Installing Radiant in my garage, I have a bunch of ? head is spinning

[Redneck in training]

What do you pay for such a unit ? Much more than propane heaters ?

Don't even ask. The machine itself was around $5000, then add pump for each zone, thermostat for each zone, two manifolds for each zone, heat/cold storage tank, primary pump, PEX tubing in the floor, outside loop pumps, outside loop (in my case the heat exchanger consisting from 800 m of "fluffed coil is in the farm pond) and also AC system consisting from air fan coil and all the ducting. The outside loop was around 5000 installed. I think we spent around 35K and we did a lot of work (complete AC installation) by ourselves. Nevertheless it paid for itself in about 5-6 years. We pay wholesale electric rate in the heating season. It combined with the efficiency makes all the difference. We saved more than $2000/year in propane/electric bill cost for system that was about 12 to 15k more than standard forced air heat/AC system.
We have often pretty cold winter but our highest heating bill was around $100/month in the coldest month. We heat and AC about 350 m2 single level house.

 

[yelbike]

m2 really

 

[Redneck in training]

m2 really

3800 sqft then

 

[terraformer]

My shop has several big windows on the south side. The concrete adsorbs a lot of heat from the sun. Sun energy is free although not really enough to heat comfortably, it helps.

 

[mx842]

My shop has several big windows on the south side. The concrete adsorbs a lot of heat from the sun. Sun energy is free although not really enough to heat comfortably, it helps.

Yeah my last shop I worked in was a large medal building with no insulation at all. It ha large glass panels from one end to the other on the south wall and you could work in there on the coldest day in the winter in your shirt sleeves......well as long as the sun was out anyway. It was a bear in the summer though most days in the dead of summer it would be 140 degrees in there and you would have to go outside and stand in the sun to cool off.:laughing: Working out of that building gave me a pretty good idea of what it might be like working on the moon.

 

[Renze]

Don't even ask.

I'll take the old oil heater (conversion to wood heater) to my new workshop then...

 

[Renze]

Don't even ask.

I'll take the old oil heater (conversion to wood heater) to my new workshop then...

 

[JOE G]

So many choices, Wish I had my home setup for a outdoor wood boiler and i was able to tie them all in together.

 

[Rustyiron]

So many choices, Wish I had my home setup for a outdoor wood boiler and i was able to tie them all in together.

Joe, check out: GreenBuildingTalk - Green Building Forums on Insulating Concrete Forms (ICF), Structural Insulated Panels (SIP), Radiant Heating, Geothermal Heat Pumps, Solar Power, Green Construction Projects There are some experianced folks there. If your like me, maybe not so green as you are cheap, but sometimes the same thing.:laughing:

 

[KubotainNH]

I have radiant heat in my house and love it. I have 4 zones and heat 3 floors. The basement maintains the best, partially because of the heated slab but also it doesn't have as many windows. It does have a walk out basement so not totally walled by earth. It's great to have even heat and warm floors/furniture, I've had FHA in another house and hated it. I can see radiant as being pleasant in a shop. I heat with a Bock oil fired water heater that also is my domestic hot water. Had the system since 03 and have little for complaints, you just have to realize it takes time to heat up but then maintains very well. All my equipment came from Radiantec Radiant Heat,under floor radiant/solar heating systems. They have lots of good info on their site.