DIY Hydronic Floor Heating

[buffalobillpatrick]

Good concern Randen
I probably have twice as much pex per square foot as what u used (6" OC)
The state of Colorado rural counties inspector (Andy Clark) inspected it before insulation & Sheetrock.
He was impressed & said that it was "over radiated & probably wouldn't need over 140*F water to heat it" I think 170*F AWT will probably be needed at design temp.

It is getting down in the teens at night there now & it's doing fine.

The system is of my own design that I call "Buffer Centric"

There is a large Rheem ST120 DHW / buffer tank, it serves both functions.
The temperature of the tank is controlled by an ODR Tekmar 256, it ranges from 140* +- 15* when its above 60* outside, up to 170* +- 15* when its -20* outside.

In between the boiler & the tank is a GEA Flat 30 plate 5" x 12" heat exchanger.

When the Tekmar 256 tells the boiler to fire, 2 pumps come on, one on each side of the heat exchanger. Heat moves from the boiler into the tank.

During this the System pump (Grundfos Alpha) can be on or off depending on if any Ecobee3 thermostat is calling for heat.

Buffer tank mode:
If the system calls for heat after after the tank is up to the required temperature
& the boiler is off, heat will be pulled out of the tank and flow in the opposite direction through the heat exchanger to the system.

I had a system like this in my house for the last 3 years & now one is in my Sons new house.

[randen]

Buffalobillpatrick

I wish that it performs well. You have experience with your home this is good. My experience was much different. I hated ripping it out for a re-do. But the ultimate result is superlative.

In another thread there has been some conjecture that you wouldn't be able to discern a heated floor. To keep a room temp of 21 Deg.C. the floor will be warmer to give up its heat load to the cooler air above. Therefore the sensation of a warm tile against your foot as you roll out of bed on a blustery winter morning is what you will revel in.

Randen

[jeff5may]

BBP,

Egad, that's 10 tons of heating! In Crested Butte, I don't doubt you will probably need it in a couple of months. It would sure suck to be cold all winter way up there. Please let us know how the house does.

[buffalobillpatrick]

My last house that I just sold was insulated very well & had great Windows.
When it was 0*f outside the floors were only 75*f to maintain rooms at 70*f
So about 10btu/ft2
Never had the warm floor feeling, always had to wear warm house slippers.

[buffalobillpatrick]

In my Sons new house, I think the floors will need to be about 85*f when it's -20*f outside.
It's insulated well, but had lots of huge Windows

[jasonvan]

This thread is great. I'm planning a similar system to Vlad. Unfortunately the images he posted in 2012 no longer show up. Is there a way that I can see this pumping and electrical diagram?

Originally Posted by Vlad

Here is the plumbing diagram and very basic electric diagram. If you have any questions ask them I will post more details.

[AC_Hacker]

This is a really big problem.

A HUGE amount of posts and information have been volunteered on EcoRenovator, and they should all be accessible. But they are not. Some people post their images here on the ER site, and they seem to remain available. Other people post images on second-party sites, and the chances of long term availability go out the window.

jasonvan,

Can you post the link where Vlad's images should have been?

I might be able to retrieve them for you.

Some small amount of EcoRenovator is available on Internet Archive.

If that fails, I may be able to contact Vlad. Geo_EN_Gee & I drove up to Canada to see his setup. I may still have his phone number. Maybe Geo_NR_Gee has it.

We'll do what we can for you.

-AC_Hacker

[Geo NR Gee]

Here are some pictures from that visit.

[Geo NR Gee]

Our very own AC Hacker


Drilling rod




Vlad and his drill rig