How to Save Energy When Living With Radiant Floor Heating

- Radiant floor heating offers unparalleled living comfort but comes with its own energy efficiency issues.
This is a brief exchange between members of Acterra’s Green@Home Community members about the joys and challenges of living with radiant floor heating. The insights are offered by Gerry, who says “I am not an authority – just a guy that has lived with radiant heat.”
QUESTION:
During my work with High Energy Homes, I’ve run into several homes with radiant floor heating. Most seem to use quite a bit of energy due to various factors from insufficient thermostat programming to poor insulation. Does anyone know of a contractor who can do an audit of this type of system?
ANSWER:
There are many companies that can do an audit, but none can actually make the radiant heat itself more efficient if it is the embedded concrete type. There, typically the pipes are closer to the ground than to the room – and contrary to common belief – heat does not rise. It follows the shortest route is.
One of the best things to do with these systems is insure the boiler is efficient, that the pipes are clean and not leaking. But the most productive change that I have found was getting a smarter thermostat. Basically it takes nearly 3 hours for the typical radiant heat system to actually warm the room after the thermostat says it is too cold. So a timed thermostat is essential.
It takes some experience figuring out how best to use these. You need to know the (more…)







