Quote:
Originally Posted by Drake
By far the biggest challenge to me is developing control of a well designed hydronic radiant system. So many variable ways to use hydronic, hi-temp/low-temp, hi-mass/low-mass, on-demand heat/storage, and combinations thereof. Can't see one control method fitting every situation so customizing seems to be the goal. And some may be as low tech as some fresh air. Or just putting on a sweater for awhile till floor catches up. Constant comfort is a hard thing to provide efficiently as possible in a variable world.
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If you are concerned with fluctuations in your house, and you seem to be, and you think that you will experience these fluctuation with a large radiant slab, maybe you should change directions and go with low-mass heating rather than high-mass heating.
The Magazine article you linked to before, which is all about renewable-sourced radiant heating, features all low-mass solutions. Heat is stored in a suitable buffer tank, and is released to the interior as required. This and the low-mass radiators he is featuring, all have thermostatic control on each radiator.
What is your ZIP code?
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I jist made a guess that your ZIP CODE would put you somewhere near the MPLS-St.Paul International airport.
Here's a graph of last years temperature data. Looks like you have a lot of temperature swings over the year, especially during heating season.
If you're not interested in investing in serious dense-pack insulation (=> 12" thick walls). Maybe you should forget high-mass heating, and go with an overall lower efficiency, low-mass system that is able to anticipate and track ambient temperature fluctuations.
-AC