Solar radiant Heat

[randydupree]

Dan,wow!
while I did figure in the cost of the tubing under the slab,and the cost of the panels,try as i might,i could never get a price on sunshine!
heat pumps require power,power cost money.
while i'm not sure how many panels it will take to heat a 3000SF house,i just figure i'll get all i can find used,and theres plenty of them out there.Cheap too.
maybe i'm wrong?

Randy

 

[js5020]

I do not sell solar systems so it is not add hype. The system worked great for many years. Check out the amount of solar energy for Rochester, NY.

Ken

This solar aspect to the radiant heat is peaking my interest,, hard to believe you can boil water in total cloud cover,, I have to agree with others, some of the "talk" about radiant heat being lower cost compared to other types of heat,, real world I don't see it,, although I still would put it in again. Anyone have any costs on the solar end of things??

 

[philbuilt]

OK, were back on line.
I talked with my supplier and they said that I don't have to hold back on pictures or process. The company is radiantec and they are great to work with. They are located in Vermont so the weather is similar to ours in Maine. So that being said I will post pictures of each step as I do them.
There's talk about the tubes verses the flat panels. My understanding is that the panels will shed the snow quicker. Does anyone have proof to the contrary?
Phil

 

[jdmar]

I just received my radiant order from Radiantec also. I have NOT installed in the barn yet. All the parts do look prfessionally done. very clean sweats with the copper and everything dead straight. I have a 6 loop manifold that will get "buried" in the slab.

I also have a radiant floor heated home that is about 2 years old...almost. It costs about 31% of my last house to heat. Both are stone/brick on the outside. My old house was built in '78 with expanding foam insulation (the best they had at the time I guess). The new one is SIP walls. Most of my heat savings are from the SIPS, but I suspect some is from the radiant. You just ffeeeeeelll warmer when your toes are toasty! My wife has ranaud's so her feet are nearly ice cubes in the winter...this was a BIG reason for the radiant. But no we can keep the house cooler per the thermostat but still feel warmer.

Sorry, I do not mean to change the post...just that radiant heat is awesome...and if you can do it solar everyone is ahead of the game. I am slowly looking into solar for both the barn and partially for the house. Actually I am looking into anything that will stop me from paying for gas!

Great post to keep us all thinking...and from sending USA dollars overseas.

Peter

 

[philbuilt]

The panels and tank arrived today at work. I will bring them home on Wensday night after work and start the install thursday. I will try to post the pictures every evening.
Phil

 

[DANOCHEESE]

For thos ewith RH what are you currently using for a boiler or water ehater to feed the system. I have a ICF hosue and put pex int he basement slab. Was in a hurry so I bought the first water wamrer I seen cheap rheem and it has doen an OK job. The propane bill was around $900 and the elctric for the water warmer was int he $200 per month. I use a forced air furnace for the upstairs. The ehat fromt he salb does raiate north to the upstairs so it doe shelp. 3900 SQ foot house.

Lookign at a polair heater or the solar option to help. No wood avaialbel I can get get round bale scheap may ahve to build a big bale burner next ot the shop and pump lots of water around the compound.

 

[DRL]

I have RH in all 2600 sqft + oversize 2 car garage (the wife likes to get in a warm car in the morning, about 50 degrees). Downstairs is 4" slab and upstairs is 1.5"gypcrete. Like DANOCHEESE I was in a hurry to move in so I went all electric and put in some extra lines to the outside so I could play latter with solar or outdoor wood furnace. The highest bill this last winter for this all electric house was about $225. The heater is an Argo unit. I will never build another house without it.

 

[dmccarty]

Dan,wow!
while I did figure in the cost of the tubing under the slab,and the cost of the panels,try as i might,i could never get a price on sunshine!
heat pumps require power,power cost money.
while i'm not sure how many panels it will take to heat a 3000SF house,i just figure i'll get all i can find used,and theres plenty of them out there.Cheap too.
maybe i'm wrong?

Randy

Radiantec sent me a qoute that would supply some/most of hot water needs for the house as well as 50%-75% of the heating needs. The cost was 7,000-9,000 if I remember right. That is as much or more than the heat pump cost that we had to have for AC. We heat with wood so why pay 7K-9K+ for a third way to heat the house?

Our highest AC bill is $179. Average electric bill over the years is $115ish. IF and its a big IF we used $100 of power to heat the house four months of they year that is over 20 years to pay back $8,000.

In our case it did not make money sense to put in radient heat.

Later,
Dan

 

[philbuilt]

The panels and tank are now home.


Here is the crate with no broken or damaged parts.


The front and side info plate on the panel.


The mounting kit and assembly. I still havn't figuered out what the 2 long
bolts and xtra 2 clips are for. Maybe side locks?


Some of last weekends work.
a 4'x 8' frame with 2" pink foam back.


The solar panel manifold mounted and connected to the lins going to the frame outside. And the insulation track for the copper pipe in the basement. The thru wall penitration is to a crawl space where the outside boiler pipe comes in.

I will be posting more over the weekend as I go. Hopefully I will be ready for the sunshine on sunday to start making hot water.

 

[philbuilt]

AC here in My part of Maine is not that big of a concern. We have a window type unit that we may use 5 to 20 days all summer and fall. I'm hoping that this setup will provide all the hot water for domestic use thru out Mid spring to late fall. That would be about 150 to 200 gals of oil.

We don't currently have radiant heat but the retro will follow. We built our house over the past 22 years in multiple additions as we could afford. So now its time for new floors, so why not new heat.

Drl, you and Danocheese have the hard part done with the radiant in place.

Good stuff here guys lets keep it going.
Phil