Quote:
Originally Posted by ThomSjay
AC Hacker, thank you for starting this up. I do have a question at the moment...how warm do you keep your house during the winter. I like mine at 70degF/20degC. I live in Sarnia, On. Canada
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ThomSjay, welcome to the conversation...
I am anticipating an indoor design temperature of 65 degrees, when the radiant floor is in operation, and all the insulation measures have been completed (this includes upgraded windows). I spent a weekend in a house with a radiant floor recently and this was the temperature, and it was wonderfully comfortable.
To answer your question in the present tense, I'm currently using a small mini-split which uses air convection and the temperature level I dial in changes between 66F and 70F, probably due to my own metabolic variations, I suppose. But 95% of the time, I have it set on 68F.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ThomSjay
One more question for the group before I go to sit on the side-lines,(and this probably belongs elsewhere) .....would a radiant wall work as well rather than to do heavy mods to a floor? And perhaps one could point me to the proper location for that discussion.
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The real topic here is
hyper-efficiency heating even though the thread is called 'Homemade Heat Pump Manifesto', but the combination of very large area radiant heating and GSHP is such an excellent combination that it is not easy to separate all the parts and continue a coherent conversation.
Since you carefully read the entire thread, you probably understand that to get the maximum efficiency of such a combo, you need to run your heat pump at the lowest possible temperature.
You also probably understand that to do this, you will need to have the largest possible radiant area AND hydronic piping spaced much closer that is needed for a fossil-fueled boiler, AND radiant floor construction techniques that spare no effort to maximize efficiency.
With all that as a basis, when you look at radiant walls, you have to consider the area you want to be radiant, and also look at the possibility that if you choose outside walls to be radiant, a considerable amount of your heat will be going to heat nature.
There is also the ratio of wall area to floor area... wherein a large, low room would have a large floor-to-wall ratio. This situation would definitely favor radiant floors. If your rooms were small, your floor-to-wall ratio may not be as favorable to radiant floors, and a radiant wall approach may make the best sense especially if most of the walls are interior walls.
(* the impact that building proportions have on heating efficiency is well understood in the
Passive House world *)
I did some power-Googling a few months ago on this subject and found that in Europe the practice of heating walls is not unheard of, and that hydronic wall board is being made and utilized.
To your last point, regarding where such a discussion should take place, there is a thread on
DIY Radiant Floors, which has some interesting information for you.
I think that what is actually needed is a new thread on Low Temperature Radiant Heating (AKA: Low Exergy Heating), which would belong in Renovations and New Construction. Press
HERE to start a new thread in that area.
Best Regards,
-AC_Hacker