For decades, in-floor radiant heating systems have
been extensively used in Europe. Many people that have chosen a radiant
heating system are aware of how comfortable, quiet and cost-effective radiant
heat is to operate.
Yet, with poor design and installation of a radiant heat system certain areas
of your home may be cold, while others are hot. To ensure that your system
will maintain a comfortable and uniform temperature, professional design and
installation by a qualified in-floor radiant heating expert is advised.
With radiant heat, uneven circuit lengths, insufficient tube size, improper
tubing depths, and poor circuit layout can all affect individual areas, but I
find that the most common problem with an in-floor radiant heating system
stems from not properly positioning or installing bend protectors. |
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In fact, that’s what happened to
Fred and Deb. They had to tear up part of their flooring because with their
radiant flooring system the right side of their home was much colder than the
left side.
You see, in larger homes or buildings it is quite common to break down a radiant
heating system into three or more zones, each one providing a comfortable
interior temperature control.
The proper zoning of a heating element, such as in-floor radiant heat, must take
into consideration the size of zones, positioning of zones, direction the room
faces, as well as the location of the thermostats for each individual zone.
Similar to all construction, it becomes vitally important to coordinate the
trades so that problems are avoided.
With an in-floor radiant heating system, your radiant heat contractor may have
designed the system properly. However, the concrete contractor pouring the slab
may damage or adversely affect the performance of the system.
As well, many lackadaisical radiant heat installation teams don’t take the care
needed to do a suitable job. I hate to say it, but I have personally heard other
contractors instruct their radiant heat staff to ignore kinks and rush through
jobs, in hopes of a future repair call.
If there is a crimp or blockage it will affect the flow of fluid through your
radiant heat line. A crimp will restrict the flow of fluid in the radiant heat
tubing and the section of floor following the crimp would not get enough fluid
to heat up properly, thus keeping it colder than the other.
That’s why bend protectors become so important. Anytime your radiant heat tubing
needs to make a sharp turn, the bend becomes venerable. It’s the bend protectors
that safeguard the radiant heat tubes from kinking and ensures that water can
continuously flow though them.
Another thing to consider; if your radiant heat lines are not well supported
prior to the pouring of the concrete, or are “sagging” between supports, then
the thickness of concrete above the lines will vary resulting in a non-uniform
heat distribution.
If Fred and Deb had a radiant heat installer that believed in doing the best job
possible, chances are they would have avoided the added expense of tearing up
their flooring to fix the problem. Although they are now enjoying an even heat
distribution, it was a costly error that could have been avoided.
When radiant heat is installed properly, bend protectors will eliminate many of
the problems associated with cold and hot spots.
Copyright 2006 Larry Lang All Rights
Reserved.
Lang Enterprises Inc.
www.radiantheatingdisasters.com
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