heated.

Patrick T